SHORT SHOTS

More movement over at Air France-KLM
In the same week that the CMA CGM-AFKLM announcement literally rocked the boat in the air cargo industry (CFG reported: https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2022/05/18/cma-cgm-and-af-klm-get-married/), the next surprise followed hard on its heels that same day in a stock exchange statement issued by InterGlobe Aviation, IndiGo’s parent company. It revealed a top management change at IndiGo: Ronojoy Dutta, the airline’s current CEO, will step down on 30SEP22 and Pieter Elbers, Air France-KLM’s President and CEO, will take his place the next day, if the regulatory bodies consent. “He succeeds Ronojoy Dutta, 71, who has decided to retire on September 30, 2022, after guiding IndiGo through the turbulent Covid-19 period,” the statement announces, though some media speculate that Dutta handed in his resignation following an Indian aviation regulator investigation into an IndiGo incidence wherein the airline refused to allow a disabled teenage boy to fly for fear that he might cause a disturbance and become a safety threat. The regulator found that IndiGo was in the wrong. That said, the airline has seen much turbulence in its management levels since its billionaire co-founder, Rahul Bhatia, became Managing Director in FEB22, and has very traditionalist ideas about running the company. According to an aviation expert, Dutta and Bhatia did not see eye to eye, with the former being the greater visionary with regard to diversity in company structure. Remains to be seen, how Pieter Elbers will get along with Rahul Bhatia. The latter announced: “India promises to be the last bastion of ginormous growth globally and given Mr. Elbers' deep understanding of the business, his legendary leadership qualities coupled with his energy and passion, we are ever so confident that under his stewardship, IndiGo will play a pivotal role in this growth opportunity,” and Pieter Elbers confirmed that “I am delighted to become a part of the next stage of IndiGo's incredible journey, further fulfilling the vision of what the airline can do and will be for its customers and for India.”
Pieter Elbers will leave KLM Royal Dutch Airlines on 01JUL22, already. He began his career there as an aircraft loading supervisor at Schiphol Airport in 1992, working his way up the company with overseas posts in Japan, Greece, and Italy, before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2011, followed by his current position in 2014. He was instrumental in getting KLM to sign with SkyTeam. It appears now that he has secured the marriage between CMA CGM and Air France-KLM, that it is time to test new waters after 30 years.

Using 8 million liters of the first SAF to be produced at scale in the UK
This year will see Kuehne+Nagel and IAG Cargo obtaining 8 million liters of the first Sustainable Aviation Fuel produced at scale in the UK. Made from sustainable waste feedstocks, such as used cooking oil and food waste, the SAF will be sourced from Phillips 66 Limited’s Humber Refinery in Lincolnshire, England. The two companies will thus succeed in reducing emissions by around 18,300 tons of CO2; “the equivalent of 150 British Airways flights between London and New York,” the press release explains, and goes on to point out that “IAG was the first European airline group to commit to 10% of its fuel to be SAF by 2030.” In this regard, it already collaborated with Kuehne+Nagel in 2021, operating a charter chain of 16 flights from Stuttgart to Atlanta. Kuehne+Nagel also follows a focused sustainability drive and was the first air logistics provider to offer customers sustainable fuel option for all shipments back in NOV21. To date, Kuehne+Nagel has sourced 21 million liters of SAF for the benefit and choice of its customers to reduce the CO2 emissions of their shipments. The company has two main goals; 1) since 2020 it has been working to become fully carbon neutral in its direct sphere of influence, and 2) it aims to achieve carbon neutrality for its suppliers’ and customers’ footprint by the end of 2030.
John Cheetham, Chief Commercial Officer at IAG Cargo commented: “Sustainable aviation fuels are supporting the industry to significantly lower carbon emissions and we know reducing carbon footprint is important for our customers, colleagues, and partners. I’m delighted that we are once again collaborating with Kuehne+Nagel. This is an important next step in our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment. Partnerships like these are key as we continue to look at ways to support sustainable air cargo.”
Yngve Ruud, Member of the Management Board of Kuehne+Nagel, responsible for Air Logistics, added: “We continue to prioritize measures that facilitate a transition to a low-carbon business model, ours, and our customers'. By securing another significant amount of Sustainable Aviation Fuel together with IAG Cargo, we are reaffirming our commitment to the long-term transformation of the industry and readiness to drive it.”

