Billion Dollar News Capsules

Active Airline Representatives – the exclusive Dutch member of the EGSAC Cargo GSSA network – has been appointed to represent Saudi Airlines Cargo Company in the Netherlands with effect from August 16th. The airline previously handled its own sales in Holland.

Austrian Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary has commenced operations. The new company is now marketing all freight capacities of both airlines in Austria. Freight activities in all other countries have been amalgamated under the management of Lufthansa Cargo. Lufthansa Cargo Chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr expressed his satisfaction with the start of cooperation with the Austrian carrier: "Through the successful integration of Austrian Cargo, our joint customers will profit from extensive connections in the eastern Europe growth region as well as access to the entire product portfolio and electronic booking channels of Lufthansa Cargo," said Spohr. "Staff from both companies have worked hard on shaping cooperation between the two airlines in recent months. We intend to expand our position in Austria in the long term, increase our market share and strengthen the Vienna hub." The airport shall become a centre of operations in future between eastern and western Europe."

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), the scheduled cargo airline of Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Group, has taken delivery of its third Boeing 747-400 freighter in four months, increasing its total fleet to 10 B747F.The latest aircraft joined ABC and will be used on the airline’s existing route network linking Europe and Asia via hubs inv Russia.

AirBridgeCargo has been gradually increasing frequency of flights through Moscow Domodedovo Airport from 14 to 32. The airline operates scheduled cargo flights through Domodedovo airport to the world leading hubs – Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. AirBridgeCargo share in general cargo payload volume of all cargo flights operated from Moscow Domodedovo Airport in 2009 totaled 32.6%. AirBridgeCargo being a part of Volga-Dnepr Group is the leading Russian freighter airline. It operates scheduled flights Europe - Russia – Asia by Boeing 747 to 17 destinations in 12 countries.

Agility, has announced the official commencement of operations in Cambodia with the opening of an office in Phnom Penh. The opening supports Agility’s network growth strategy and further strengthens its operations in Indochina.Agility Cambodia will offer services to both locally-based and network customers operating in Cambodia, with a range of air freight, sea freight, customs clearance, warehousing and local distribution solutions. A cross border trucking service initially connecting Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) to Phnom Penh (PNH) and Bangkok (Thailand) to Phnom Penh will be available, followed by services linking South China and Vietnam.Agility Cambodia will also focus on other key sectors including Project Logistics in the oil and gas sector and Fairs and Events.

American Airlines will pay $5m and handover evidence in the form of documents and data under a settlement regarding price-fixing on cargo rates. The airline struck an agreement in late July at a New York court. Air France KLM also agreed to pay $87m in settlement of the same dispute. Over a dozen airlines have pleaded guilty to the freight and fuel surcharges price-fixing scandal uncovered by US and EU investigations. Air France was fined $350m as a result, and British Airways and Korean Air were each fined $300m. Michael Hausfeld, co-lead counsel in the US litigation, commented: "This settlement marks the first time that an airline has agreed to co-operate in the prosecution of these cartel claims outside the United States. It is an important step forward for shippers."

Air France-KLM’s cargo business gathered momentum in the first quarter of the group’s financial year ending in June, building on the marked improvement of the previous quarter. Revenue for the period totalled €774 million (US$1.01 billion), an increase of 42.3% on 1Q 2009 – contrasting sharply with the modest growth in traffic (measured in RTK), up 2.6%, against a 6.8% fall in capacity. The load factor gained 6.4 points to 69.6%.

Air China Cargo will continue to optimize its load planning processes using NetLine/Load from Lufthansa Systems for the next five years. The Beijing-based cargo airline has been using Lufthansa Systems’ weight & balance solution since early 2005. With the extended contract, the carrier decided to enhance the solution with additional functionalities to further automate and simplify its load planning processes.

Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI), announce that it has selected Flightstar Aircraft Services Inc. as its second Authorized Conversion Center (AACC), AEI’s original AACC Commercial Jet is located in Miami Florida. The current success of AEI’s passenger to freighter conversion products, which include the B737-200SF, B737-300SF, B737-400SF and soon the MD80SF require that additional conversion capacity be added to handle market demand which is expected to double in 2011.

Abu Dhabi International Airport received the international accolade of “Best Cargo Airport 2010” at an award ceremony in London, as part of the 27th annual ‘Air Cargo News Awards’.Using the latest independent data from Airport Council International (ACI) for 2009, Abu Dhabi International Airport was judged to be the world’s “Best Cargo Airport of the Year”, as it outpaced in growth all the other large cargo (over 300,000 metric tons category) airports across the globe.

Air Cargo Germany added a third aircraft to its fleet –a B747-400BCF leased from Martinair, one of four that the Dutch carrier parked in 2009 when it took over a similar number of -400ERFs from Air France and KLM.

Aviation Capital Group (ACG), aircraft lessor has confirmed its deal with Aeronautical Engineers, Inc of Miami for the conversion house to provide it with two B737-400SF (Special Freighter) modified aircraft. The first of the two freighters is already undergoing conversion at AEI's Authorized Conversion Center, Commercial Jet, also in Miami. The second aircraft is expected to begin the modification process before the end of this year.

Association of European Airlines says air freight volumes moved by Europe's carriers rose by 17.3 percent year-on-year in June.

Aramex, the global logistics and transportation solutions provider, announced that it will provide ground transportation services across Europe as part of a two year contract with the Dutch Ministry of Defense.  Under the agreement, Aramex will handle the regular movement of shipments both inbound and outbound from the Netherlands to locations across the EU, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) says Abu Dhabi International Airport's traffic figures for the first six months of 2010 show cargo loads up 20.3 per cent, movements up 11.9 per cent and passenger numbers up 11.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Austrian Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary has commenced operations. The new company is now marketing all freight capacities of both airlines in Austria. Freight activities in all other countries have been amalgamated under the management of Lufthansa Cargo. Lufthansa Cargo Chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr expressed his satisfaction with the start of cooperation with the Austrian carrier.

Air France, KLM and Martinair have entered into an agreement to settle damage claims brought against them in the US, which allege violations of anti-trust laws in connection with air cargo shipping services. Under terms of the agreement, subject to court approval, the carriers will pay a total of $87m in exchange for a release from all claims by direct purchasers of air cargo shipping services to and from the US between 2000 and 2006. This amount will be deducted from the provision posted in 2008.

Air France-KLM says cargo and passenger unit revenues rose strongly in June. Passenger traffic rose 4.7 per cent and the load factor rose 3.5 points to 83.8 per cent on a capacity hike of 0.4 per cent. Cargo saw a 0.8 per cent increase in traffic and load factor up 2.4 points to 67.7 per cent on capacity down 2.8 per cent.

AIR Transport Services Group (ATSG) has reported that its Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM) subsidiary has committed to buy three 767-300ERs from Qantas Airways, with delivery in the third quarter. The aircraft will be converted to freighters for deployment in the first half of 2011 on a leased or ACMI basis.  The aircraft, a B777 freighter, is used regularly on this route since its introduction in March of this year. The airline operates twice daily passenger services with a twice weekly freighter flight. 

Aramex, the global logistics and transportation solutions provider, has safely transported two lions from Amman, Jordan, to their natural habitat at Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa in line with its commitment to corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability.

Air France Sky Team Alliance includes KLM and Alitalia whose combined fleet of A340/300, B747/400, and B767 passenger and freighter aircraft provide twenty five weekly flights from ORD. CAS will serve the Sky Team in the Air France cargo facility building number 617 located on airport on South Access Road.

ACI (Airport Council International) reported strong freight traffic  for March, with a 25.6 percent rise in total freight compared to March 2009, boosted by international freight which shot upward by 32.4 percent and domestic by 14.6 percent, in stark contrast to the poor results in the first quarter of 2009.

Abu Dhabi International Airport received the international accolade of “Best Cargo Airport 2010” at an award ceremony in London as part of the 27th annual ‘Air Cargo News Awards’.Using the latest independent data from Airport Council International (ACI) for 2009, Abu Dhabi International Airport was judged to be the world’s “Best Cargo Airport of the Year”, as it outpaced in growth all the other large cargo (over 300,000 metric tons category) airports across the globe. Huraiz Al Murr Bin Huraiz, Chief Commercial Officer at (ADAC), the operator of Abu Dhabi International, said: “Abu Dhabi International Airport is rapidly becoming a recognised international hub for both passenger and cargo carriers. It is, therefore, an honor to have been recognised for the efforts ADAC is making in supporting the growth of our existing and prospective partner airlines in the cargo and freight industry.”

American Airlines (AA) has increased flights from Dublin to Chicago from four times per week to daily, in its summer schedule.In addition, from June 10th, all services will be upgraded from B757 to B767-300 aircraft, boosting capacity to 12,000kgs per flight.Says Ian McCool, MD of IAM, which is American Airlines Cargo’s Irish GSSA: “The American summer schedule is always welcomed here, because it adds frequency as well as capacity. This is just as important with high-value and urgent shipments such as the pharmamaceuticals traffic that now dominates Irish exports.

Agility has announced that two of its facilities, including a logistics hub facility within its first year of operations, have attained Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) certification. The logistics hub facility in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam and the Finished Goods Hub for Hi-Tech Operations in the Sungai Way Free Industrial Zone in Petaling Jaya attained a warehouse classification level A. To obtain this certification, Agility adopted the Security Management Framework and implemented processes in accordance with the Freight Security Requirements (FSR) established by TAPA to deliver a level of security that boosts consumer confidence. These facilities are also Quality Management Standard (ISO9001:2008) certified.

Atlas Air Worldwide, a provider of global air cargo assets and outsourced aircraft operating solutions, has announced the closing on a revolving credit facility in connection with pre-delivery deposit payments (PDPs) on the final nine of 12 747-8 widebody freighters scheduled for delivery to the company between early 2011 and 2013.  The 2010 facility complements an initial PDP facility entered into in February 2008 that provides pre-delivery payment financing for the first three aircraft in the company's firm order.

Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI), announce that is has been selected by Sideral Air Cargo of Brazil to provide one B737-300SF 9 Pallet Configuration Passenger to Freighter Conversion. The aircraft, a 737-300, MSN 24060 was built in 1988 and is currently undergoing freighter modification and heavy maintenance at AEI’s Authorized Conversion Center, Commercial Jet, Inc. which is located in Miami, Florida.Mr. Christian Pegoraro.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has added white whales to its long list of successful live animal shipments. The airline carried two of the animals, weighing a combined 5,500 kilos, from Moscow to Beijing on board one of its six

Air Europa, has started four-times-weekly flights from Madrid to Miami, with connections to several destinations in the USA, Central America and the Caribbean. The new service, employing A330-200 aircraft with 12-14 tonnes capacity per flight, operates on Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Air Europa’s cargo business is managed by Leisure Cargo on a worldwide basis. Its  GSSA for both Spain and Portugal, CRS Airline Representatives, will feed cargo from both countries using Air Europa’s three daily departures from Lisbon to Madrid, its daily flights from Porto, Lisbon and Faro via Palma to Madrid, and road feeders. Leisure Cargo is initially focusing on traffic to the US southern states key destinations of Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. Support for the new services has been immediate, with full loads reported on the first flights, and Atlanta proving a particularly popular destination.

