SHORT SHOTS

American Airlines and Kuehne+Nagel go for green fuel

The two companies have entered into an agreement to deploy 11 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is currently the largest commitment to sustainable aviation fuel that a logistics provider has made to date. In line with its Net Zero Carbon program, Kuehne+Nagel is not only improving its own CO2 footprint, but also expecting its suppliers to target CO2 neutralization by 2030.

11 million liters of SAF translates into the equivalent of 13 million kg of cargo being flown from London to Dallas on a Boeing 777F cargo aircraft. Kuehne+Nagel customers now have access to immediately available SAF solutions to reduce CO2 emissions of their shipments, and the company is working on further sustainable solutions for innovative and simple shipping options.

Yngve Ruud, Member of the Management Board of Kuehne+Nagel, responsible for Air Logistics, commented: “The demand for environmentally friendly air logistics services is certainly on the rise. Through the innovative collaboration with American Airlines, we commit to support our customers` sustainability ambitions and contribute to the development and widespread use of alternative aviation fuels. We encourage all the industry stakeholders to join us in bringing carbon neutral flying one step closer.”

“Partnering with Kuehne+Nagel as part of our effort to reduce the impact of aviation on our planet has been an incredible example of the kind of collaboration that will drive real change,” Jessica Tyler, President of American Airlines Cargo and Vice President of Operations Innovation & Delivery, added. “This strategic, market-based solution will help create a cleaner supply chain and is aimed at accelerating our transition to a low-carbon future.”

Bolloré Logistics launches “EASYorder”

“EASYorder” is a digital service created by Bolloré Logistics’ innovation center, B.Lab*, and is aimed at simplifying B2B logistics processes from inventory management through to final distribution. Through its “Shopper” platform, companies can access their own article catalogue of non-sale items that are necessary for sales management: items such as packaging, visual merchandising and point-of-sale advertising, or even necessary health protection such as facemasks, and trigger the logistics processes for these. Seamless order management that can include additional packaging steps, “EASYorder” links all the players and automates order-taking phases through to the transport and logistics of products, and is integrated in the company’s own IT platform, thus providing a seamless connection between order management and international transport and logistics operations.
“EASYorder contributes to the digitalization of the order process while ensuring simplified integration with supply chain management tools. Our offering accelerates time-to-market and helps to boost the competitiveness of our customers,” said Olivier Boccara, Global Chief Commercial Officer.

CargoAi seeks out Advisory Board talents

CargoAi has brought together four known air cargo industry talents as the first members of its newly formed Board of Advisors. Markus Flacke, previously Managing Director of CHAMP Cargosystems and known industry advisor,
Liana Coyne, Director at Coyne Airways, Cyril Dumon, CEO Asia-Pacific at Bollore Logistics, and Ricardo Pilon, Chief Cargo Transformation Officer at Millennium Aviation & Vice-President Consulting Solutions at Aviation Strategies International, cover a broad segment of the industry. Chosen for their expertise and pioneering spirit, their diverse cargo community perspectives will help to shape CargoAi as it moves forward in developing value-added cargo solutions to support the industry’s digital transformation. The Board, which will see other experts joining soon, will meet quarterly, and hold their first remote meeting in APR21.

Liana Coyne stated: “CargoAi is one of the most visionary and innovative companies in the market. The team has a clear understanding of cargo, and ambitions to connect a variety of actors to more than just an ebooking platform, but one that provides actionable information and intelligence.”

“With a diverse and dynamic team, I am excited to see how inclusive the CargoAi team is and how this focus on people and relationships will help further cement sustainable growth in cargo transportation and logistics, underpinned by planned offerings, future-wise services and incremental propositions around market access and commercial optimization,” Ricardo Pilon explained.

“Helping to reflect on and model the future of air cargo through digital is a really exciting project, and that's why I agreed to join the CargoAi Board of Advisors. We're at a crossroads – at the beginning of an unprecedented transformation in air cargo's processes,” Cyril Dumon added.

Markus Flacke emphasized: “The team is incredible – every member brings unique experience and expertise. What won me over was the humbleness of CargoAi's approach and the desire to take part in a major project – digitalizing air cargo through the human touch.”