dnata’s USD 1.7 million face-lift for cargo at Erbil International Airport
Next year, CargoForwarder Global will be reporting on dnata’s new cargo warehouse over in Erbil, Iraq, if all goes as currently planned. dnata is investing USD 1.7 million in the warehouse at Erbil International Airport (EBL), which is expected to open in 2023, and have an annual cargo handling capacity of 100,000 tons – not only good news for the 25 airlines that it handles there, but also five times the amount the company processed at the airport in 2021. Pharma and other temperature-sensitive goods are in particular focus, and dnata has already invested USD 3.5 million in a state-of-the-art cool chain facility as well as a bus maintenance facility for its fleet of eighteen buses at the airport. The additional USD 14 million are going into the construction of a 16,000 m² cargo warehouse. It will be equipped with the latest technologies, and all efforts will be made to ensure sustainable operations through, for example, water harvesting, low energy lighting, and all-electric forklifts. Once completed, the three new facilities together will open up around 100 additional local positions within dnata. Not only that, but dnata’s successful local implementation of its OneCargo system means that long-winded manual check-sheets and other labor-intensive processes are a thing of the past. “OneCargo automates key business and operational functions, including safety and quality monitoring, reporting, and ULD management, with an integrated, cloud-based platform. AI-driven tools and analytics provide enhanced visibility on sales and business performance, allowing customers to match real-time demand with available capacity for maximum profitability,” the press release explains.
Tom Alwyn-Jones, Managing Director of dnata Erbil, stated: “Our latest investment in three new facilities will help us further expand and improve our operations in Erbil as demand for reliable and safe cargo services is on the rise across the region. I thank my colleagues for their hard work and our partners for their support and trust in our services. We continue to go the extra mile to consistently deliver superior quality and be the best in everything we do.”

Avianca Cargo puts its ULDs into Jettainer’s hands
The Bogota, Columbia-based cargo airline, Avianca Cargo has signed a 5-year agreement with Jettainer, giving the ULD management company full pallet management und maintenance responsibility. With this latest tender, Jettainer has succeeded in expanding its network in the Americas. The contract stipulates that Jettainer will provide various pallet types to Aviance Cargo, in line with the requirements of its growing freighter fleet. In addition, the entire management, maintenance, and repair operations will be carried out by a dedicated team based in Dallas, Texas. Juan Cruz Correa, COO at Avianca Cargo, said: “In Avianca Cargo, we are committed to continually strengthening our operation. We are focused on efficiency, providing our customers with reliable, agile, and synchronized operations. Having Jettainer as a partner reaffirms our dedication to deliver the best service to our customers within the industry’s highest standards.”
The airline operates over 200 freighter flights every week, deploying a fleet of eleven A330-F, B767, and A300F aircraft and serving more than 65 destinations across the Americas and Europe. It particularly specializes in the transport of cut flowers from Latin America to North America and carried more than 16,000 tons of flowers in this year’s Valentine season, alone. “Avianca Cargo is considered one of the most experienced airlines in the Latin American air freight industry,” Jettainer’s press release underlines.
Jettainer Americas Inc. Shailendar Kothari, Managing Director at Jettainer Americas Inc., stated: “We are happy to add Avianca Cargo to our roster of customers. Our goal is to achieve additional growth in the Americas and to further expand our position as market leader by offering outstanding service and deploying our innovative solutions.”

Korean Air Premia selects local ECS Group subsidiary as GSA
“If it looks good, it’ll likely taste good”. The ECS Group’s press release announcing the partnership between the Seoul-based, hybrid-service carrier (HSC: meaning a low-cost carrier offering a high standard of service), Air Premia, and its newly founded subsidiary, GAC Korea, quoted that Korean proverb: “bogi joeun tteogi meokgido jota” based on the quality of rice cakes [tteok] to illustrate the well-functioning cooperation between the two Korean companies. The relatively new airline (2017), Air Premia, branched out into international cargo in DEC21 with an initial flight to Singapore, and has since been expanding its network alongside plans to grow its fleet by two B787-9 aircraft every year until 2025, to a total of ten in 2026, by which time it also plans to operate wide-body freighters.
Air Premia currently operates P2C flights twice weekly to Singapore (SIN), and flies twice a week to Ho Chi Minh (SGN), Vietnam. It is now gearing towards flights to Los Angeles (LAX), U.S.A, and Narita (NRT), Japan, in August 2022, where ECS Group will also represent it as a GSA. Korea has been assisting the airline with Mango B787-9 charters between ICN and Bangkok (BKK) since 06 March 2022, with a total of 22 operations planned every Tuesday and Sunday until 22 May 2022. As the airline’s Cargo General Sales Agency, GAC Korea fulfils carries out its cargo sales and reservations, and ensures the handling of regular and full charter flights. Both companies are based at Incheon International Airport (ICN), Seoul, Korea.
H.E. Shin, CEO of Globe Air Cargo Korea, explained: “GAC Korea and Air Premia truly act as one team, since we have been there from the start of its inaugural passenger to cargo (P2C) flight out of Seoul to Singapore on 24 December 2021. We are proud to have the opportunity to support Air Premia at its homebase, as its very first GSA since the airline was established in 2017. As part of the world's largest integrated GSSA, we look forward to driving Air Premia's success as it expands its network. We particularly welcome the launch of Air Premia's Los Angeles route in August 2022, not only because it will be the first HSC in Korea to incorporate a U.S. destination, but also because ECS Group will be opening an office in Los Angeles (LAX), too, to manage sales out of the North and South America. In that respect, thanks to Air Premia's network, ICN is an important hub for ECS Group.”