Agility’s Board of Directors met and has recommended distributing cash dividends of 40% of par value (40 fils per share). Financial Highlights. 4th quarter of 2009: The fourth quarter witnessed an increase in revenues by 1.5% to KD 470.685 million compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, and despite the economic crisis Agility was able to conclude a year marked with solid performance. Net revenue decreased by 4.5% to KD 159.7 million compared with the same period in 2008. Net income for Q4 was KD 40.9 million, an increase of 21.8%, compared to the same period of 2008. Earnings per Share stand at 40.6Fils, a 20.8% increase over the same period in 2008. Full Year 2009: Revenues declined by 7% as compared to 2008 mainly on account of the economic downturn which saw declines in freight volumes within our Global Integrated Logistics business.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), has added a fifth Boeing 747-400 Freighter to its fleet. This latest investment increases the airline’s total aircraft fleet to eight freighters, which includes two Boeing 747-200 and one B747-300 in addition the -400 versions.ABC says the move will enable it to meet continued demand on key routes of its network and manage the delay in the delivery of its first new Boeing 747-8F. In 2010, Boeing had been due to deliver the first of five B747-8s ordered by Volga-Dnepr Group. However, Boeing is now forecasting delivery of the first next generation freighter in February 2011.The additional B747-400 freighter joined the AirBridgeCargo fleet at the start of April and supports the airline’s strategy of fleet and network expansion.

A330-200F has been granted Type Certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) following a successful 200-hour flight-test campaign. The trials were performed by two aircraft, covering both engine types on offer: the Pratt and Whitney PW4000 and the Rolls-Royce Trent 700. This dedicated freighter aircraft, which is a derivative of the A330-200 passenger model, has been certified through an amendment to the existing A330-200 EASA Type Certificate granted to Airbus in 1998. This EASA award will be followed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Type Certification.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has won the top 'Cargo Carrier of the Year on International and Domestic Routes' award for the second consecutive year at the annual Wings of Russia National Award Ceremony held in Moscow. Volga-Dnepr Airlines also received a distinction in the 'Cargo Carrier of the Year' nomination category. Such prestigious recognition by the Russian aviation industry reflects the performance levels of the two airlines, which form the cornerstone businesses of Volga-Dnepr Group, and their consistent implementation of the Group’s growth strategy for scheduled and charter cargo services.

AkzoNobel Spain has chosen Kuehne + Nagel as the exclusive contract logistics provider to manage their Iberian distribution centre in Zaragoza. Kuehne + Nagel will be responsible for the warehousing operations of the full range of AkzoNobel’s decorative paints. In the scope of the five-year contract Kuehne + Nagel will consolidate all logistics activities that formerly were managed at different locations. A dedicated team of 45 specialists will operate at a 16,000 sqm stateof- the-art warehouse located in the Zaragoza (PlaZa) logistics area in the northern Spanish Aragon autonomous community. The facility has been specially designed to comply with all relevant hazardous material regulations.

Air China Cargo and Tolmachevo International Airport signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation. The agreement stipulates that Tolmachevo International Airport becomes the first airport in Russia where Air China Cargo will make its technical stops. As of the airline has already received a certificate to provide the first seven charter flights by Boeing 747-400F on the route Shanghai – Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo) – Frankfurt. In the future, the airline is going to launch the regular service on this route.

Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo is now publishing all its air cargo rates on OAG Cargo’s Air Freight Rates (AFRA) application. AFRA provides direct access to real-time air freight rates and information. This helps freight forwarders make the most informed buying decisions to over 144 markets worldwide. AF-KLM Cargo has established a global interface to OAG Cargo which will see the publication of 800,000 active and future rates for freight forwarders subscribing to AFRA. In addition to market rates, authorised AFRA users can also find promo rates and, when applicable, forwarders can find their own customer agreement rates.Publishing all AF-KL Cargo rates, including promo rates and customer contracts, in AFRA supports its focus on online transparency for customers through the most efficient processes.

Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo has been awarded Accreditation as a “Qualified Envirotainer Provider” (QEP) by Envirotainer ™, the Sweden-based Manufacturer of active temperature-controlled air transportation solutions. QEP Accreditation recognizes that Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo have included Envirotainer-related elements into their quality management system as defined in IATA Perishable Cargo Regulations Chapter 17 “Air Transport Logistics for Temperature-Sensitive Healthcare Products”.  Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo, which utilises the largest number of Envirotainer containers, on a monthly basis, around the world, has since the merge of AF and KLM in 2005 been developing a specific product — Variation Pharma 1 — a Closed Cool Chain solution for goods requiring the strictest temperature control.

Air Canada Cargo is offering new, non-stop seasonal service three times per week to and from Calgary (YYC) and Tokyo-Narita (NRT). The new route, operated by a Boeing 767-300, is the only non-stop service from the Calgary area to Asia. While the new service is YYC-NRT non-stop, the connection of those two points offers unique opportunities for shippers and forwarders to leverage Air Canada’s global network.

Accenture, the global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company and DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, unveiled details of the approaching Goods & Services Tax (GST) and its impact on supply chains in the country. At a recently hosted workshop “Supply Chain Post GST” in New Delhi, they presented new supply chain strategies, likely challenges along with logistics execution proposals to a broad cross section of industry Supply Chain leaders.

Air China Cargo will provide technical stops at Tolmachevo International Airport. The flights with an intermediate stop at Tolmachevo Airport will be provided three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The en-route time from Shanghai to Novosibirsk and from Novosibirsk to Frankfurt will make about six hours. The freighter Boeing 747-400F is capable to handle 112.6 tons of cargo at the distance of 8200 km.

Air France-KLM has launched a weekly flight from Sharjah to Schipol, while Malaysian Airlines has launched weekly cargo flights to Kabul and to Kuala Lumpur; also weekly; routing Frankfurt – Sharjah – KL. Martinair are increasing their schedules out of Sharjah in line with all time highs experienced in Q1 of 2008 - to approximately 18 flights a week. 

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) released its full year traffic figures for Abu Dhabi International Airport, with passenger numbers showing a solid 7.3% growth rate throughout 2009 reaching 9.7 million for the year.  Abu Dhabi International Airport is one of the few aviation hubs in the world to have achieved a healthy growth, while it has considerably outperformed the negative global average (-3.0%).  Cargo traffic also demonstrated a robust increase of 7.0%, while total flights amounted to 102,118, up 9.6% on last year.

All Nippon Airways Co. has proposed buying all stakes held by Japan Post Service Co. and two other partners in their joint air cargo venture to make it a wholly owned subsidiary. ANA, which currently owns 51.7 percent of outstanding shares in ANA & JP Express Co., plans to acquire respective stakes of 33.3, 10.0 and 5.0 percent from Japan Post Service, Nippon Express Co. and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.

Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo are now publishing all air cargo rates on OAG Cargo’s Air Freight Rates (AFRA) application to help freight forwarders make the most informed buying decisions to over 144 markets worldwide. The airlines have established a global interface to OAG Cargo which will see the publication of 800,000 active and future rates for freight forwarders subscribing to AFRA. The application helps agents to get the best rate for every consignment by providing direct access to real-time air freight rates and information. In addition to market rates, authorised AFRA users can also find promo rates and, when applicable, forwarders can find their own customer agreement rates.

American Airlines Cargo Division (AA Cargo) announced its newly relocated cargo terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York. The state-of-the-art facility will offer the latest in streamlined handling capability with more than 135,000 square feet of warehouse space and 24 dock doors.

Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT) has announced that its tonnage throughput in the second month of 2010 was 42,145 tonnes, recording a growth of 40 percent compared with the same period last year. Export cargo registered 27,955 tonnes, a growth of 56 percent when compared with the same month last year. Import cargo volume for February was 13,873 tonnes, up 16 percent. Transhipment cargo volume was 318 tonnes, a growth of 30 percent when compared against corresponding period in 2009.

AirBaltic has acquired full ownership of a cargo business at Riga International Airport, Latvia, and will operate it under a new BalticCargo brand. Bertolt Flick, President and CEO of airBaltic: “Latvia is currently the fastest growing passenger aviation market in the EU. In our view, the cargo market has the potential to grow in a similar fasion, given Riga’s favourable geographical location and the airport’s expanding network of flights.” Located on the Northeastern edge of the European Union, Riga is the region’s closest airport to China. Riga already has well-established aviation cargo flows to/from Russia and the CIS, Scandinavia, Western Europe, Asia.

American Airlines Cargo Division (AA Cargo) opened its newly relocated cargo terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The facility will offer streamlined handling capability—including a 3,000-square-foot cooler for perishables and expanded areas for courier cargo, mail processing and a designated holding area for live animals.

Athens International Airport’s cargo division came out as a clear category winner at the recent 2010 Air Cargo Excellence Survey of airports and airlines organized by Air Cargo World Magazine and announced at the recent IATA World Cargo Symposium in Vancouver. Seven European airports were in contention within the 100,000-499,999 tonnes group – Athens, Chateauroux-Deols, Barcelona, Frankfurt-Hahn, Copenhagen, East Midlands and Madrid. The scores expressing the ratings volunteered by airlines, were based on 4 criteria - Performance, Value , Facilities, and Operations  leading to the final overall result.  The Athens combined score, not only beat its direct competitors but was marked as the top performance score of the entire airport sector worldwide.

AirAsia is aggressively growing its markets and utilizing Special Prorate Agreements (SPA) with various airlines to achieve its revenue target for 2010. Asia’s largest low-cost carrier is tying up with more cargo agents and large export-import firms in the markets that AirAsia flies to.  It is also reaching markets beyond its current route network through other airlines with which AirAsia has SPA agreements.  These major airlines extend AirAsia’s reach to more cities in South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The airline, which considers cargo as a major area of growth for 2010, expects its cargo revenue to grow by more than 40% over last year’s performance.

AeroLogic, the joint venture cargo airline of DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo, is expanding its network, following delivery of two additional aircraft. The company is now introducing new daily flights from Leipzig to Hong Kong, four of them non-stop, and weekend flights from Frankfurt to Atlanta and Chicago during the current winter schedule. The new additional destinations and increased frequency of nonstop flights will help both parent companies to strengthen the service offerings to their customers. Demand for Europe to Asia and Europe to U.S. remains stable, despite the weakened world economy, and is expected to increase in the mid term.

AirbridgeCargo (ABC) has named Network Cargo Systems (NCS) its general sales and service agent (GSSA) for the US and Canada. ABC will provide non-stop cargo flights to Moscow Sheremetyevo and services within domestic Russia, allowing connections throughout Central Asia. “The growth of AirBridgeCargo and the network it now has in place is top notch and with good reason,” said Howard Jones, president of Network Cargo Systems. “We look forward to a smooth transition and re-launch of [ABC] in North America.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has awarded Wallenborn Group a contract for Europe-wide distribution. Wallenborn will provide a full distribution package out of the six hubs AirBridgeCargo serves with Boeing 747-400 freighter services in Europe.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw air cargo traffic soar 24.5 percent in December over the same month a year ago, capping a late surge in demand that still left the airlines with their worst year for freight business since 2003. Freight traffic for the region’s airlines fell 11 percent last year from 2008, and carriers responded by cutting cargo capacity an average of 11.8 percent during the year, according to figures released recently by the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines. Most of the decline came in the first half of the year, when cargo traffic measured in freight metric-ton kilometers flown was off 22.3 percent from the same period the year before

Air China is to be given a US$220 million Chinese government subsidy to expand its cargo operations. The funding will go toward a larger share of the Air China Cargo joint venture with Beijing Capital International Airport.

Air Cargo Club of Bombay had orgnised 29th Grand Annual Cargo Ball 2010 for 13th Feb at Grand Hyatt Hotel, Santacruz, Mumbai.

Air India plans to turn its existing maintenance and cargo ground handling operations into independently acting subsidiaries by April 2010, the beginning of the next financial year, Arvind Jadhav, chairman and MD of the National Aviation Company of India (NACIL) is reported to have said in Indian news sources. NACIL expects to earn INR2,000-3,000 crore ($431.7m-$647.7m) with the maintenance unit, and INR1,000-1,500 crore ($215.9m-$323.8m) with the cargo handling operations. The new MRO company would employ approximately 8,000 members of technical staff and have a capacity to service 200 aircraft per year, twice as much as would be necessary for the Air India fleet.