"Our goal is to advocate for and positively disrupt our beloved airfreight industry with a very pragmatic and humble approach. It's a real honor for us to welcome airfreight veterans and aviation enthusiasts to the Board and we're looking forward to a very close cooperation as we continue to develop our product offering and look to generate value for the industry," Matthieu Petot, CEO of CargoAi, concluded.

Etihad Cargo flies non-Covid Vaccines to Egypt

Whilst the media is focused on Covid-19 vaccine deliveries, there are still all kinds of other vaccines flying through the world. Such as the 12,475,000 Tetanus and Diphtheria vaccines that recently transited through Etihad Cargo’s Abu Dhabi hub on their way from India to Egypt. Together with EFL (Expolanka Freight), Etihad Cargo transported the shipment which had to be kept between +2⁰C to +8⁰C throughout the journey, from Mumbai, India – the world’s main T&D vaccine producer, to Cairo, Egypt. Both Etihad Cargo and EFL are IATA CEIV pharma certified, and well-experienced in temperature-sensitive cargo. Eithad Cargo saw a 50% increase in pharma shipments last year, whilst EFL looks back on over 30 years’ experience of global transportation.

Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales and Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group, explained: “This shipment underlines Etihad Cargo’s capability to transport temperature-sensitive cargo across the network and reinforces Etihad Cargo standing as an IATA CEIV Pharma-certified carrier. Working with partners such as EFL, Etihad Cargo leverages a collective of expertise and extensive network capabilities to provide essential logistical solutions to where they are needed most.”

Group CEO, EFL, Senthilnathan Shanmugam, added: “Supply chain resilience stems from having the right formula of partners, products, and solutions, as well as a deep alignment on shared values and complimenting capabilities. With Etihad Cargo, we are able to deliver on our commitments and strive towards a safe and secure world for all.”

Amazon looking to gain 19.5% stake in ATSG

Amazon has put forward $132 million to buy a stake in Air Transport Services Group, which – if/when approved by the Department of Transportation, will give it a 19.5% share in the air cargo operator, plus the right to appoint a board member. Amazon has held warrants in ATSG since 2016, as it also does with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings – both companies from which it leases cargo aircraft. As Amazon continues to expand its own sourced fleet, it may look to increase the 33 aircraft that ATSG currently operates on its behalf, to 46 by the end of 2021. With the increase of an addition 866,000 shares of ATSG, Amazon holds warrants that could increase its share of ATSG to almost 40% in future.

Its rapid freight fleet expansion along with a $1.5 billion investment in building up its own air cargo hub in northern Kentucky, designed to hold 100 Amazon-branded planes, and predicted to handle about 200 flights per day, is proof that it is positioning itself alongside UPS and Fedex in future. The Kentucky hub is planned to go into operation later this year.

Kale Logistics Solutions connects Siemens Healthineers with SMART-i

SMART-i stands for Systematic Monitoring @ Real time information and is a Next-Generation Web Based Tool which Kale Logistics Solutions has developed for Siemens Healthineers India. The tool digitally connects Siemens Healthineers to all forwarders, customs brokers, airports, systems, and other stakeholders, to enable end-to-end supply chain collaboration. The single window concept, which is being deployed at Siemens Healthineers locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, offers complete transparency across the shipment journey from start to finish, and digital process steps eliminate the need for paper.

Amar More, CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions said: “It is a proud moment for Kale Logistics to partner with Siemens Healthineers India. Logistics cost in healthcare industry is significant. Lack of shipment visibility further adds to this cost. Only 6 percent of the stakeholders globally say they have complete visibility to their entire supply chain. Platforms like SMART- i will help all stakeholders to overcome these issues. The Logistics Single window concept is of utmost importance to leading players like Siemens Healthineers and will assist them in creating efficiencies and transparency in the international logistics arena. Kale Logistics with its global experience of uniting the supply chain can deliver this transformation in Global Logistics industry.”

BIAL is home to India’s first dedicated Express Cargo Terminal

Though Mahatma Gandhi is known to have said “There is more to life than simply increasing its speed,” he may well have thought somewhat otherwise in view of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru’s new Express Cargo Terminal, established exclusively for export and import of international couriers. The first of its kind in India, the 61,000 m² terminal was inaugurated on 12MAR21, by Shri. M. Srinivas (IRS), Chief Commissioner of Customs, Bengaluru Zone in the presence of key industry representatives, and attended online by its new tenants, DHL and FedEx Express Indian top managers.

