

The Pressure is on for the Fourth Quarter, TIACA warns
In fact, the pressure has never been off these past 18 months, as the industry has dealt with challenge after challenge: Pandemic, flight groundings, e-commerce booms, ad hoc PPE transports,
ever-changing restrictions and regulations, and then typhoons, strikes, lack of staff across many airports (particularly within China) leading to shifts in supply chains to alternative airports,
and on top of all that; major disruption and delays in the sea freight industry, pushing even more cargo onto an already critically tight air cargo capacity situation. And now with the pressure
cooker of Black Friday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, et al, in what is normally a peak season anyhow, TIACA warns “that the industry is facing unprecedented challenges to deal with expected
fourth quarter demand for air cargo services,” encourages shippers to cooperate early on with forwarders to secure required capacities, and urges authorities to facilitate movement:
“Governments are urged to fast-track ad hoc charter permits and consider supporting 7th freedom regimes where they are being implemented. States are also urged to work with industry
representatives to identify in advance potential system blockages in order for them to be addressed before they further impact supply chains. Supply chain disruptions are already being
experienced in certain markets and the situation is projected to worsen.” The answers lie in data sharing, planning, preparing contingency plans for all eventualities, communication, and
close, quick cooperation.
Steven Polmans, TIACA Chairman commented “TIACA's membership is drawn from all sectors of the supply chain and we are hearing concerns expressed by each sector. Air cargo has played a vital
role these past 18 months and is facing a potentially record fourth quarter, but planning must start now. Resourcing and capacity will be issues, handling and facility space will be an issue,
delivery and drivers will be an issue. We should be proud of the innovative, agile and flexible approaches adopted by the industry these past 18 months and now we must equally rise proactively to
these new challenges as the weight of customer expectations mount.”

DSV opens Gigantic Gauteng Headquarters
Africa’s largest, integrated logistics center was inaugurated on 23SEP21. DSV’s new headquarters, DSV Park Gauteng, near O.R. Tambo International Airport between Johannesburg and Pretoria in
South Africa, is a centralized facility aimed at providing seamless service to customers and creating a stronger, more efficient logistics network in and for South Africa. Spanning around 130,000
m², the facility houses DSV’s entire supply chain solutions management, from first to last mile. It houses a 79,000 m² logistics warehouse, a 41,000 m² cross-dock facility, and 10,000 m²of office
space, and includes DSV’s Air & Sea, Road, Solutions, and Shared Services divisions. The inauguration was held as a virtual ceremony today, hosted by DSV Africa CEO, Keith Pienaar, who
states: “The inauguration of DSV Park Gauteng once again underlines DSV's strong commitment to South Africa and our will to grow the business in the region. DSV Park Gauteng consolidates
several smaller offices and warehouses around Johannesburg into one large, modern logistics center. The foundation of our values and culture is to promote an inclusive workforce and sustainable
business practices. One consolidated facility will enhance collaboration and offer truly integrated supply chain solutions for our clients and customers. With DSV Park Gauteng, DSV has developed
a large-scale modern logistics center which captures the essence of our consolidation strategy to create larger and more efficient facilities, enabling us to have many of our business units
together under one single roof.”
Brian Almind Winther, EVP and Head of Group Property, DSV, added: “We have packed the new DSV facility with solutions such as an innovative sorter that can handle 12,000 packages every single
hour. Throughout the whole building process, we have also utilized our global experience to construct buildings where sustainability and resource optimization have been fundamental in all
processes.” Those sustainability measures include biometrics, solar power, translucent roof sheeting, recycling stations, LED motion lighting, boreholes and water filtration systems – all
designed to reduce environmental impact. Also, local contractors and the community were involved in the development of DSV Park Gauteng.
Construction is underway in Cape Town, too, where the DSV Park Cape Town
logistics center in the Western Cape, close to Cape Town International Airport, its harbor and industrial and commercial hubs, will also serve to further strengthen the South African logistics
network.

CargoAi enables total rate overivew with new module
CargoAi has launched an industry-first with it new Rate Management functionality. It is what airlines, GSAs and forwarders alike have been asking for ever since the air cargo digital solutions
platform came into being: the possibility to view and manage all their rates in one place: street, contract, spot, interlines, etc. The clear overview greatly facilitates decision processes and
leads to considerable efficiency gains, for both freight forwarders and carriers. The new Rate Management module also includes a “Booking Request” functionality, so that freight forwarders can
also make an e-booking request directly via the platform to all airlines. “On the freight forwarding side, detailed cargo capacity booking requests with flight, dimensions and rates are sent
to any airline or GSA via a standardized e-mail (or FFR in booking systems). For airlines and GSAs who don't have eBooking API available, this new functionality allows them to still achieve
e-Bookings and thereby benefit from the advantages of a digital distribution process: simplicity, time saving and cost reduction,” the press release reveals. “This is made possible
thanks to CargoAi's unique and complete live schedule solutions that provides the most accurate schedule data in Air Cargo and has been the backbone for the eQuote (Spot) requests
functionality.”
Matthieu Petot, CargoAi’s CEO, explains: “Like all the features we are launching, Rate Management with the integrated Booking Request option is a further step towards the digitalization of
the entire air cargo distribution and procurement process. We developed it following feedback from users of www.CargoAi.co, who are seeking services which have a direct impact on their bottom
line, while having a much better visibility and ability to manage their booking requests. Airlines and GSAs can still modify, confirm or reject a booking.”