AAC Capital Partners ("AAC"), a leading Northern European mid-market buy-out firm, has acquired a majority stake in Envirotainer, the world leader in temperature controlled logistics for the pharmaceutical industry from Industrifonden and a number of private investors. Envirotainer’s management team will be investing alongside AAC. Envirotainer designs, manufactures and rents out specialist air cargo containers for the transportation of temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Lagga, Sweden, the business has grown substantially to form a strong worldwide presence since it was first established in 1984. Today, the business covers the major trade routes for biological pharmaceuticals, with service hubs in 26 countries and sales around €31 million.

Athens Airport Customs Working Closer With Shippers . As part of its strategy of streamlining the processes within its freight division the airport cargo committee (ACCC), led by Alexios Sioris and his team, defined Customs as one area of potential improvement. During 2008 veteran Customs expert, Georgios Vitos joined the group  to suggest  solutions for not only improving the flow of both import and export traffic, but to bring Athens in line with Greece’s EU colleagues and competitors. He has spent some 35 years in the Greek Customs service both at home and in Brussels and brings a wealth of experience to bring to the table.

ARINC and Aviation Software Inc. announced the launch of a real-time baggage tracking system for interline luggage at Los Angeles International in partnership with Aero Port Services, the interline baggage services provider at LAX. System combines GPS and airline data to report bag locations in real time. ARINC and ASI said the system, based on ASI's BagTrak software, is the first of its kind in the US and is expected to be used by up to 43 airlines.Separately, ARINC's Airport Systems Division reached a deal with project manager Turner Construction to refresh and upgrade "multiple airport operational systems and passenger check-in systems" at San Francisco International by year end. ARINC will replace SFO's nine-year-old operational database with its AirDB solution and replace most flight information displays with its AirVUE system while upgrading the international check-in system with its vMUSE architecture.

ATR has opened a logistic support centre at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia. The facility will be managed by the logistics company DHL Supply Chain. The Franco-Italian turboprop manufacturer opened a training centre in Kuala Lumpur in 2008 and has another logistic support centre in Singapore. Almost 90 ATR aircraft are currently operated by airlines in south-east Asia.

Agility claimed the Green Supply Chain Award at the recent Supply Chain Asia Logistics Awards 2009, one of Asia’s leading industry events, recognising the company’s achievement in developing and implementing environmentally friendly supply chain strategies.  The award was given at a ceremony at the Raffles Club in Singapore when judges selected the company ahead of other leading global logistics companies.

Abu Dhabi Airport Services (ADAS), announced it has been awarded the international quality standard ISO 9001:2008.  The certification follows a formal audit by external auditors, TUV NORD Middle East, with key areas of strengths in the assessment including the company’s quality systems and procedures, as well as staff awareness of how they contribute to the overall success of these goals. Examples of these include the Quality Awareness Quizzes and Quality Management System briefings regularly conducted for employees.

Amsterdam Airport Schipolls joins Cargo 2000 with an aim to develop a quality measurement for air cargo. The airport is one of the world’s leading cargo gateways, handling 1.57 million tonnes of cargo per annum carried by nearly 100 airlines, including 25 freighter operators. Enno Osinga, Senior Vice President Cargo of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, said: “Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's membership of Cargo 2000 exemplifies our commitment to simplifying the air cargo business. Cargo 2000 perfectly complements the airport's efforts in air cargo process improvements, such as promotion of e-freight and Schiphol SmartGate Cargo, a project aimed at integrating cargo control and inspection processes. Cargo 2000's focus on process quality and control fits perfectly in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's ambition to become Europe's fastest, most efficient and reliable air cargo hub.”

Abu Dhabi Airport Services (ADAS), the ground handling operator and subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), announced it has been awarded the international quality standard ISO 9001:2008.  The certification follows a formal audit by external auditors, TUV NORD Middle East, with key areas of strengths in the assessment including the company’s quality systems and procedures, as well as staff awareness of how they contribute to the overall success of these goals. Examples of these include the Quality Awareness Quizzes and Quality Management System briefings regularly conducted for employees. 

 Antonov AN-124 freighter aircraft and its modifications has received a timely boost from Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, as he joined Alexey Isaikin, President of Volga-Dnepr Group, and other industry and government officials for a tour of the aircraft and the Aviastar aircraft production factory in Ulyanovsk. After touring one of Volga-Dnepr’s AN-124s, Mr. Medvedev commented: “There’s a market niche for new large cargo transporters.” Further, Mr Medvedev stated about potential cooperation with foreign partners.

American Airlines Cargo and DHL Express partnered to deliver premium steak dinners to U.S. troops based in Afghanistan. Working together, AA Cargo and DHL Express transported more than 5,000 beef steaks for troops to enjoy during the holiday season. American supplied DHL Express with temperature-controlled containers – utilizing its new ExpediteTC(SM) service – which allows for the long-range transportation of perishable goods.

Amsterdam Airport’s, Executive Vice President & COO Ad Rutten, launched the implementation of a state-of-the art baggage transport system known as the Backbone, in a special ceremony attended by Michiel Peters, President & CEO of VanderLande Industries and Charles Vincent, Managing Director of IBM Travel & Transport Europe.  Amsterdam Airport Schiphol recently signed a contract for the system with Vanderlande and IBM.

Amsterdam Airport’s, Managing Director of Cargo Enno Osinga, Sjoerd van Loon, Chairman of Air Cargo Netherlands (ACN)  and Freek van Zoeren, Chairman of the Tax Authorities / Customs West management team signed the Schiphol Smartgate action plan. The Schiphol Smartgate Cargo concept is one of the first international public-private collaborations to involve intensive and innovative forms of cooperation between the government agencies responsible for enforcing border crossing legislation and the private sector. Schiphol SmartGate Cargo involves the integrated monitoring of goods leaving the EU from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, allowing rapid and efficient clearance.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), the scheduled cargo subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr Group and Russia’s largest international cargo carrier, has added one more Boeing 747-400ER Freighter to its current fleet. The new aircraft takes to four the total number of extended range Boeing 747-400s in the ABC fleet. It also operates one Boeing 747-300 and two B747-200 cargo aircraft. The additional aircraft will enable ABC to follow its strategy of fleet and network expansion with further development and improvement of hub operations at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo international airport and the provision of improved services for its customers.

Air France-KLM Cargo has been appointed general sales agent in Italy for SkyTeam partner Alitalia Cargo. The appointment follows similar agreements between AF-KL Cargo and Alitalia Cargo in Canada, Japan and the USA. By April 2010, AF-KL Cargo will act for Alitalia in all outstations of Alitalia’s international network in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Italian domestic network will remain the responsibility of Alitalia Cargo’s sales services.

AMI – the world’s largest trade-only freight wholesaler – has created a new global IT function that unites the company’s IT and marketing activities for the first time, with the aim of further enhancing its service offering. The operation is headed by newly-appointed Angus Gow, as VP-Information Technology. He will be reponsible for the transformation of AMI to a technology-based business, with particular emphasis on further developing its online capabilities to enhance its service offering and maintain its industry-leading position.

ACI’s monthly FreightFlash reports 1.4 percent increase in international freight, 2.2 percent increase for domestic freight and 1.3 percent increase for total global freight traffic in October 2009 compared to October 2008. Angela Gittens, Director General ACI World, comments, “The black ink in all three freight categories for the first time since July 2008 is the best traffic news of the month.  This is welcome positive  progress coming on the heels of a steady narrowing of the negative gap with 2008 traffic results. This pattern mirrors the ‘down-flat-up’ curve we have seen in passenger traffic over the past few months.”For the first ten months of 2009, total freight has declined by 12 percent, with international freight down by 15 percent and domestic freight by 6 percent, relative to the same 10-month period in 2008, Gittens adds.

ALL Nippon Airways (ANA) Cargo expects to post its first profit in 2011, according to its head Kiyoshi Tonomoto.  Tonomoto said that increased demand from China for Sony electronics and Toyota cars was behind the boost. “The growth in cargo demand is going to be intra-Asia,” Tonomoto said adding that he predicts sales to double to ¥200 billion (US$2.3 billion).

Airbus A380 arriving for the Dubai Airshow carried with it eight tonnes of humanitarian aid.  The delivery, facilitated by the Airbus Corporate Foundation, a non-commercial arm of the leading aircraft manufacturer, and its partners, will boost crucial stocks at Action Against Hunger’s hub in the emirate – strategically located to serve a global effort. Founded in France in 1979, Action Against Hunger is recognised as one of the most important humanitarian organisations combating hunger and malnutrition worldwide. It is an issue that affects approximately one billion people across the globe, with most lacking access to clean water leading to disease and malnutrition, and remains the largest single contributor to child mortality.  Today’s delivery of water purification equipment, more than 50 cubic metres, the equivalent of two 20’ standard sea freight containers, to the non-governmental organisation’s (NGO) Dubai base is central to its efforts.

Agility retained its crown at the Lloyd’s List Asia Awards when it won ‘The Logistics Award’ at a glittering ceremony in Singapore. This is the second year in a row that Agility has won the prestigious award in this highly competitive category. The award judges included academics and industry leaders from across Asia Pacific, including Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines.  The award reflects Agility’s growing presence in a range of logistics sectors across the region including  project cargo, oil and gas and chemicals.

Agility (AGLTY) reported continued profitability for the third quarter of 2009, despite the ongoing global economic crisis. The company with its focus on cash optimization, capital allocation, and cost rationalization was able to report a healthy net income of KD 40.5 million, an increase of 15%, compared to the third quarter of 2008. Earnings Per Share stand at 40.33 Fils, a 19% increase over the same period last year. Adjusted for non-recurring items, Agility’s Q3 2009 net profit stands at KD 44 million, a 25% increase over the third quarter of last year, and Earnings Per Share have grown 28% to 43.7 Fils. Gross revenue decreased by 11% to KD 413.5 million compared with Q3 of 2008. However, net revenue increased by 0.42% to KD 156.3 million compared with the same period last year.

ANA's international cargo revenue dropped 44.8 per cent to $251 million, although actual freight tonnage carried was only down 5.5 per cent to 186,000 tons, revealing exactly how low rates now are.

Agility (AGLTY) reported continued profitability for the third quarter of 2009, despite the ongoing global economic crisis. The company; with its focus on cash optimization, capital allocation, and cost rationalization was able to report a healthy net income of KD 40.5 million, an increase of 15%, compared to the third quarter of 2008. Earnings Per Share stand at 40.33 Fils, a 19% increase over the same period last year. Adjusted for non-recurring items, Agility’s Q3 2009 net profit stands at KD 44 million, a 25% increase over the third quarter of last year, and Earnings Per Share have grown 28% to 43.7 Fils. Gross revenue decreased by 11% to KD 413.5 million compared with Q3 of 2008. However, net revenue increased by 0.42% to KD 156.3 million compared with the same period last year. Agility also continues to demonstrate a strong balance sheet. Agility’s net debt position is KD 39 million. Cash from operations stand at KD 188.5 million, showing a growth of 28.7% compared to the previous period.

Agility Fairs and Events is continuing its preparation for the upcoming event of the Shanghai Expo 2010. It has recently been awarded the international freight for a number of country pavilions and has be

Aryan Cargo Express Pvt Ltd Delhi-based logistics start-up promoted by Captain Mukut Pathak, its Chairman and Managing Director will begin non-scheduled domestic and international cargo operations, making the announcement soon after it received required approvals from the ministry of civil aviation.Aryan will now join two other dedicated cargo operators, Blue Dart Aviation Ltd and National Aviation Co of India Ltd's, Air India Cargo, into tapping a local market estimated at 1.5 million tonnes a year.Other service providers set to launch operations are Avicore Aviation Pvt. Ltd, Aviation Consultants Pvt. Ltd's, QuikJet and Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd's, Flyington Freighters.Aryan said it will launch services with an initial capital of $60 million (Rs240 crore) and a fleet of three Airbus A310 freighters. The operator also plans to locate a hub in Dubai.The carrier currently has a fleet of three Boeing 757-200 freighter aircraft. It expects to expand to a fleet size of eight by March next year, enabling it to get into scheduled operations, and eventually to 12 aircraft in its second year of operations.

