SHORT SHOTS

Give us a pull, then!

Eight of Ukraine’s finest and strongest athletes set a national – if not world - record on 26AUG21, when they succeeded in pulling the world’s largest and heaviest plane a total of 4.3 meters in just 73 seconds. No mean feat, given that the unique AN-225 ‘Mriya’ weighed 328 tons (including fuel) that day. The event, which has yet to be applied for as a Guinness World Record, took place two days after the country’s 30th Independence Day, during air show celebrations.

“The record was set at our Kyiv-Antonov home airfield by eight of the strongest athletes in Ukraine, and was certified as a record-breaking move by representatives of the National Register of Records of the country,” Andriy Blagovisniy, Commercial Director, Antonov Airlines, detailed. “Even after more than 30 years of service, Mriya – which means dream – is still keeping her spot in setting both national and world records."

The AN-225 Mriya also participated in a fly-by over the main streets of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, together with other Ukrainian ANTONOV-designed aircraft, such as the STOL transport AN-70, as part of Independence Day celebrations that week. “The AN-225 flight over the center of the capital was one of the highlights of this event because Mriya is the pride of Ukraine, and the largest plane in the world; she impressed everyone watching her demonstration flight,” Dmytro Antonov, Antonov Airlines' Chief Pilot and Captain, who flew the AN-255 that day, said.

It is not the first time Mriya was pulled by strongmen. Back in 2013, a similar event took place where 10 men showed what they were made of, shifting the aircraft in unison. And Brigitte Gledhill would also like to point out, that – as a marginally strong woman – she participated with around 40 Lufthansa Cargo staff back in the late 90’s in Heathrow, in pulling a “slightly lighter and smaller” British Airways B737 100m for charity.

Eastern wants in on the e-commerce pie, launches Eastern Air Cargo

The current climate has triggered two situations that together help to stimulate positive disruption: on the one hand, e-commerce demand has exploded, on the other, the market for second-hand aircraft has never been so good. And so, the U.S.-based carrier, Eastern Airlines LLC, has announced that it has secured the acquisition of 35 B777 aircraft (a mix of 200, -200ER and -300 series,) as feedstock for the “first-ever P2F (Passenger to Freighter) conversion of the B777 aircraft into a true, Class-E cargo aircraft,” (still subject to STC approvals). It is launching “Eastern Air Cargo” and will focus on carrying volumetric express cargo non-stop between Asia and the US. “The Eastern B777 Express Freighter is designed to serve the e-commerce express freight market. Accelerated growth of this market has created excess demand for the service,” the press release reveals. It also states that “the Eastern Express Freighter will not be subject to the restrictions on cargo commodities that are imposed on conventional passenger aircraft used as freighters,” as the aircrafts’ main decks will be converted into “a true cargo aircraft”, so that the full volumetric space can carry low-density, express freight cargo. Future design plans include a palletized loading system and an Express Main Deck cargo door. The first of the Eastern B777 Express Freighters is due to enter service in Q1 2022.

“We are thrilled to offer this service to customers who have struggled to find capacity in the cargo market and to offer a nimble aircraft solution to serve customer needs,” Steve Harfst, Eastern Airlines President and CEO, declared. “This move is not just a game changer for Eastern, it will also transform the industry. Our pioneering conversion method is tailored specifically to meet the needs of express package freight customers. It is more efficient and cost effective allowing us to better serve the exact needs of our customers at a competitive price.” Eastern Air Cargo will offer general cargo sales, cargo charters, ACMI/wet-leasing and dry leasing. “We look forward to customizing Eastern Air Cargo offerings along with our customers to create a truly meaningful opportunity for change in the cargo space,” Harfst added.

GEODIS now has its own freighter

“Our AirDirect service has operated more than 650 air charter flights so far across Asia, Europe, North and Latin America in order to secure capacity for our customer shipments worldwide. The experience gained from these operations has led to the decision to charter our own GEODIS Freighter. This will provide our clients with a reliable schedule of flights, under our operational control, helping them overcome the significant logistical constraints that the market is currently enduring,” Eric Martin-Neuville, Executive Vice President Freight Forwarding of GEODIS, explained what led to the company’s move to have its very own liveried freighter.

GEODIS has signed a long-term lease on an A330-300 full freighter aircraft, bearing the GEODIS brand, which it will be deploying between Amsterdam, London, and Chicago, three times a week, Amsterdam and Hong Kong once a week, as from this month, and is planning to serve the China – Europe route during the upcoming peak season. Having its own freighter also means that GEODIS can carry out fully capacity flights for certain customers as and when these are required.