TAP Air Cargo selects AIA Cargo as its GSSA
Airbridge International Agencies (AIA) Cargo has begun GSSA operations for TAP Air Cargo last Monday, 16MAY22. Out of the UK, TAP Air Cargo operates 93 weekly flights from London Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, and Dublin, totaling a weekly air capacity of 160 tons. “We are delighted to welcome TAP Cargo further into the AIA family. Having worked with TAP recently in South America we are delighted to have the chance to prove ourselves within the UK and Ireland. TAP Cargo offers our forwarding clients important gateways via its Lisbon hub into Africa, North and South America plus strategic European hubs,” Mark Andrew CEO Airbridge International Agencies group, commented. “TAP chose AIA Cargo because we are convinced that AIA has the potential to develop our UK and Ireland markets. AIA Cargo’s professional set up allows TAP Cargo products to be further promoted to increase our sales,” Bruno Aires, Global Cargo Senior Director TAP Cargo, explained.
Alongside the airline’s UK destinations, it also serves more than 30 countries around the world. Both AIA and TAP Cargo share an ambition to provide top quality customer service and solutions. AIA will cater to TAP’s extensive range of cargo products and capacity on both passenger and cargo aircraft. In 2021, the airline operated more than 1,800 weekly flights, transported 83,317 tons of cargo, and served 340 airports.

AFKLMP has a new address in Frankfurt
Air France KLM Martinair Cargo moved into its new offices at Frankfurt Airport, together with the Air France-KLM Passenger division to realize synergies that go hand in hand with the Group's sustainability goals. During the official opening ceremony on 19 May 2022, Peter Visser (Director Cargo Germany & Austria) and Carl Schelleman (General Manager Germany), Adriaan den Heijer, (EVP Air France KLM Martinair Cargo), Marloes van Laake (VP Cargo Europe), Henri de Peyrelongue (EVP Commercial Sales Air France-KLM) and Barry ter Voert (SVP Europe Air France-KLM) cut the ribbon, opening the airline’s new domicile officially.
The new, state-of-the-art office is located in Gateway Garden, St Exupery building. It is only a stone throw away from FRA Terminal 2 where the AF and KL flights are handled. Previously, the carrier’s freight division was based in the airport's CargoCity South.
Gerard Roelfzema, Communication & Press Officer, Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo, commented: “AFKLMP Cargo is an important logistics partner for the German automotive industry and, together with its SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines, a leading carrier for freight to North America, and the same applies, together with Martinair, to our offer to South America.”
Frankfurt is the most important destination for the airline in Germany, where the bulk of its cargo shipments is consolidated and trucked for departure to Paris or Amsterdam.

HS

When cargo is the key deciding factor for the destination airport
Interesting to learn, recently, that the low-cost Norwegian start-up carrier, founded in Arendal, Norway, in FEB21 and planning to begin operations on 14JUN22 (later than originally intended), is factoring cargo into its decision plans. The carrier which has a leased fleet of nine B787-900, is due to operate long-haul flights out of Oslo to four destinations in the U.S.: Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York City, and Orlando. Paris and London are also planned over in Europe. Norse’s business concept is based on connecting to secondary airports, yet it recently opted to shift its planned operations from New York Stewart (SWF) to the primary airport, John F. Kennedy (JFK), stating the reason for its decision that it aims to offer cargo capacity on its passenger routes and that SWF is currently not in a position to handle the predicted volumes. The question arises as to whether its business model of low-cost, long-haul passenger tickets will still work if it faces higher operating costs through this decision. Though in a statement, Norse opined: “Cargo will be a significant part of our inbound revenues, consequently enabling us to offer affordable fares to our customers.”
There is no information on its website as to cargo or cargo bookings, however it recently announced on LinkedIn, that it has selected Kales Group as its global Total Cargo Management partner/GSSA, thus effectively outsourcing all its cargo operations from sales through to admin and operations. On the U.S. side, HAE Group will be Kales Group’s counterpart. Andrew Hodges, Chief Commercial Officer at Norse Atlantic Airways stated: “We are very happy to have selected the Kales Group as our TCM partner. Cargo is an important part of the Norse Atlantic Airways business model, and we intend to focus on opportunities within this sector as we continue to grow our international route network.”
Sebastiaan Scholte, CEO of Kales Group, announced: “We are very pleased and honored to be awarded this TCM contract for Norse Atlantic Airways. It is an honor to be able to set up the whole cargo department from scratch. We are thrilled to be part of the start of such a promising airline as Norse and we look forward to contributing to their future growth and success.” Steve Hughes, Managing Director for Wexco UK, the fully owned subsidiary of Kales Group that will be Norse’s direct project contact, added: “We are convinced that with our extensive knowledge and network we will make this a great joint success. The network of destinations of Norse will be a welcome addition to our current portfolio.”

Brigitte Gledhill

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