American Airlines Cargo Division (AA Cargo) celebrates 65 years of air cargo service to global customers spanning six continents. The anniversary marks the date of the air cargo industry’s first scheduled airfreight service on October 15, 1944. The 19-hour flight from New York’s LaGuardia Field moved 6000 lbs of bulk cargo to its Burbank, California destination. From the earliest days, American Airlines was led by bold and visionary aviation pioneers who flew an array of aircraft—beginning with the DC-3 Flagship freighter which accommodated the assortment of bulk cargo including fashion goods, textiles and machine parts. Sixty-five years later, the world’s supply chain is dependent on air cargo for transport of some of the most precious cargo in the world – from pallets of life-saving vaccines to priceless art and critical machine parts used the world over. To accommodate the needs of its customers, AA Cargo continually evaluates and introduces programs to enhance its fleet, network, technology and product portfolio, with the aim of providing excellent service.

American Airlines Cargo Division (AA Cargo) announced it has been honored with the Airfreight Security Partnership Award presented by DHL Global Forwarding (DGF). The award was offered in recognition of professional work in air transport security. The Security Partnership Program, developed by DHL Global Forwarding, aims to make the transport of goods as safe and reliable as possible in light of tough government security regulations and a rise in customer demands. The program fosters closer cooperation between provider and carrier by offering transport partners a common platform that will promote the exchange of best practice solutions.

Agility, TNT and UPS - have joined international efforts to expedite food supplies to hundreds of thousands of people affected by natural disasters in Asia, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced. The three logistics giants are collaborating with WFP to move food assistance to those worst affected by flooding in the Philippines and an earthquake in Padang, Indonesia. WFP plans to provide assistance to about one million people in the Philippines affected by extensive flooding caused by cyclone Ketsana, which severed roads, bridges and closed airports. In Padang, Indonesia, WFP is working to assist Government following the devastating earthquake which severed roads and bridges, making emergency response to remote areas a major logistics challenge. This initial work was facilitated by the immediate response of Agility. “By helping WFP ensure food supplies reach people affected by these natural disasters as quickly as possible, these companies are playing a lead role

Avient has decided to move its European hub from Vatry (France) to Liege Airport. Avient is an English airline that is active mainly in Africa but also in the Middle-East and in Asia.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), the scheduled cargo services arm of Volga-Dnepr Group, has transported nine rare Akhal-Teke horses for breeding from Russia to China. The horses were carried onboard one of ABC's Boeing 747 freighters from Moscow to Beijing on 10 September for Handicap Company - a regular partner of Volga-Dnepr Group - for a customer in Beijing planning to raise the elite bloodstock.

American Airlines Cargo Division (AA Cargo) has been awarded Accreditation as a Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP) by EnvirotainerTM, the Sweden-based manufacturer of temperature-controlled shipping containers. Envirotainer has developed the training and quality program to acknowledge those service providers that have been certified to manage shipments using the Envirotainer container.

Agility has been awarded a major new contact in Qatar by RasGas, the country’s premier liquefied natural gas (LNG) enterprise. The scope of the multi-million dollar contract comprises global freight forwarding, transportation and customs clearance for a period of four years, both locally and around the world. Commenting on behalf of Agility, Elias Monem, CEO Middle East and North Africa, said: “Qatar is crucially important to the growth of Agility in the region and this deal represents an important milestone in our company’s 6 year history locally. During this time we have invested substantial sums in Qatar to ensure that our global reach and local capabilities match to deliver unparalleled standards of service for important clients such as RasGas.”

Air Cargo World, the global news authority on air logistics and freight transport, has announced it is to launch two new information resources for the air cargo community.  The North America Truckers, Forwarders & Express Delivery Services Guide will be published in February 2010, followed by the Worldwide Airports & Airline Services Guide in November 2010.

Avient, Zimbabwean all-cargo airline has appointed Airline Services GSA and Cargo Care International to market its services in Finland and Denmark respectively. Both companies are the exclusive members of the EGSAC GSSA network in their countries, and already work closely together.

American Airlines Cargo Division (AA Cargo) announced the launch of an ExpediteTC(SM) express temperature-controlled service. The airline is offering ExpediteTC to its customers worldwide, following a highly successful trial in the early summer between 10 U.S. and international cities. The airline offers a 100 percent flown-as-booked guarantee, in addition to the specialized handling, monitoring and tracking. ExpediteTC is built on the service reliability of American's Expeditefs freight product, which provides highest boarding priority, high-visibility tracking, and a 100 percent flown-as-booked guarantee.

Agility has opened a 13,000-square-meter logistics hub between Kuala Lumpur & Klang, Malaysia's biggest port. The new facility increases the company's total warehousing capacity in Malaysia to more than 34,000 square meters. The hub is 45 minutes from the two main container terminals in Klang, as well as Kuala Lumpur Int'l Airport.

Agility, has launched a Container Freight Station (CFS), a new consolidation and redistribution service from its hub in Dubai, which will be offered to shippers and consignees having shipment of less than a container load (LCL). By creating this hub, in Dubai as well as in the Far East and Europe earlier, Agility will now be able to consolidate the cargoes originating from various world ports and redistribute them throughout the Gulf and Africa, the company said.

AB Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam and PacAir Properties now say Guam’s new US$26.5 million Integrated Air Cargo Facility will open for business.. The 163,000 square foot facility replaces the Airport’s old cargo facility, which was built in 1976.

Air Cargo provided charitable air transport to deliver more than 2,200 pounds of school supplies to schoolchildren in Iraq on behalf of the Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation.

Agility Fairs & Events is the first logistics company in Singapore and Asia to be ISO-certified specifically for the visual and fine arts business. The certification recognizes Agility Fairs & Events’ capability, accomplishment and status in the visual and fine arts arena. To support this growing high-value business sector Agility purchased a temperature-controlled air suspension truck. The vehicle will enable the safe and secure transportation of sensitive artifacts and works of art between museums and art galleries in Singapore.

Arrow Cargo, a Miami-based freighter operator covering the whole of Central and South America, has appointed Unitpool to secure its ULD supply and management requirements. Working with Unitpool will provide Arrow with the flexibility and reliability that it needs to secure the commitments of its scheduled and charter operations, and to focus on its growth plans outside of South America. Unitpool’s Commercial Director, Lou Cordoba, commented:

Agility has opened a logistics hub close to Kuala Lumpur, boosting the company’s total warehousing capacity in Malaysia to over 34,000 sq. m. The new 13,000 sq. m. facility in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam has 12 loading docks and 14,000 pallet positions and dedicated areas for pick and pack, kitting to line operations, consolidation and deconsolidation, cross docking, RMA programs, and reverse logistics.

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. reported a sharp increase in net income for its second quarter ended June 30, 2009. ATSG earned $8.1 million, or 13 cents per common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, compared with a net loss of $526,000, or one cent per common share, in the second quarter of 2008.

Agility (AGLTY) continues to report rising profitability for the first half of 2009, despite the ongoing global economic recession. For the first half of the 2009 fiscal year, whilst revenues declined 9% to KWD 821.0 million compared with 1H 2008; operating profits increased 5% to KWD 83.3 million. Net profit stands at KWD 74.9 million and EPS at 74.9 fils, an increase of 3% and 7% respectively compared to 1H 2008. Adjusted for non-recurring items, Agility’s 1H 2009 net profit stands at KD 78.4million and EPS at 78.4 fils, reflecting a growth of 13.5% and 17.8% respectively over the same period last year.

Aegean Airlines has appointed CRS Airline Representatives as its first cargo GSSA for Spain and Portugal. Aegean began operating five flights per week from Barcelona in July 2009, using A320 aircraft.

American Airlines Federal Credit Union (AA Credit Union) has opened the doors to its International Airport Cargo branch based in Miami. Angie Owens, AA credit union president and CEO, said: "Miami is one of American's busiest hubs, which will provide current member-owners and potential members more access to our services."

Agility, a global specialist in integrated logistics, was awarded Best Logistics Services Provider at the 3rd Annual Middle East Logistics Awards in Dubai. The Award is given to the company that provides the best supply chain management solutions, including integrated operation, warehousing and transportation services.

Aramex announced that it has joined Cargo 2000, an industry group within the International Air Transport Association (IATA) specializing in a quality management system for the global air freight industry.

Air Canada is the first North American airline to be certified by Transport Canada for the carriage of RKN e1 containers, which allow the maintenance of temperatures between +2 to +25 C. .

Air Cargo Germany (ACG) has received its air operator’s certificate (AOC) from the German authorities and expects to start commercial operations. ACG CEO Michael Bock said the AOC had taken several months to obtain and the carrier was now “eager to be airborne", without giving a specific launch date.

ASTA Marketing Services, Inc. (AMSI) announced that through the FedEx Advantage® Program, ASTA members are now eligible to receive valuable discounts of up to 26 percent on select FedEx® shipping services.

American Airlines’ says cargo revenue dropped 42.6 per cent in Q2 2009 to US$134 million and traffic in the same period was down 25.1 per cent from the same quarter last year. Yield was down 23.4 per cent. The figures also were down against Q1, with revenue down 6.9 per cent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter.

Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT) announced that AeroLogic has appointed AAT as its cargo handling agent at the Hong Kong International Airport.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), Volga-Dnepr Group’s scheduled cargo airline, is expanding its freighter services from Europe to Russia with a new route between Milan, Italy and Moscow. In Moscow ABC will offer its customers possibility to deliver their cargo to two out of three warehouses: Sheremet’yevo 1 and Sheremet’yevo 2.

Aegean Airlines Cargo is celebrating winning 40% market share from Paris to Athens after just six months of operations. The carrier began twice-daily services to Paris CDG in November 2008, using A320 aircraft. It began actively marketing its cargo capacity in December, using Paris-based Transnautic Air Service.

Amerijet International, Inc. announced its second acquisition in as many weeks with its purchase of a majority interest in Nations Express, a trucking company based in North Carolina. Nations operates a fleet of approximately 200 trucks offering express charter truck service.

Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) has secured two deals to provide widebody airfreight services. The first deal is with DHL affiliate European Air Transport, running a six-days-a-week charter service between Brussels (Belgium) and Lagos (Nigeria) with ATSG subsidiary ABX Air. Part of the deal also includes ABX Air and a new ATSG subsidiary, Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, maintaining the aircraft.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) announced that it has signed a joint venture agreement with Helios SinoGulf Property Development LLC to develop a logistics and business park under free zone regulation adjacent to Al Ain International Airport. The development will cover 650,000 square metres and will include office space, distribution centres, light industrial units, freight forwarding stations and supporting facilities in a business park, that will cater to the needs of air cargo, aerospace, and related industries. The first phase of development represents an investment of more than AED 900 million (US $250 million). The development will start immediately and the first phase is scheduled for completion towards the end of 2010.

AeroLogic, the joint venture cargo airline of DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo, officially started operations. With the delivery of its first Boeing 777F aircraft and receiving the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the German Aviation Authority (LBA), AeroLogic will serve new air routes between Europe and Asia, flying cargo for customers of its parent companies.

Amerijet International, Inc. has acquired SRX Transcontinental, Inc., a Florida-based company specializing in ground handling operations in Central Asia and owner of Avialeasing Aviation Co., an Uzbekistan certificated airline. SRX and Avialeasing market the sales, charter operations, and contract maintenance of Antonov An-12 and An-26 aircraft based from both Uzbekistan and Miami.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) announced that the construction of the Investor Services Centre at the Abu Dhabi Airport Logistics Park has been completed, and that the centre is expected to be launched in the immediate future.

ABX Air Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and Government Affairs Bob Gray has won national recognition for its contributions to commercial airline safety. Additionally, ABX Air, Inc., recently received an Award of Excellence in the Air Carrier category from the readers of Air Cargo World magazine.