Feeport offers Automated Customs Clearance for Parcels
Feeport is an eCommerce logistics tech company based in Estonia, which offers a next generation X7trade platform, a neutral cross-border e-commerce SaaS platform for B2B and B2C supply chain
members, used to automate import declarations and speed up customs clearance. It recently signed on its first global parcel and logistics service provider: EKLT Ltd. the authorized service
contractor for UPS in Estonia. In using Feeport’s platform, ELKT has hugely sped-up its customs clearance process of bulk low-value (under 150 EUR) eCommerce goods imported into Estonia, as
Marina Nikitina, Management Board Member at EKLT ltd, confirmed: “With X7trade platform, life got easier both in our warehouse as well as in the back-office. Firstly, we freed our warehouse
of low-value ecommerce parcels which no longer pile up like they used to.” The release of parcels from the warehouse increased by 70% already after the first day of using the new system,
which also led to a huge reduction in customers calling to find out the status of their shipment, since most parcels are now delivered the next day. “Secondly, it is all about the
efficiency,” she continued. “With X7trade, it now takes 5 to 10 minutes to declare our entire daily volume of low-value ecommerce parcels arriving by plane to Tallinn airport. Were we to
do this manually, we would have to hire at least four people to perform this monotonous task on a daily basis.” She refers to the new EU VAT eCommerce Package, which came into effect on
01JUL21, removing VAT exemption on imported goods valued under 22EUR, and which was the trigger for the development on the X7trade platform.
Co-Founders and Board Member of Feeport, Egor Paanukoski, explained “When we built the X7trade platform, we did so with a holistic view of the supply chain, taking into account all
stakeholders, regulations, and variables. Therefore, we not only deliver time-savings solutions for logistics service providers, but we do so in a way that is energy efficient, completely
compliant on all sides, and improves the entire supply chain, down to the end-customers who receive their packages in a faster and more secure way.”

GEODIS’ AirDirect is getting bigger
OCT21 will see GEODIS’ AirDirect Europe-Asia connection being expanded as a twice-weekly service between London Stansted (STN) via Amsterdam (AMS) to Hong Kong (HKG) and back (STN/AMS) joins its
schedule. With this, GEODIS points out, “APAC customers will have access to almost 80 percent of European destinations within 24 hours,” and will be deploying its new A330-300
full-freighter for some of the flights. Aimed at increasing pharmaceutical, high tech, and retail traffic, the new service offers AirFast, AirFlex, and AirSave services along with much needed
guaranteed capacity, and, in combination with its Asian road network, connects more APAC origins to markets in Europe and the Americas. GEODIS is concentrating heavily on growing its APAC
business, offering cross-border trucking along the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok axis, and multi-modal gateway services beyond these hubs.
Onno Boots, President and Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, GEODIS, commented: “The strength of our network in Europe plays a critical role in driving our growth in APAC. Opening up new
and in-demand routes to better address our customers’ needs is a pivotal element of our aim to increase our footprint in growth markets. Our business in APAC has seen steady and significant
growth over the past few years and therefore we want to add more routes into our current network.”
“While taking care of our customers’ priorities across the region, it’s very important for us, as a recognized service provider to factor in the demands of end users, who are comprised of
high tech, automotive, and industrial customers,” Chris Cahill, Managing Director, North Asia Sub-Region at GEODIS, added. “Having our own network combined with our recently expanded
logistics facilities gives us unparalleled security and end-to-end control over every aspect of the operation, maintaining optimal conditions for the cargo, but also ensures our customers enjoy
reliable capacity for moving supply parts to production facilities or finished goods to their destinations.”

Atlas Air solidifies integrator partnerships
Atlas Air Worldwide (AAWW) announced last week, that it is now wet-leasing two B747-400 freighters to FedEx. The aircraft are already flying for FedEx, supporting their increasing express and
e-commerce network. The new ACMI (aircraft plus full-time aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) contract signed by the two companies as part of a long-term agreement, comes on top of an
existing multi-year peak season contract to provide FedEx with a minimum of five aircraft during the fourth quarter. John W. Dietrich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air
Worldwide, stated: “We are pleased to grow our long-term relationship with FedEx. This agreement reflects the continued strong demand for airfreight capacity, particularly in the express and
e-commerce markets. Atlas is a leader in supporting express networks, with a focus on operating the most modern, fuel-efficient aircraft to deliver high levels of on-time performance for our
customers.”
Just as week prior, Atlas Air Worldwide also announced the extension of its agreements with DHL Express, to operate 20 freighters – again supporting express and e-commerce markets. The DHL-Atlas
partnership goes back to 2008, and has solidified over the years to include a long-term agreement for six dedicated 747-400Fs to fly key Trans-Pacific routes. Plus, DHL owns 49% of AAWW’s
subsidiary, Polar Air Cargo, since 2006. Atlas Air now operates four different aircraft platforms for DHL Express, including: 6 B747-8 freighters, 2 B747-400 freighters, 8 B777-200 freighters,
and 4 B767-300 freighters. John W. Dietrich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, commented: “DHL Express is a global leader in express and e-commerce, and it is our
privilege to contribute to their continued success. These agreements build on our successful 13-year partnership. We look forward to continuing to provide DHL Express with critical capacity
through our modern, fuel-efficient fleet. As this agreement indicates, Atlas is capitalizing on the strong global airfreight market conditions as we deepen relationships with our
customers.”
“We are pleased to extend our long-standing and valued partnership with Atlas Air,” Rob Hyslop, Executive Vice President Aviation at DHL Express, said. “Continuing to utilize Atlas
and its global operating capabilities enables us to best serve our customers and their continued high demand for fast international shipping, fueled by the megatrend of e-commerce and the overall
importance of global trade.”

ANA Cargo has joined Pharma.Aero
CEIV PHARMA certified since 2017, and the first Japanese airline to be so, ANA Cargo has now also joined Pharma.Aero as a Full Member. “Pharma.Aero welcomes ANA Cargo into our family of
members to exchange and build market knowledge and expertise. Pharma.Aero continues to pursue its vision in achieving reliable end-to-end air transportation of pharma cargo by expanding its
global network and inviting more stakeholders across the pharma air supply chain in our collaborative projects. In the near term, we wish to jointly forge quality pharma trade lanes and develop
new standards and guidelines”, Nathan De Valck, Chairman, Pharma.Aero, announced.
Dai Yuasa, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, ANA Cargo added, “We are very honored to join Pharma Aero, which brings together top global pharma companies, pharma hub airports,
airlines, and forwarders that focus on pharmaceuticals. We are looking forward to making further contributions to the pharma air transport sector. ANA has been focusing on the air transport of
pharmaceuticals. In 2017, ANA became the first Japanese airline to obtain CEIV PHARMA certification. Under current COVID19 situations, air transport plays a more significant social role in the
transportation of vaccines, therapeutic drugs, and PPEs. At the same time, we have to consider sustainability issues. It is important that we continuously improve our services such as
temperature, time, and container management to maintain the quality of each pharma shipment. By participating in Pharma.Aero, ANA hopes to learn and co-operate with those who are leading the
pharma air transportation, so that we can deliver pharma products to the world with higher quality service.”

Daenen is Brussels Airlines’ new Head of Corporate Communications
Reporting directly to Brussels Airlines’ CEO, Peter Gerber, Kim Daenen has succeeded Wencke Lemmes as new Head of Corporate Communications at Brussels Airlines. Wencke Lemmes moved to become Head
of Customer Experience, Product and Marketing on 15MAY21, yet remains responsible for Public Affairs and Lobbying. Kim Daenen has been with the airline since 2009, starting out in its e-commerce
department before moving to Social Media Management, building up its social media communications strategy, and then joining the Corporate Communications department as a Media Relations Manager
and Spokesperson in 2014. Her background includes a Master’s degree in Translation & Business Communication, and a Master’s in Journalism. In her new role, she will be responsible for further
developing the airline’s public relations and communication strategy.
Peter Gerber, CEO Brussels Airlines, commented: “With our turnaround plan REBOOT Plus, a new Brussels Airlines will emerge, in which change will be the one constant. To make this new Brussels
Airlines and the profound investments in our future a success, transparent and extensive communication will be key. We are convinced that Kim is the perfect fit for this challenge and will make
the communications and public relations strategy future-proof.” Kim Daenen, Head of Corporate Communications at Brussels Airlines, stated: “Our company has gone through tremendous change
in recent years and will continue to do so. In the coming months and years, one of our key priorities will be to transparently communicate our sustainability ambitions. Next to this, our focus
will continue to be on our Belgian ambassadorship, our key market Africa and our ongoing improvements and investments to become a structurally sustainable company, offering perspectives to our
employees and stakeholders.”
Brigitte Gledhill
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