SHORT SHOTS

Finnair Cargo has spun the web to WebCargo

WebCargo’s latest airline partner is Finnair Cargo, whose capacities will soon be digitally bookable by over 2,000 forwarders worldwide. With Finnair, WebCargo ups its service to include more than 22% of the world’s cargo capacities, bringing its lead even further forward. WebCargo already “has the largest aggregation of digital pricing and booking ready airlines”. Starting in the US and Europe, WebCargo customers will have access to instant pricing, guaranteed capacity, and eBooking confirmations on Finnair routes. Finnair’s move to Digital Air Cargo comes with the accelerated focus on digitalization in recent months and the requirement for fast on-demand global supply chains, along with greater efficiency and transparency. WebCargo benefits from Finnair’s specialization in shipping pharma and perishables.
Karri Kauppi, Head of Revenue Management & Pricing, Finnair Cargo said: “At Finnair Cargo, we have always been committed to seek new opportunities to ease our customers’ daily work. Through our partnership with WebCargo, we look forward to offering forwarders real-time availability of our network between US, Europe and Asia.”
Manel Galindo, CEO of WebCargo, stated: “Providing our forwarders with diverse airline carriers to suit their varied shipping needs has always been a priority for WebCargo. We’re thrilled to partner with Finnair Cargo, a carrier known for embracing digital air cargo solutions. Together, we’re excited about making global freight booking more efficient and reliable for carriers, forwarders, and end shippers.”

Flex Air Cargo is a new cargo charter airline in the Czech Republic

Three pilots, a cargo expert and a lawyer got together during the pandemic and decided to launch a cargo charter start-up, Flex Air Cargo, registered in Prague, Czech Republic. It was officially launched in March this year and last week began flying with A330-200 and A330-300 preighters. The website is somewhat sparse, with no mention of the aircraft types on offer, or specific destinations. However, it promises a wide range of commodity services, apparently to anywhere in the world. The initial idea was to focus on e-commerce and medical shipments. With the ongoing capacity shortage,  “Flex Air Cargo is a Czech company providing charter flights for the transport of air cargo with a volume of up to 106 metric tons per flight worldwide. Our company is based on the principles of providing reliable, tailormade and effective solutions to our clients. In today's growing global economy, a well-grounded logistics chain is essential. We provide air freight worldwide. We offer charter flights based on short-term or long-term cooperation. We partner with an extensive network of suppliers, to ensure effortless cargo transportation. Our diverse management has extensive experience in air transport and freight.”

Atlas and Polar chill with their new CEIV Pharma certificates

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. announced 13MAY21, that its companies Atlas Air, Inc. and Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc. are now both certified according to the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Corporate Pharma credential from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This confirms that they are both able to transport pharmaceutical products in the correct and safe manner stipulated by pharma manufacturers. Their certification which is valid through to 2024 was approved after a strict audit to ensure that standard operating procedures are adhered to and all staff are trained accordingly. The two airlines are now “even better positioned to deliver the best form of safe transportation for their valued pharma and medical customers around the world.”

Michael T. Steen, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide explained: “Even as the COVID-19 pandemic has added unrelenting operational complexities to our business, our employees around the world are dedicated to meeting and exceeding our customers’ needs in transporting sensitive medical and pharmaceutical products. This CEIV Pharma certification reinforces the flexibility and reliability of our outstanding team, unrivaled portfolio of assets and scale of our global network.”

Lars Winkelbauer, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, said: “Polar’s CEIV Pharma certification affirms the company’s long-standing track record for successfully transporting temperature-sensitive goods like produce and other perishable commodities. I am immensely proud of the Polar team for achieving this industry-leading certification, underscoring our ability to maintain end-to-end temperature-controlled shipments across our network. With the increase in demand for cold-chain transportation tied to vaccines and the equipment needed for safe distribution, our customers can continue to rely on Polar’s expertise around the world.”

Out of this world!

EU-based full-service ACMI lessor, SmartLynx Airlines Malta, announced on 13MAY21, that its A320 and A321 fleet would soon be expanded with the addition of 5 converted A330 aircraft, leased to SmartLynx by CDB Aviation. SmartLynx Airlines’ business goal is to “become the leader of the long-haul market,” and to take advantage of the increasing demand yet current lack of cargo capacity. Due to arrive in MAY21 and JUN21, the 5 aircraft are currently undergoing removal of their passenger seats and being modified to Zero LOPA (just as two of its A321 units were earlier this year, when SmartLynx became one of the first carriers to introduce A321F to operations). The converted A330s will have a volume capacity of 260 m3 and a maximum cargo weight of 50,000 kg. The long-haul Europa, Asia, and US commodity focus includes vaccines and medical supplies, thus the timing for the second half of the year is perfect.

“As one of the leading EU-based ACMI and charter operators on Airbus aircraft, we are excited to substantially grow our fleet and offer our clients different products while diving to long-haul operations. The addition of the modified Airbus A330 aircraft is a big step forward for SmartLynx Airlines and we are more than excited to see what challenges and victories it will bring,” Zygimantas Surintas, CEO of SmartLynx Airlines, commented, going on to say: “We understand that eventually the long-haul cargo market will return to the pre-Covid levels, so SmartLynx Airlines plan to return the Airbus A330 aircraft to operate on long-haul passenger flights once that time comes. We believe that our low-cost structure and great efficiency will allow us to create competition to market veterans.”

CDB Aviation Chief Marketing Officer, Peter Goodman, commented: “We are pleased to partner with SmartLynx Airlines to support their expansion in the cargo market. We commend the SmartLynx Airlines team for recognising opportunities to expand their global footprint by incorporating the A330 aircraft into their fleet.”

Kuehne+Nagel purchases Apex and is transpacific market leader

Kuehne+Nagel announced last week that it had completed the acquisition of one of Asia’s biggest freight forwarders, Apex International Corporation, rendering it the market leader on the transpacific route. Apex, which excels in e-commerce fulfilment, hi-tech and e-mobility, made over 2 billion euros in turnover in 2020, generating a gross profit of over 270 million euros and ranking seventh in terms of global air freight forwarding volume. That success has continued into 2021, with turnover in the first quarter exceeding 507 million euros. The transaction agreement saw those revenues already being entered on Kuehne+Nagel’s books since 01JAN21, though the full financial statement consolidation will happen following the actual closing date of the transaction. Purchase for around 1 billion euros, financed by the Group’s own funds and approximately 750,000 new Kuehne+Nagel shares issued out of authorized share capital, Kuehne+Nagel now owns the majority of the shares in Apex, with the option to acquire all remaining shares in Apex over the next three years, based on performance. Until then, a minority participation and rights remains with the Apex management, and its existing, experienced management team of Apex will continue to run the company, supported by the global network, capabilities, and solutions of the Kuehne+Nagel Group.

Dr. Joerg Wolle, Chairman of Kuehne+Nagel International AG, said: “With the acquisition of Apex, Kuehne+Nagel complements its successful organic growth strategy and substantiates its strong position as one of the world’s largest logistics providers. With this transaction we are expanding the Group’s service offering, networks and potential for growth, in Asia and globally.”

Brigitte Gledhill

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