Aero Cargo International, part of European Cargo Services (ECS) has won the GSA contract in France to market Qantas Airways’ cargo destinations across Australasia. This will involve marketing cargo capacity on Qantas’ daily Boeing 747-400 passenger flights from Frankfurt, Germany, and its twice-weekly B747 freighter operations ex Liege and Frankfurt, which operate via Singapore.Aero Cargo will be marketing all destinations in the Qantas network to freight forwarders across France.

Aegean Airlines Cargo is celebrating winning 40% market share from France to Athens after just six months of operations. Aegean began twice-daily services from Paris CDG in November 2008, using A320 aircraft. It began actively marketing its cargo capacity in December, using Paris-based Transnautic Air Service. Each successive month has seen a substantial increase in uplift, hitting a 40% share of the France-Athens market in May 2009.

Aramex, announced the opening of its new offices across Germany, further expanding the company’s presence in the country and providing enhanced wholesale express services to its customers. As part of the company’s business expansion strategy, Aramex has started operations in three new offices located at Hamburg, Cologne and Frankfurt respectively, with Hamburg serving as the country head office. Cologne will host the main hub, night operations and line-haul system, while Frankfurt will serve as the international gateway for imports, exports, and customs clearance.

Association of European Airlines has released data on the baggage-delivery and punctuality performance of its members for Winter 2008/9 (November-March). 28 AEA member airlines contributed punctuality data, and 26 baggage data, to the data collection which is unique in the aviation sector as a voluntary consumer-information exercise. In all three key areas of measurement – long and short haul punctuality and overall baggage delivery, the figures show significant improvement over the same period in 2007/8.The number of missing bags, i.e. not available for collection on arrival, was 13.0 per 1000 passengers, compared to 15.5 for the previous Winter. AEA points out that, on average, 85% of delayed bags are delivered to the customer within 48 hours.

Austrian Cargo and Jade Cargo International are setting a new standard in the expansion of Vienna as a cargo hub for Central and Eastern Europe. In a first step, the Chinese all-cargo carrier based in Shenzhen will begin flying the Seoul-Shanghai- Vienna-Frankfurt-Seoul route twice a week with immediate effect. A Boeing 747-400ERF aircraft will be deployed on the route. With a maximum takeoff weight of 413,000 kg and equipped with a ‘nose-cargo door’, the aircraft can transport a payload of around 120 tons over 9,200 kilometres.

ANA applied to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to raise its surcharge on international cargo shipments from August 1, 2009. Since April this year, the surcharge has been fixed for one month and revised on the basis of the average price of jet fuel for the month immediately preceding the announcement of the next revision. The next surcharge will thus be set according to the average price of jet fuel for the month of June – as reported by the US Department of Energy – and come into effect on August 1.

AirAsia has expanded into the courier business with the launch of a discount service in its home country of Malaysia. Claimed to be the world’s first low-cost courier, Redbox is offering up to 50 per cent savings in shipment costs.

AirTransport Services Group, Inc. said that its subsidiary ABX Air, Inc. has completed an agreement with its principal customer, DHL, concerning leases of certain ABX Air aircraft. The agreement, which is further to a memorandum of understanding that DHL and ABX Air executed in March 2009, grants DHL options to lease from ABX Air, or an affiliate, up to four Boeing 767-200SF (freighter configuration) aircraft under favorable rates, and for terms beginning August 15, 2010, and continuing through 2015. In exchange, DHL has agreed to assume financial responsibility, retroactive to January 31, 2009, for ABX Air’s obligations under capital leases on five Boeing 767-200PC (non-standard cargo door configuration) aircraft currently dedicated to DHL’s U.S. network.

Air Sea Scotland is the latest freight forwarder to adopt NetFreight, the internet-based forwarding and Customs software system from Impatex. The company joins 21 other NetFreight users, virtually trebling the product’s user base in the 18 months since Impatex first acquired the system, and then added Customs functionality.

Agility said that it has acquired Trafinsa S.A. de C.V., a Mexican company with which it has partnered before. Trafinsa, Mexico City, provides cargo management and air and ocean export services to industries such as food, automotive and cement, It has four branches in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Mexico City and Laredo (Texas).Agility has partnered with Trafinsa for 23 years, Mike Bible, chief executive officer of Agility Americas said.

AirClic, a provider of real-time, web-based cargo tracking and reporting, has joined Cargo 2000 as a Regional Associate Member to support the requirements of major clients including Delta Air Lines and one of the world’s largest logistic providers.

AMI – the world’s largest trade-only airfreight wholesaler – has further enhanced its UK booking web site with the addition of fuel and war risk surcharges to the freight rates displayed on screen. AMI’s online quotation facility now shows rates and surcharges separately, but includes the surcharges in the calculated total cost for shipments, giving agents an all-inclusive price. Airline rates and surcharges can change daily, and agents need to know these costs to prepare accurate quotations for their own customers.

Air Deccan, the low-fare carrier that revolutionised India's aviation sector, is launching a new air and surface delivery service Deccan 360. GR Gopinath is aiming to cover almost all of the populous country with a hub and spoke distribution network headquartered in central India.

Air France-KLM, Europe’s biggest airline by revenue, reported its cargo business plunged to a $284 million loss in fiscal 2008/2009 from a $53.4 million profit in the previous year amid slumping traffic and freight rates. Cargo losses ballooned to $226 million in the three months to March 31 from a $1.3 million deficit a year ago as traffic fell 21.3 percent, shrinking revenue by 16.4 percent to $825 million from $987 million. Buoyant traffic in the first six months resulted in full year revenue declining just 2.4 percent to $3.9 billion.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) recently welcomed a French delegation of 15 industry professionals and exhibitors from various French organizations to its stand at the Airport Show in Dubai.The delegates were invited to view a scale model of the park, which is on display for the very first time. The park, which will occupy a 12 square kilometre site adjacent to the Abu Dhabi International Airport, will offer one stop investor-friendly services, world-class corporate amenities and a strategic location on the crossroads between East and West.The Logistics Park i

Air India Cargo is the proud recipient of the ‘cargo Airline of The Year’ Award for the year 2009 at the 26th Cargo Airline of the year Award function held in London . . Air India Cargo won the Award in the category of the ‘Best Central Asia Cargo Airline’, in recognition of its role in developing the air cargo market to/from the region. Mrs. Anita Khurana, SBU Head, Cargo, Air India, accepted the Award on behalf of the Airline.

Air China Cargo and TAECO (Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co.) celebrated the redelivery of the carrier's first 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter, the first of three 747-400BCFs ordered by the airline. The airplane is also the 29th to be converted at the TAECO facility. The second conversion for Air China Cargo also is under way at TAECO. Nine carriers have ordered 49 747-400BCFs.

Air India has successfully carried out a major 2C Check for the first time on an Airbus 330 aircraft resulting in substantial savings in foreign exchange. The 2C check was carried out with in-house expertise.

AeroLogic Airline partnership between Lufthansa and DHL Express will begin flight operations from Germany’s Leipzig/Halle airport in late June rather than Spring, Lufthansa officials say.Plans call for initial flights to Asia to begin June 29 with the first Boeing 777-200 freighter.

Agility Logistics reports a net profit of $134.5 million (KD 39.2 million) for the first quarter of 2009 - an increase of 16.2 percent over the same period a year ago. The company's first quarter (Q1) net revenue margin increased to 37.9 percent from 34.1 percent in 2008, despite an 8.1 percent drop in Q1 revenue that totaled $1.4 billion (KD 407.4 million).

AirBridgeCargo Airlines, the scheduled cargo business of Volga-Dnepr Group, has won the prestigious ‘Wings of Russia Award’ for ‘Airline of the Year – Cargo Carrier Operating in Domestic and International Air Lines’. The airline won the accolade based on its growth and development in 2008 and the balanced strategy applied to its development by Volga-Dnepr Group.

American Airlines (AA) has increased its cargo capacity and frequency from Ireland, following the recent reinstatement of daily services from Dublin to Chicago. The carrier now has the same capacity as in the corresponding period of 2008, up from 4 flights per week during the winter. AA’s Irish cargo GSSA, IAM, has welcomed the addition of the three flights. Says IAM’s MD Ian McCool: “Although the export market is down and capacity is not currently critical, we need to preserve AA’s position as the second largest direct carrier on the North Atlantic. In this respect, frequency is just as important as capacity to the local market.”

Agility has announced the establishment of an Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore and unveiled an additional state-of-the art Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in the Lion City, in order to strengthen its presence in Asia and provide a platform for further growth in the region.

American Airlines Cargo (AA Cargo) has been named "Best North American Cargo Airline" by Air Cargo News for the second year in a row. The award is determined exclusively by freight forwarders. According to Air Cargo News, thousands of freight forwarders from more than 90 different countries around the world participated in the online voting. The British International Freight Association (BIFA) audited the voting to ensure accuracy.

Asian Airlines Freight traffic fell 21.6 percent in March from the same month a year ago but the carriers also saw signs in their busiest month so far in 2009 that the steep decline in cargo demand is slowing down. Freight traffic in March grew 22.2 percent from February’s recession-period low and the 3.88 billion freight metric-ton kilometers flown marked the busiest month measured by the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines since November. Asian airlines also reduced capacity by 15.8 percent in March compared to last year, the sharpest decline in capacity the AAPA has ever recorded. The sixth straight month of accelerating capacity cuts also gave the carriers a 63.2 percent load factor, their best since last November.

Air Hong Kong, a joint venture between DHL and Cathay Pacific, has started operating a B747-400F on its Singapore–Hong Kong service. The 110-tonne capacity aircraft replaces a 45-tonne A300-600F and will offer uplift six days a week from each city.

Atlanta International Airport has earned Air Cargo World magazine’s Award of Excellence for the best North American cargo operations in its category. The award, voted on by airline customers, was for airports that handle 500,000 to 999,999 tons per year .Air Cargo World magazine measured reader responses in four key areas: performance, value, facilities and operations.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has launched a new weekly Boeing 747-400ER freighter flight from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport to Maastrict, providing a further gateway into Europe for customers in Asia. The Thursday flight from Moscow is specifically aimed at helping ABC’s customers in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing reach other destinations in The Netherlands – AirBridgeCargo already serves Amsterdam – as well as the extensive business regions in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.The potential for freight into Russia from Maastricht is another factor in the launch of the new route.

Advance International Transport, International project freight forwarder, has undertaken the shipment of an over-dimensional cement-making machine and ancillary equipment from the United States to Turkmenistan.The movement, from the manufacturer in Tulsa, Oklahoma to its destination at Balkanabat, Turkmenistan included a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Black and Caspian Seas, as well as three connecting overland journeys.

AMI Express has seen a dramatic increase in heavyweight shipments from the UK to the Americas, following a total overhaul of its rate structures in March 2008. Import shipments are also dramatically up on 2007.Export traffic for South American destinations grew by 65% in 2008, USA destinations saw an increase of 40%, and Canada also witnessed a healthy 19% boost over 2007.

Agility, Qatar announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enter into merger discussions with the Gulf Warehousing Company (“GWC”), a company listed on the Doha Securities Market. The merger aims to create one of the strongest logistics players in the Qatar market with a comprehensive service portfolio for existing and prospective customers in the country. The new entity will be called GWC Agility. Over the last few years both GWC and Agility Qatar have made significant strides in transforming their organizations into regional logistics and warehousing leaders, and the merger would further accelerate this development for both companies.

Air Cargo Germany (ACG) has delayed its planned launch till the second half of February, citing a delay in fleet delivery. In November, ACG unveiled plans to launch in January 2009 with charter flights before moving to scheduled services later in the year, likely routes being Hahn - Moscow - Shanghai and Hahn-Istanbul -Bombay - Hong Kong.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol last year’s cargo traffic fell 1.4 percent to a total of 1,588,000 tonnes. Passenger traffic also fell 0.8 percent to 47.4 million. The airport expects a sharp drop in both passenger and cargo traffic in 2009, coupled with an expected 6 percent to 10 percent decline in air transport movements, said Schiphol Group President Jos Nijhuis at a New Year's reception. The decline in passenger and cargo traffic is a direct result of the global financial crisis, officials said.