Developed by BLR Airport operator, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the new built-to-suit terminal houses leading express companies and the Express Industry Council of India (EICI) will operate the Common-User Express Terminal for other courier companies, building on the increasingly important e-commerce sector, and significantly strengthening the South Indian B2B and B2C express cargo markets. The Terminal includes dedicated Customs office spaces and offers direct access to both Landside and Airside. It is capable of processing 150,000 metric tons (MT) per year, thus upping BLR Airport’s overall annual cargo capacity to 720,000 MT. Faster and streamlined operational workflows including mechanized truck docks, will speed up the acceptance and delivery of freight, improve throughput and cater to the needs of the rapidly growing express industry.

“At South India’s busiest Cargo Airport, this exclusive Terminal for express couriers at BLR Airport will significantly boost the trade and economy of the region,” said Shri. M. Srinivas (IRS), Chief Commissioner of Customs, Bengaluru Zone.

Shri. Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL. (TBC), added “With express courier gaining greater significance following the exponential growth of e-commerce, the Express Cargo Terminal at BLR Airport is a significant step towards supporting and driving this growth.”

“BLR Airport, as we all know, is strategically located and is a major gateway for cross-border international trade in South India. With BIAL creating India’s first dedicated Express Cargo Terminal, the express industry has now got a major boost to continue growing the express business and achieve greater heights,” said Shri. Vijay Kumar, CEO, EICI

5,000 cargo-only passenger flights handled between MAR20 and MAR21

That translates into more than 13 flights a day, when you break it down, and cargo-in-cabin flights are certainly much more time-intensive than ordinary passenger flights and freighters. The “special cargo milestone” was proudly announced by dnata last week, and achieved at Dubai International (DXB), UAE. Since March last year, its highly trained handlers safely dealt with more than 50,000 tons that were shifted on board the more than 5,000 cargo-in-cabin flights at DXB). dnata trained up over 500 staff across the company in the special handling required when dealing with cargo-only passenger planes and ensured that its processes were adapted and improved to meet the changing circumstances brought about by the pandemic – both from an equipment as well as commodity point of view.

The press release points out that “dnata introduced effective procedures across a range of aircraft types. With no existing industry standards to refer to, the company built the necessary procedures from scratch in collaboration with key stakeholders, including IATA and several airline customers. To ensure the procedures were safe, trials were conducted at DXB using various loading and unloading methods across both narrow and wide-body aircraft. This allowed dnata to identify the best and safest procedures to serve cargo-in-cabin flights.”

“We are proud to reach this memorable milestone in such a short space of time,“ dnata's Divisional Vice President for Airside Operations, Paul Littlejohn said. “There was intense demand for airlines to recoup revenue through cargo-in-cabin operations and we needed to be in a position to provide safe and effective ground handling services quickly. Our teams delivered innovative, efficient solutions at great speed while never letting our safety standards drop. We continue to work hard to consistently provide the highest level of service and safety to all of our airline customers, every day.”

Harald Gloy looks forward to 5 more years in office

Lufthansa Cargo’s Supervisory Board voted on 8MAR21 both to extend Harald Gloy’s (48) contract as Executive Board Member and Chief Operations Officer for another 5 years, as well as expand his area of responsibility. His contract will run until 31DEC26, and alongside his ongoing responsibility for Operations, since 01MAR21, he now also has the role of Chief Human Resources Officer. This is due to the Cargo Executive Board having been restructured. Human Resources and Procurement therefore also fall under his responsibility.

Harry Hohmeister, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of Lufthansa Cargo AG, declared: “We are very pleased that with Harald Gloy we will have an outstanding appointment to the Operations and Human Resources departments at Lufthansa Cargo for another five years.” Gloy, an industrial engineer, joined Lufthansa Technik in 1999, where he held a number of different management positions before being appointed Chief Operations Officer and moving to Lufthansa Cargo AG on 01JAN19.

Brigitte Gledhill

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