Marie-Christine Lombard, GEODIS’ CEO, stated: “With the continued strain on airfreight capacity, we wish to ensure a more sustainable supply of air cargo space for our clients and are therefore investing in this, our own, first dedicated freighter. Our aim is to constantly find dependable solutions to secure our clients’ supply chains, which are critical to their business growth.” The freighter is integrated into the GEODIS AirDirect global schedule, all GEODIS products can be booked: GEODIS AirFast, AirSave and AirFlex.

254 apprentices in 33 DACH locations… and a takeover

Gebrüder Weiss appears to succeed where others struggle: getting new talent into the logistics business. 90 apprentices have just begun their formative training in the latest intake. This is a positive increase of 19 on the number of intakes in 2020, despite the pandemic making hiring new staff more difficult and the “subdued mood on the apprentice employment market”, to quote the press release. In total, the company currently has 254 trainees across 33 locations in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, with another 12 in Serbia where the logistics company also supports the development of new experts in other national companies. Hungary also joins the training scope this year, in cooperation with local schools, and five students will soon commence their training to become freight forwarding logistics managers.

Its formular for success? Greater utilization of digital solutions and channels instead of conventional face-to-face (training) events, to spark an interest and engage in a dialog with prospective next generation logistics experts. Gebrüder Weiss also convinces future employees through its good reputation both as a training company and a reliable employer. According to Monika Mandl, Head of Human Resources Development at Gebrüder Weiss: “Job security is a very important factor for young applicants when deciding where they want to work. Gebrüder Weiss stands for sustainable economic success and has done so for generations. The current situation with the coronavirus has given the company the opportunity to prove once again its ability to withstand crises and to continue on its course of growth.”

In other news: Gebrüder Weiss is due to acquire Bavaria, Germany-based Spedition Lode GmbH Lode on 01OCT21, and its Waldkraiburg site, 70 km east of Munich, will be incorporated into the southern German land transport network connecting with Aldingen, Esslingen, Lindau, Memmingen, Nuremberg, and Passau. “Lode's service portfolio is the perfect fit for our land transport network in southern Germany. Aided by the company's employees [60 staff headed by Lode’s previous co-owner, Rüdiger Lode], we will continue to tap the site's potential to consolidate our general cargo network,” Wolfram Senger-Weiss, Chair of the Gebrüder Weiss Management Board, stated, regarding the 100% take-over of the family-owned specialists in land transport, distribution and warehouse logistics, and special services. The new subsidiary will initially trade under the name GW Lode GmbH. “New growth opportunities are opening up for Spedition Lode within the Gebrüder Weiss group. Our customers will benefit from a significantly broader range of services and we can offer our employees new career opportunities,” Rüdiger Lode explained. The acquisition price is not disclosed.

DoKaSch inaugurates new Indian service station

Hyderbad Airport, or more specifically, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo terminal, has been announced as DoKaSch’s latest service station location. Andreas Seitz, Managing Director at DoKaSch Temperature Solutions, explains the decision for the development: “India is a highly relevant location for pharmaceuticals, biosimilars, and biotech, and especially Hyderabad is of outstanding importance. In turn, we decided to open our new service station to complement our extensive network and contribute to a capable cool chain for these products. Not only is the station located at a globally relevant industry hub, but the airport is also used by many of our partner airlines and is well connected to destinations worldwide. We are certain that our new location will play an important role for the global supply with lifesaving pharmaceutical products like vaccines, especially during the ongoing pandemic.”

Mr. Pradeep Panicker, CEO-GMR Hyderabad International Airport concurred, “Hyderabad Air Cargo terminal is the preferred gateway for pharmaceuticals and vaccine movements in the South Asia region and we are very pleased to partner with DoKaSch Temperature Solutions to establish a service station at our Cargo Terminal. The new facility will make the world class DoKaSch Opticooler containers readily and easily accessible to our shared customers who will be assured of ready availability and fast turnaround with our new on-airport container station. With the addition of this facility, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo will be the biggest hub for temperature-controlled air cargo containers in the region.” Staff at the station located within the airport premises, close to forwarders and airlines, ensure the required containers are available and ready for the respective flight. Up to 100 containers can be equipped at the station, and requests for up to 20 containers per day can be easily handled. The airport already has a dedicated pharma export terminal called the ‘Pharma Zone’, and serves the city’s Genome Valley business district which houses some of the largest, most important vaccine producers along with a number of major pharmaceutical companies who export their products to the USA, EU, Japan, and other major countries across the globe.

Brigitte Gledhill

We welcome and publish comments from all authenticated users.