Air France-KLM suffered a 20.4 percent drop in cargo traffic in December. Even a significant reduction in capacity could not offset the impact of a deepening economic crisis, said the company. In December, the airline cut cargo capacity by 6.2 percent but only flew 793 million revenue ton kilometers of freight, compared with 996 million RTKs a year ago. The cargo load factor declined by 10.6 points to 59.6 percent. Cargo in the Asia-Pacific region, by far the busiest area, was hardest hit, falling 29.2 percent from 487 million RTKs a year ago to 345 million RTKs last month. Cargo traffic in Europe fell 24.3 percent; in the Americas it fell 13.6 percent; traffic was down 9.7 percent in Africa and the Middle East; tonnage in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean regions fell 4.9 percent.

Air Freight Asia has updated and improved its web site, which now includes the latest updates on the floor plan and the exhibitors list, which shows all confirmed exhibitors with their respective logos and direct links to their individual web sites. The redesigned site also lists the available sponsorships for Air Freight Asia functions, the registration form for the KLM Cargo-sponsored Golf Tournament on September 7 and a pre-registration link for visitors to the show, which offers free access to this trade event, instead of paying an entrance fee of HK$250 during the show.

Abu Dhabi International Airport Cargo traffic continued its steady growth through 2008 posting 14 per cent and 11.6 per cent for the YTD and the month of November respectively. Aircraft movements saw similar growth rates with 14.4 per cent growth in the first 11 months and 11.8 per cent in November alone."The continued growth of the airport's home airline, Etihad Airways, the National Airline of the UAE, continues to be a significant driver in growing passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International as well as increasing our efforts to increase frequencies and routes with other airlines," said Rudy Vercelli, CEO of ADAC.

Air Freight Asia will be held on 8-10 September 2009 in Hong Kong. Like in previous years, Air Freight Asia 2009 has been endorsed by the Federation of Asia-Pacific Aircargo Associations (FAPAA). In addition, the Hongkong Association of Freight Forwarding & Logistics (HAFFA) and the Hong Kong Shippers Council are also supporting the event. The Air Freight Asia 2009 Conference & Exhibition will take place at the ultra-modern AsiaWorld-Expo facilities conveniently located at Hong Kong International Airport.

Aerospace Products International, Inc. (API), a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Aviation Services Inc. (FAVS.PK) and a leading supplier of innovative distribution and supply chain services for the aviation industry, expands its services with Honeywell International by announcing a three-year preferred customer / preferred supplier agreement with CEA Honeywell Aircraft Wheels and Brakes Repair and Overhaul Co., Ltd. (CEASA) in China. API will provide all supply chain services and logistics solutions for CEASA, including procurement and inventory management.

Aerospace Products International, Inc. (API), announces a general term agreement with Hu Bei Sky-Blue International Aviation Academy Co. Ltd. As part of the contract, API will provide all consumables, parts and logistics services to support the operations of the privately-owned academy located in Wu Han, Hu Bei Province, China.

Agility, a leading global logistics provider who became the first international freight forwarder in New Zealand to be awarded carboNZero certification, has achieved another first: moving the first ever carboNZero Certified freight shipment for their long-time customer Trilogy. Trilogy, a Wellington based producer of skincare products and an export success story, have since their inception run their business with a commitment to environmental, cultural and ethical sustainability and in 2007 became the first New Zealand skincare company to achieve carbon neutral certification. While Trilogy is not certified under the carboNZero programme they are independently certified to the new ISO greenhouse gas standard.

British Airways World Cargo announced that it has signed a five-year wet lease agreement with Global Supply Systems Limited (GSS), which will see its three Boeing 747-400 freighters replaced with new Boeing 747-8 freighters in early 2011. Further to its agreement with British Airways World Cargo, GSS will dry lease the freighters from Atlas Air. The contract represents a significant investment by British Airways World Cargo. The three new Boeing 747-8f aircraft will be registered in the United Kingdom and operate to our existing schedule maintaining regular services through STN, HKG, FRA, PVG, ORD, DEL, amongst others. It has also been agreed that the new 747-8fs will be delivered in British Airways livery and incorporate the British Airways World Cargo logo.

Brussels Airport Freight services (38.851 tons) have grown with 5.4% over the month of June 2009. In June again, this growth is mostly recorded with full freighter transportation and with belly freight on board passenger airliners. In May, Hong Kong Airlines announced its intentions to start operating freighter service between Brussels and Hong Kong, via Delhi. After a startup period with 3 weekly flights, the number is increased to 6.

Boeing and LAN CARGO,  announced that the airline will join Boeing's Component Services Program (CSP). The program will provide LAN CARGO timely, worldwide access to spare parts for the carrier's 777 Freighter fleet. LAN CARGO becomes the 12th airline in the 777 Component Services Program, which is offered jointly by Boeing and Air France Industries/KLM Engineering & Maintenance. CSP allows airlines to outsource the cost and logistical issues associated with keeping important parts on hand, while significantly reducing inventory. The inventory required to support an airplane type can cost millions of dollars.

British Airways World Cargo has reported commercial revenue (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) of £175 million for the first quarter of the financial year beginning April 2010. This represents an increase of 36.7 per cent against the same period last year. Excluding the impact of favourable exchange rate movements, commercial revenues were up 34.6 per cent.

Boeing and LAN CARGO, a leading Latin American cargo airline,  announced that the airline will join Boeing's Component Services Program (CSP). The program will provide LAN CARGO timely, worldwide access to spare parts for the carrier's 777 Freighter fleet.

Billund Airport registered increase in cargo volumes through this year's first six months serving the industrial center of Western Denmark. 5,462 tonnes of cargo were handled in June 2010, an increase by 53.3 percent, y-o-y. Both imports, 2,620 tonnes, and exports, 2,842 tonnes, were rising steeply by 79.3 and 35.2 percent, respectively. For January-June 2010, total volumes handled at the airport were 35.9 percent, y-o-y, to 28.253 tonnes.

Brussels Airlines Cargo is launching operations to four more destinations in West Africa in conjunction with its global GSA partner, European Cargo Services (ECS).

Boeing and Blue Dart Aviation, India’s largest and only dedicated domestic freighter airline, announced that Boeing Commercial Aviation Services will provide Maintenance Performance Toolbox for the airline’s Boeing 757-200 Freighter fleet. Toolbox, a key Boeing Lifecycle Solution element, is a software-based productivity tool designed to unify an airline's maintenance data, enhancing accessibility and providing greater efficiency in maintenance and engineering operations.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma Ltd., one of the world’s leading and most innovative pharmaceutical companies, has chosen Kuehne + Nagel for the management of its temperaturecontrolled transports in five East European countries.The services Kuehne + Nagel will provide for Boehringer Ingelheim include temperature-controlled road transportation of thermolabile medical products to the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Greece and Croatia. Kuehne + Nagel’s cool-chain transport solution, which is adapted to the sensitive products’ specific nature, meets all relevant industry-specific regulations and the customer’s high quality requirements regarding handling, storage and distribution.

Budapest Airport welcomes Cargolux’s fifth weekly flight. Following eight years of successful operations at Budapest, Cargolux the Luxembourg based all cargo carrier, has added a fifth weekly 747-400F flight from Hong Kong. Cargolux is the only cargo carrier offering direct services out of Asia, which is greatly appreciated by the local forwarders.

Budapest Airport has been given approval for a major redevelopment of its cargo facilities. Known as the Regulation Plan, it required a go ahead by the surrounding community to allow the airport to develop land in which in a final stage will include 120,000sqm of new cargo and logistics terminals within the existing airport perimeter.

Boeing has delivered two 777 Freighters to Southern Air Holdings, Inc., with THAI Cargo to be first in Southeast Asia to utilise the aircraft type. The addition of these two aeroplanes makes Southern Air the world's first aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) operator to feature the 777 Freighter. Southern Air has entered into an agreement to operate the two 777 Freighters on behalf of Thai Airways International. Thai Airways will utilise the full capacity of the 777 Freighters, becoming the first carrier in Southeast Asia to offer this capability to its freight customers.

Boeing has completed initial airworthiness testing on the 747-8 Freighter. This milestone enables test engineers to be on board during future flights and allows the remaining two 747-8 Freighter test airplanes to begin flight test. "The airplane is performing as expected in the initial stages of flight test," said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "That's a tribute to the men and women who helped design and build this airplane.”

Boeing’s much-delayed freighter – the 747-8 – has finally taken its maiden flight a year late and having racked up more than US$1 billion in charges for the delay. A larger version of the 747-400, the 747-8 is over 76m long, has a wingspan of more than 68m and has a payload of 133.9 tons. Boeing, which is hoping it will become the default freighter for the high-capacity, long-haul cargo market, is marketing it as being more aerod- ynamically efficient, quieter, more fuel efficient and cleaner than the 747-400, leading to lower operating costs of around 16 per cent.

Boeing has licensed Wagner Aeronautical, an engineering company based in Escondido, California, to develop a STC for a MD-80 passenger-to-freighter conversion. Under this agreement, Boeing will provide engineering data to Wagner and host programme specific drawings on the MyBoeingFleet.com Web portal. Operators will also be able to utilize the OEM's field service network for service requests. Brussels Airport 2009  handled  a total of 450,000 tonnes of cargo: a decrease by 32.1% on 2008. Integrator cargo volumes suffered badly from DHL’s move to Leipzig, whereas all-cargo traffic declined following the demise of Cargo B and the decline of imports and exports as a result of the crisis.  Even cargo carried on passenger aircraft showed negative growth in spite of the fact that it recovered well in the second half of the year. With 38,500 tonnes handled in December overall growth upped to -10.6% compared to 2008, driven mainly by the cargo volumes carried on passenger aircraft which grew by a spectacular 46%. 

Björk.Eklund Group (BEG) will look to make more acquisitions once it has finished integrating its latest purchase. Following the purchase of 16 companies from the Norwegian Transport Network’s total stable of 30 firms last week, Stefan Björk, one of the owners of BEG, said it would continue to grow.

Baggage Improvement Program (BIP) solutions were brought to 25 airports in 2009. The BIP team will conduct consulting visits with another 15 airports and will launch the self-help program, allowing BIP’s solutions toolkit to be used at even more airports and airlines around the world. The self-help program facilitates self-assessments of baggage handling practices using BIP best practices and the BIP solutions toolkit. The team identified over 90% of mishandling in their visits to date. Several carriers have already reduced mishandling dramatically as a result of implementing BIP solutions. For example, TAM has cut mishandling by 50% at Sao Paulo airport.

Boeing successfully completed the first engine runs for the 747-8 Freighter. The milestone marks another step in the 747 program's steady progress in preparing for flight test. "We are very pleased with the engines' performance during this test," said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program. "The engines and all the systems performed as expected.”

Brussels Airlines’ cargo business from Europe to Africa is continuing to prove its resilience compared to the downturns in other international markets and, in October, reported the second highest monthly volume of cargo and mail traffic in its history. Guy Hardy, Head of Cargo Sales, praised the performance of Brussels Airlines’ GSA partner, European Cargo Services (ECS) for generating the record 1,047,372 kilos of southbound traffic in October – a 97% load factor. Brussels Airlines previous highest monthly volume - 1,083,261 kilos - was achieved in October 2008.

British Airways World Cargo (BAWC) has reported commercial revenue (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) of GBP250.6 million for the first half of its financial year beginning April 1, 2009, representing a decrease of 30.9 per cent against the same period last year.

British Airways World Cargo has launched an award for the UK’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that gives 100 of them the chance to win a Business Opportunity Grant. Winners receive twelve business class flights anywhere on the British Airways network and free British Airways World Cargo shipping space consisting of five whole AKEs, to be used within a year of selection.

Baltic Air Charter Association (BACA) named Volga-Dnepr Airlines the Best Cargo Charter Airline at its 60th anniversary luncheon in London. Dick Gilbert, chairman of BACA, said that despite the tough economic times, the air charter industry continues to produce quality and excellent service.

Bush Intercontinental Airport has developed a new 61,484-square-foot air cargo facility, with the intention of establishing Houston as a major hub for temperature- and time-sensitive air cargo. This new facility has the capability of changing the landscape and altering the traffic patterns for the distribution of fresh cargo, also known as perishables. The major hubs for fresh cargo have long been Los Angeles and Miami. The produce is flown to the airports then trucked to the desired destination. That means a two-day delay for Houston retailers and consumers.

Ben Gurion airport saw cargo throughput fall 23.9% year-on-year to 196,175 tonnes in the first nine months of 2009. Volumes for September were only 15.8% lower than a year earlier at 25,476 tonnes, while cargo carried by passenger aircraft in September increased by 5.8% to 12,091 tonnes, as freight-only operators continued to lose market share. During January–September 2009 El Al carried a total of 31,620 tonnes, down 36% compared to a year earlier.

Brussels Airport handled 35,198 tonnes cargo carried, cargo traffic was down 27.7% on the same month last year. Leaving incidental factors such as the bankruptcy of Cargo B aside, the decrease in traffic is in line with that at other European airlines.

British Airways World Cargo has announced that it is the first European airline to be accredited by leading provider of temperature-controlled air cargo containers Envirotainer, as a Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP) for Constant Climate, its temperature-controlled product for pharmaceuticals. Envirotainer, pioneer of the ‘active’ temperature-controlled air cargo container, developed its QEP/CEP Training and Quality Program, following consultation with shippers and in response to industry guidance. The program is designed to help healthcare companies identify service providers capable of properly managing shipments using Envirotainer containers.

Blue Dart, South Asia's leading air and integrated transportation, distribution and logistics company, has deployed Blue Coat® PacketShaper® appliances to more efficiently utilize network resources to deploy new advanced services. Blue Coat PacketShaper appliances deliver the application accountability that enables Blue Dart to reclaim bandwidth on the network for videoconferencing deployments throughout its branch offices.Speaking about the deployment, Gautam Sen, senior manager, electronic network at Blue Dart, said, “Prior to the deployment of the Blue Coat solution, we needed to increase our bandwidth every year to make our applications run better. With PacketShaper appliances, we are optimizing our bandwidth by effectively monitoring and managing our applications. As a result, we have not only realized a full return on our investment in less than a year but also were able to deploy video conferencing in our branch offices without adding additional bandwidth.”

Boeing now expects the first flight of its new 747-8F to take place early in 2010.Flight tests will then be undertaken before the first delivery of the freighter in the fourth quarter of next year. Increased production costs affecting its 747-8 programme and difficult market conditions prompted the manufacturer to predict a pre-tax charge of approximately $1bn against its third quarter results.Some US$640m of the charge was linked to the production of 747-8 airplanes at both Boeing and supplier facilities. “As the programme assembled major components of initial 747-8 Freighters during the third quarter, it became clear that late maturity of engineering designs has caused greater than expected re-work and disruption in manufacturing.”

Boeing and FedEx Express celebrated the delivery of the world’s largest air cargo carrier’s first 777 Freighter. The world’s largest and most capable twinjet freighter will help FedEx Express deliver more cargo even faster, allowing the carrier to offer customers greater flexibility.This is Boeing’s ninth 777 Freighter delivery and marks the first 777 Freighter to enter service with a U.S.-based global freight carrier.

Boeing delivered the first 777 Freighter to FedEx. This is Boeing's ninth 777 Freighter delivery and marks the first 777 Freighter to enter service with a U.S.-based global freight carrier..

Boeing and FedEx Express celebrated the delivery of the world's largest air cargo carrier's first 777 Freighter. The world's largest and most capable twinjet freighter will help FedEx Express deliver more cargo even faster, allowing the carrier to offer customers greater flexibility. This is Boeing's ninth 777 Freighter delivery and marks the first 777 Freighter to enter service with a U.S.-based global freight carrier.

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's No. 1 express air and integrated transportation, distribution and logistics company and part of the DHL Group, has been conferred the ‘Best Express Provider of the year’ status in the domestic category on 17th September 2009 at the 3rd Express Logistics and Supply Chain Awards hosted at Taj Lands End – Mumbai.

British Airways World Cargo has announced further developments to Constant Climate, its temperature-controlled product for pharmaceuticals. The carrier has invested in a new dedicated product care team, an exclusive SMS customer update service and has broadened the scope of this service to include passive temperature-controlled packages and shipments. The new elements of the product were launched globally across all 56 Constant Climate stations in early September 2009 and are being implemented following consultation with specialist pharmaceutical forwarders.

Boeing continues to make progress on the assembly of the 747-8 Freighter, as mechanics completed the installation of the new GEnx-2B engines on airplane No. 1 in final assembly at the factory in Everett, Wash. “We are another step closer to bringing the 747-8 Freighter to market,” said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program. “This production milestone is a reflection of the strong working together relationship among Boeing, GE Aviation, Middle River Aircraft Systems and Spirit AeroSystems.”

BAE Systems has won an exclusive mandate from UK carrier Titan Airways to remarket one of the airline’s three freighter variants of the BAe 146. Due to the need for larger capacity aircraft, Titan Airways wishes to sell one of the three aircraft and under the terms of the mandate the Asset Management business of BAE Systems will market all three aircraft simultaneously. All aircraft are offered with early delivery and consist of BAe 146QT (Quiet Trader) bearing manufacturer’s serial number E2114 (1988 build), and two BAe 146QC (Quick Change) aircraft with msns E2119 and E2148, both built in 1989.

Blue Dart Express Limited, declared its financial results for the second quarter and half year ended June 2009. The company posted Rs.11.43 Crore profit after tax for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 and Rs 23.12 Crore for the half year ended June 30, 2009.

Blue Dart, has added another important milestone in its leadership of the Express industry with the introduction of time definite services to and from selected cities in India. These time definite services are available on Blue Dart’s Domestic Priority and Dart Apex products: ‘Domestic Priority 1030’ Targeted at time-critical business-to-business needs, this guaranteed door-to-door time definite delivery service by Air ensures that documents and small shipments are delivered the next possible business day by 10:30 am.

British Airways World Cargo has reported commercial revenue (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) of £128 million for the first quarter of the financial year beginning April 2009.

Brussels Airport Cargo was down 35 per cent to 34,300 tonnes in June compared to the year-ago-period. The full-freighter segment dropped 48 per cent due to carriers' capacity cuts. Airport officials said that short-haul business was significantly affected while long-haul and low-cost traffic remained reasonably stable.

British government has abandoned plans to sell 30 percent of Royal Mail to TNT Post.Lord Peter Mandelson made the announcement in the British Parliament's House of Lords saying, “Market conditions have made it impossible to conclude the process to identify a partner for the Royal Mail on terms that we can be confident would secure value for the taxpayer.” He added, “There is therefore no prospect in current circumstances of achieving the objectives of the postal services bill. When market conditions change we will return to the issue.”

Brussels Airlines Cargo is to begin selling the capacity and services of Lufthansa Cargo Charter (LCC), the independent charter subsidiary of Lufthansa Cargo.LCC started out using just the sales force of its parent company, adding its own centres in Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Chicago and Dubai.In 2006, sister company Swiss World Cargo was also added to its sales force, followed by Austrian Airlines Cargo earlier this year.

Brussels Airport in May2009 Cargo handled 32,782 tons registered in May still represent a decrease by 41% compared to last year. As a result of the capacity reductions implemented by the major cargo carriers, the full-freighter segment again registered a decrease of over 50%. In comparison, cargo transported on board of passenger planes and the integrator segment did better, with a decrease of 22% and 24% respectively.

Boeing projects long-term global air cargo traffic to grow at an average annual rate of 5.4% over the next 20 years. In line with anticipated long-term trade growth, this will lead to overall cargo traffic nearly tripling over the period. A shift toward larger freighters and new, more efficient aircraft will help keep air cargo transport affordable.This year's forecast reflects near-term contractions in both world industrial production and overall international trade. World air cargo traffic fell about 6 % in 2008 compared to 2007 levels. An expected 11% drop in global industrial production likely will lead to a further cargo traffic reduction in 2009.During the forecast period, the world freighter fleet is expected to increase from 1,940 to 3,250 aircraft - an increase of two-thirds. This growth will require 2,760 freighters worth $170b at today's catalog prices.Additions to the fleet will include 710 new-production freighters and 2,050 aircraft converted from passenger models.Large (more than 88.2 tons/80 tonnes capacity) freighters will account for 490 new-build aircraft. Medium (44.1 to 88.2 tons/40 to 80 tonnes) freighters will total 210 aircraft.

Boeing has completed another milestone in the assembly of its first 747-8 Freighter by joining the wing to the fuselage. Workers attached the 40-foot (12 m) fuselage section to the center wing box in the final assembly bay at the factory in Everett, Wash. The wing and center section are now being prepared for final body join, when the assembly will be connected to the forward and aft fuselage sections.

British Airways World Cargo has reported commercial revenue (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) of £673 million for the full year beginning April 2008. This represents an increase of 9.4 per cent against the same period last year. Volumes of 4,638 million cargo tonne kilometres (CTKs) for the full year represent a decrease of 5.2 per cent versus the previous 12 months. Cargo capacity for the same period was down 5.1 per cent. Overall yield (commercial revenue per CTK) increased by 15.4 per cent versus last year, driven by higher levels of fuel surcharge. Excluding the impact of exchange rate movements, yield increased by 6.6 per cent. The fourth quarter in particular saw a 15.5 per cent drop in volumes versus last year – the largest quarterly volume decline on record.

Boeing celebrated the delivery of the first 777 Freighter to Deucalion Capital and its customer AeroLogic GmbH. AeroLogic, formed in 2007 and based in Leipzig, Germany, is a new cargo company joint venture between Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express and will operate a fleet exclusively comprising the new 777 Freighter. Deucalion Capital and its customer AeroLogic currently have eight 777 Freighters on order. The new freighter incorporated two key elements of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services suite of E-enabled tools, Maintenance Performance Toolbox and Airplane Health Management.

Boeing has achieved another significant milestone for the first 747-8 Freighter by completing assembly of the airplane’s forward fuselage. The 89-foot, 2-inch (27.2 m) fuselage section, featuring the airplane’s signature upper deck, was moved from the final assembly installation tool for sealing and testing before beginning systems installation. The 747-8 features a stretched fuselage compared to that of the 747-400.

BAE Systems Asset Management has arranged the placement of a BAE 146-200QT (Quiet Trader) freighter to PT Nusantara Air Charter (NAC) of Indonesia. The aircraft was delivered at the beginning of June. The aircraft, (msn E2113), was owned by Erik Thun AB and was previously managed by European Turboprop Management AB of Sweden who awarded Asset Management an exclusive remarketing mandate for the aircraft.NAC has been operating for a number of years and is owned by local business interests.

British Airways World Cargo has reported commercial revenue (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) of £673 million for the full year beginning April 2008. This represents an increase of 9.4 per cent against the same period last year. Excluding the impact of exchange rate movements, commercial revenues were up 1.1 per cent. Volumes of 4,638 million cargo tonne kilometres (CTKs) for the full year represent a decrease of 5.2 per cent versus the previous 12 months. Cargo capacity for the same period was down 5.1 per cent.Overall yield (commercial revenue per CTK) increased by 15.4 per cent versus last year, driven by higher levels of fuel surcharge. Excluding the impact of exchange rate movements, yield increased by 6.6 per cent. The fourth quarter in particular saw a 15.5 per cent drop in volumes versus last year – the largest quarterly volume decline on record.

Blue Dart, has set up a new service centre at Valsad. Through this service centre, Blue Dart will offer Valsad the entire range of products and services – both air and ground, domestic and international. The new service centre will cater to all the vital industries of the area especially Banking & Insurance, the SMEs and other private firms.

British Airways offers extra baggage allowance to students travelling overseas. Students can carry extra baggage weighing 23 kilos absolutely free and also avail of exciting offers .This offer is valid for students flying outbound with the airline between upto November 30, 2009.

Boeing Company has completed major assembly of the first set of wings for the 747-8 Freighter. The new 135-foot 3-inch (41.2 m) wings incorporate the latest aerodynamic technologies to fly farther and more efficiently. The advanced airfoil provides improved overall performance and greater fuel capacity. The Boeing 747-8 Freighter and Intercontinental are the new high-capacity 747s that offer airlines the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large passenger or freighter airplane, while providing enhanced environmental performance.

British Airways World Cargo has signed a general sales agent (GSA) agreement with Tampa Cargo, one of the leading cargo carriers in Latin America. This business partnership will see BA World Cargo trained staff selling US-originating cargo capacity across Tampa Cargo’s entire US network, excluding Miami. Following the buyout of Tampa Cargo by Colombian flag-carrier Avianca in 2008, Tampa Cargo now manages both freighter and bellyhold capacity on behalf of the airline from three online and 19 offline origins across the US.

Berlin Airports will present its plans for the development of a cargo building at ACE international trade fair for logistics. The centre for cargo, which would be based at the Capital Airport BBI, would have a starting capacity of 60,000 tons. The facility, which could be built in modules, would provide direct access to aprons and close proximity to passenger aircraft, enabling cargo for long-haul destinations to be reloaded in no time at all. An Europe-wide call for tenders will be held for the construction of the building. Contracts are expected to be awarded in early 2010.

BlueDart Express Limited, declared its financial results for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2009, at its Board Meeting held in Mumbai. The company posted Rs.11.68 crore profit after tax for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Income from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 stood at Rs. 209.07 crore. Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart Express Ltd said, “We are in the midst of a global economic downturn but, Blue Dart as a customer-centric organization is focused on innovation and delivering value added products and services.

British Airways World Cargo has reported volumes of 1,237 million cargo tonnes kilometres for the first quarter of the financial year beginning April 2008. This is an increase of 4.1 per cent versus last year, against cargo capacity that was down 3 per cent.Commercial revenues (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) stand at £178 million, an increase of 22 per cent against the same period last year. After the impact of exchange rate movements is removed, commercial revenues are up 19.3 per cent.The first quarter of the financial year also saw a 51.2 per cent increase in British Airways' fuel bill versus last year.Overall yield (commercial revenue per CTK) has increased by 17.3 per cent. Excluding exchange rate effects, yield has increased by 14.6 per cent.

Blue Dart Express Limited has launched DHL's value added service Shippers Interest Insurance (SII). This service is available to all customers for both inbound and outbound international shipments and comes with arrangement of an insurance cover that protects the customers' financial interests in the event of a loss or damage of their goods/shipment due to an external cause, which is underwritten by a leading general Insurance provider Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited (TATA AIG).

Boeing and Emirates SkyCargo celebrated the first 777 Freighter delivery to the Dubai-based air freight carrier, and the first ever Boeing delivery to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Capital, the leasing arm of DAE, has a total of eight 777 Freighters on order.

British Airways World Cargo has announced the launch of an additional weekly freighter routing to Chicago in response to commercial demand. As part of the carrier's summer schedule, the additional Boeing 747-400F service doubles BA World Cargo's weekly frequency to and from Chicago. It will route Stansted-Frankfurt-Chicago-Atlanta and customers now have the choice of sending freight on this new day 3 service or on the existing day 6 service which routes Stansted-Frankfurt-Chicago-Houston - enabling greater access to BA World Cargo's unrivalled worldwide network.

Blue Dart Express Limited, has improved its transit times out of Amritsar, by virtue of better connectivity. Blue Dart will now ensure delivery of its 1st cut-off loads from Amritsar to Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, in the morning of the next business day.

British Airways World Cargo, together with global partner DHL Global Forwarding, announced that it has become the first carrier to dispatch a paperless airfreight shipment from London Stansted.

Blue Dart Express Limited has been acknowledged with an International Award - “Leader in Prestige and Quality 2008” by Actualidad, Revista de Turismo, Industria y Comercio (Magazine of Tourism, Industry and Commerce) in Spain. This award was instituted in 1995 by Actualidad to recognize the true engines of the economy that drive and dominate markets.

Boeing says December 2008 was the worst monthly decline in air cargo since the company began keeping detailed records. Air cargo overall fell 24.2 percent that month compared to December 2007. Boeing notes that while IATA reported a 22.6 percent drop in cargo in December, the figure is smaller than its own estimate due to the fact that IATA does not include the U.S. domestic market. The U.S. Air Transport Association says system-wide total air cargo (freight, express and mail) declined 17.0 percent year-over-year in December '08. According to the Association of European Airlines, air cargo traffic on European carriers contracted 21.4 percent that month while the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines says cargo fell 29.2 percent.

BAA's cargo traffic fell by 21.4 per cent in February compared to January. BASA, which operates Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, and Stansted airports, said that shipments were down to 119,984 metric tonnes Worst hit of the airports was Glasgow, which fell more than 60 per cent down to 139 tonnes and Gatwick, which fell 57 per cent, down to 6,001 metric tonnes. Heathrow, the UK's largest airfreight hub, fell 17.9 per cent to 91,046 tonnes.

British Airways World Cargo (BAWC) has chosen to continue operating its longhaul freighter programme from London Stansted. During the evaluation procedure BAWC investigated a number of options, including a possible relocation to Kent International Airport (KIA).

Blue Dart in collaboration with DHL, has extended to its international customers, an innovative packaging solution Express Pallet. Express Pallet is a unique, weather-resistant, safe, secure and affordable door-to-door packaging solution for heavier shipments, worldwide through a single partner, DHL, with proven customs expertise.Express Pallet can be 'built' to accommodate shipments ranging from 50kgs to 100kgs. The design and structure allows the same box to be adjusted into three different sizes with capacities of 50 kgs, 75 kgs and 100 kgs. It is fitted with specially designed in-built wood-free pallet base for smooth and safe transportation via a forklift. The sturdy packaging ensures additional safety of the shipment. The heavy-duty corrugated weather-proof cardboard box is further shrink wrapped to provide additional protection against water. Express Pallet does not require Fumigation Certificate for custom clearance.

British Airways, reported cargo revenues surged by 18.8 percent in the first three quarters compared with a year ago, but traffic is now plunging amid the global economic downturn. The airfreight unit, BA World Cargo, booked revenue of $784 million in the nine months to Dec. 31. Traffic, measured in cargo ton-kilometers, declined 1.7 percent, driven by a softening third quarter. But this was offset by higher revenue on each ton of cargo flown due to fuel surcharge increases and the rise of the dollar against the pound.Cargo traffic is now falling sharply, with January shipments down 16.7 percent from a year ago, following a 14.7-percent decline in December.

Blue Dart said it has launched value-added services - Duties and Taxes Paid - targeting the multi-national and SME exporters. This service allows exporters from India to manage their shipping requirements in a seamless manner. In case of outbound shipments, DHL entity overseas would clear the shipment at Customs by paying the requisite duty according to the local laws and deliver the said shipments to the consignee.

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's number one express air and integrated transportation, distribution and logistics Company, announced its annual result for the year ended December 31, 2008. The Company posted Rs 77.35 crore profit after tax for the year ended December 31, 2008, up by 10.62% from the corresponding period of the previous year. Income from Operations for the quarter ended December 31, 2008 was Rs 227.34 crore lower by 2.34% as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Blue Dart handled 79.73 million shipments weighing 2,31,923 tonnes servicing to over 21,100 locations across India. To augment its robust infrastructure, Blue Dart inducted one more B-757 freighter to its fleet of 3 B737s & 3 B757s.

British Airways World Cargo has announced the launch of a fourth daily Dubai flight, as part of its winter schedule. The additional Boeing 777 service, which started on 2 January 2009, has increased cargo capacity in the region and given customers moving freight through the Middle East greater access to BA World Cargo's unrivalled worldwide network in the UK, Europe and the Americas.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has airlifted an initial 800 tons of relief cargo to Pakistan on behalf of governments and international aid agencies after severe monsoon rains triggered a humanitarian disaster in the South Asian country.

Cargoitalia has reported a continuing improvement in performance for the first six months of operations in 2010, building on the strong start made in its first four months of operations. From January-June 2010, the airline operated scheduled services on three routes: Milan (Malpensa) – New York (JFK), Milan - Chicago, and Milan - Dubai - Hong Kong.During the period, Cargoitalia flew a total of 173 rotations including charter flights. Average monthly utilisation was up 60% on the airline’s first four months of operation, at a total of 3,375 block hours.Cargoitalia carried 18,717,263 kilos of cargo from January-June (up from 6,800,000 in the period September-December 2009). This represented 72% average load factor by weight (up from 63%) and 89% average load factor by volume (up from 80%). The airline’s export traffic in the period represented 19% of the Milan-New York market, 27% of the Milan - Chicago market, 18% of the Milan- Hong Kong market and 11% of the Milan-Dubai market. In addition to operating 100% of scheduled flights, 70% of all flights departed within 30 minutes of schedule, compared to 65% in the previous period.

Cargolux announces the expansion of its services to Saudi Arabia by introducing one weekly frequency to Riyadh, in addition to its twice weekly service to Dammam. CV 7527 is operated every Sunday morning out of Luxembourg, with arrival in Riyadh same day and is continued to Hong Kong, CV 6587, and further on to Chicago and New York, CV 6591, before returning to Luxembourg. This new service is Cargolux’s third trans-pacific service offered to its worldwide clients. On board Cargolux’s B747-400 freighters to this new destination, mostly consumer goods, machinery and pharmaceuticals are carried.

Cargoitalia - Italy’s freighter operator – is poised to launch scheduled services to Shanghai in September, utilising its recently-arrived third MD11 freighter aircraft. From September 8, Cargoitalia will operate direct non-stop flights from its Milan (Malpensa) hub to Shanghai Pudong every Wednesday and Sunday, departing at 05:00 and arriving at 00:20 the following day.

Cargoitalia will be adding Milan-Shanghai to its route network The carrier is embarking on this new and promising route with its third MD11 freighter aircraft whose recent arrival marked the satisfactory conclusion of the airline’s first phase of development.

China Southern Airlines took delivery of two Boeing 777-200 cargo planes beefing up its freighter fleet to six as mainland carriers step up competition with foreign airlines over the mainland's air cargo market.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has delivered over 1000 tons of aid cargo to help support the humanitarian efforts for the tens of thousands of people who fled civil unrest in Southern Kyrgyzstan. Following rising tensions in the Central Asian country, an estimated 75,000 ethnic Uzbeks fled their homes and sought refuge in Uzbekistan.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has successfully coordinated the first ever charter on Qatar Airways Cargo’s latest addition to their fleet - a new Boeing 777 Freighter only recently delivered to the Doha-based airline. Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Inc undertook high-profile cargo charter from Nantes in France to New Orleans, USA, to deliver seven skimmer boats to help tackle the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Fort Lauderdale-based aircraft charter specialist arranged the flight of an Antonov AN-124 - one of the world’s largest cargo planes - to urgently transport four 35-foot and three 21-foot vessels from Nantes (NTE) in France to New Orleans (MSY).

Cargoitalia has now received the approval from the Italian Authority ENAC to solely use Lufthansa Systems’ Lido/TakeOff solution. The Italian cargo airline can now calculate the optimized take-off data exclusively with the application on its electronic flight bags (EFB). