SHORT SHOTS

And then there were two!
Last weekend, just 2 months after kicking off with cargo rather than the initially planned passenger operations, and inducting the first of its four aircraft (CFG reported - https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2021/11/28/short-shots/), the colorful new airline, flypop, celebrated the addition of a second aircraft, thus doubling its cargo capacities. London Stansted Airport’s Diamond Hangar was transformed into a party location to welcome the Airbus A330. The airline has its headquarters there. Flightradar shows recent flight rotations between Hong Kong, Anchorage, and Los Angeles, however, given that flypop has been working in partnership with the Malta-based Hi Fly airline to provide cargo capacity on in demand routes. No destinations have yet been published for the second plane’s cargo operations, though flypop is looking forward to an active 2022. It plans add another two aircraft for cargo operations, and is looking to finally get going with the passenger flights the airline was initially launched to offer. The original vision: to be the first carbon neutral, low-cost airline and offer affordable flights between the UK and India. Passenger destinations under consideration include Amritsar, Hyderabad, Goa, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Chandigarh.

(Nino) Navdip Singh Judge, CEO & Principal of flypop, commented: “Fantastic to see our second flypop aircraft in the skies and especially here at our UK base at London Stansted Airport and flying over my house. flypop is now a revenue generating airline and we look forward to continuing to grow our fleet of aircraft throughout 2022 for both cargo and passenger operations. We expect a surge in demand for low-cost flights to India from the UK from Q2 onwards.”

Omicron delays at Frankfurt Airport
Just days after we published an opinion piece on the Omicron risks to cargo handling (https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2022/01/17/omicron-is-a-threat-to-the-air-cargo-industry/), Frankfurt Airport publishes an alert on its website (21JAN22): “Due to staff shortages in the ground handling sector caused by the current Omicron virus variant, flight disruptions, extended waiting times for passengers and cancellations can be expected at Frankfurt Airport. Please check the status of your flight before traveling to the airport and allow extra time for your journey. We also recommend that you check in as early as possible for your flight. Information regarding your flight is available on your airline’s website or by calling 01806-FRAINFO (01806-3724636 – flat landline rate of 0.20 euro cents per call; costs of 0.60 euro cents per call from a mobile network within Germany), as well as at www.frankfurt-airport.com” [No comment on the fact that passengers will be charged for the joy of waiting in a telephone queue… bg.]
The notification concentrates wholly on passenger services, yet cargo customers have been sent an email where Fraport apologizes in advance for any inconvenience caused by the limited number of staff available. It alerts them to the fact that, because handling staff will primarily be allocated to working on outbound passenger flights, they can expect delays in cargo and mail deliveries on 22JAN22.
Likely this is not the first of these mails to be expected over the next days and weeks, as Germany faces exploding Omicron figures.

In order to prevent the spread of the virus, and thereby jeopardize operational processes, Frankfurt-based ULD provider DoKaSch TS has posted this statement on its site:

"We have taken a series of safety measures early on to minimize the risk to our employees and to fully ensure our Opticooler supply. Our Customer Service team switched immediately to virtual work from home, and we have a specific focus on our maintenance staff on the ground.
We have further improved our internal procedures and logistics processes to enable quick turn-around times for Opticoolers after a flight while maintaining the well-known highest reliability and service quality."

Green aircraft recycling
Airbus is in the process of creating the first multipurpose “lifecycle” service center in China: a facility where a number of different aircraft types can either be parked, stored, maintained, upgraded, converted, or dismantled and recycled. To this end, it recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the city of Chengdu (as the chosen location), and Tarmac Aerosave, a company with 15 years’ experience in eco-efficient plane dismantling. The facility is planned to cover a surface area of 690,000 m² and to hold 125 aircraft. Airbus’ subsidiary, Satair, will also be located there, and will be tasked with acquiring aircraft that are being phased out and trade and distributing their parts, thus ensuring a full product lifecycle. The MoU is expected to become a formal, signed, industrial cooperation agreement by mid-2022, so that the new center can go into service by the end of 2023, subject to relevant regulatory approvals.
Klaus Roewe, SVP Airbus Customer Services, announced: “This is another concrete contribution to the aviation industry's quest for sustainability, supporting the principle of a circular economy in line with Airbus’ purpose to pioneer sustainable aerospace. This unique center will support the expansion of Airbus’ aviation services while enabling the implementation of China's “Green Industry” strategy. Aircraft phase-out in China is forecast to grow exponentially over the next 20 years. Airbus is committed to investing in the region and this one-stop-shop - a first in China and outside of Europe - will see Airbus well positioned on the Chinese aircraft ‘second life’ services market.”

Canada can now also enjoy GEODIS’ MyParcel services
“With no end in sight for current cross-border e-Commerce trends, it is vital brands today implement international shipping into their operations to meet demand and remain competitive,” Manoj Pankaj, Vice President of Cross-border e-Commerce/B2C Shipping at GEODIS in Americas, details. “With the expansion of GEODIS MyParcel into Canada, we are enabling our customers to further strengthen their international presence and growth potential by accessing a new, rapidly growing market.”
Canada is the latest country in GEODIS’ MyParcel service portfolio. MyParcel is a direct-to-customer intercontinental delivery service, that was first introduced in 2020, offering a small parcel delivery service from the U.S. to 27 European countries to combat the long delivery times that were being experienced through the explosion in e-commerce traffic during the pandemic. The press release cites eMarketer figures for Canada which report a 75% growth in e-Commerce retail in 2020, making it the second fastest-growing market in the world. “Canadian e-Commerce sales are predicted to top $500 billion in 2022,” it goes on to say.
“Ultimately, GEODIS MyParcel is designed to offer the right balance between speed and price at a transparent, total landed cost,” Pankaj explains. “As a result of GEODIS’ end-to-end global transportation network, fully integrated digital platform and deep e-Commerce expertise across a team of logistics professionals, GEODIS MyParcel provides domestic e-Commerce brands with a simple way to go global.” That “go global” goal has now been partially achieved with the go-live in Canada, as the first of further countries in the future.

time:matters turns 20 and it’s time to party!
The company is celebrating in style with a specially created anniversary website: www.time-matters.com/20years/. This not only provides all kinds of interesting video and article material regarding the company, but also invites everyone to participate in a Birthday prize. What began as a Lufthansa Cargo spin-off in 2002, is today a well-established logistics expert for time-critical express transports. Reason enough to celebrate with a series of events at its European, U.S. and Asian subsidiaries.
According to the press release, “time:matters primarily attributes its continuous growth to its loyal customers and its committed, passionate team of now more than 300 staff. Another key to its success has been its ability to combine industry expertise and a customer-centric approach, setting new standards in the industry.”
Alexander Kohnen, CEO of time:matters, states: “What began 20 years ago with a small team and a focus on the European market has since matured into a global transport provider for time-critical and sensitive shipments. We are very proud of this. But what would a logistics provider be without its customers and partners, with some of whom we have been working together in a spirit of trust for many years? We would also like to say a big thank you to our committed employees, who do their best day in and day out for the company and for our clients around the world. Over all these years, we have continuously developed the range of services we offer and overcome many challenges. We are looking forward to the years ahead. After all, there’s still a lot we want to achieve.” That includes ensuring that its customers enjoy innovative, digital, sustainable and highly efficient transport solutions across the globe.

Atlas Air continues to fly for SF Group
“We are very pleased to extend our strong partnership with SF,” John W. Dietrich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, declares. “SF is a key player in the growing express and e-commerce markets, and we look forward to supporting their rapid global expansion. We value the opportunity to continue providing the superior, reliable service that SF and its customers expect of Atlas.”
The Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. subsidiary, Atlas Air recently signed an agreement with China’s leading express service provider between China and the United States, SF Group (SF), to continue operating a Boeing 747-400 Freighter on its behalf between China and the U.S.: a service that it has provided since 2018 to the Shenzhen, Guangdong-based company. The world’s fourth largest express provider in terms of market capitalization, continues to rapidly expand its network. “Our partnership with Atlas Air supports our network between China and the U.S. to further integrate our high-quality transport capacity resources to shorten delivery times,” an SF spokesperson stated.

AFKLMP and Envirotainer working together for greener logistics
Sustainability is a joint responsibility. Air France KLM Martinair Cargo and Envirotainer have announced that they will be collaborating to intensify their focus on the sustainable air transport of pharmaceuticals. Both companies follow clear sustainability strategies, and have listed a number of measures by which they aim to achieve cleaner, more environmentally friendly operations. For its part, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has approved the Envirotainer’s Releye® container, which delivers up to 90% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to available passive solutions. The container is being integrated as a selectable product in its booking system.
Envirotainer, on the other hand, will be investing in Sustainable Aviation Fuel and thus aim to reduce the impact of the use of its containers on the environment. “SAF offers a cleaner alternative for conventional jet fuel. SAF is produced from sustainable feedstock, such as cooking oil, animal waste or solid waste from homes and businesses. It reduces CO2 emissions by up to 85%, when compared to conventional jet fuel. The reduction occurs throughout the entire lifecycle of producing and using sustainable aviation fuel compared to that of fossil fuel,” the press release explains.
“We are very happy that a close partner of ours since many years keeps delivering top quality service and secures that the pharmaceutical industry, together with us, provides further capacity of latest technology,” Don Harrison, Head of Global Key Accounts, Airlines at Envirotainer, says.
Marcel Kuijn, Global Head of Pharmaceutical Logistics at AFKLMP Cargo states: “We really appreciate our long-term partnership with Envirotainer. Sustainability and Pharmaceuticals are among our strategic focus areas. That is why this initiative is of such great importance to us.”

Brigitte Gledhill

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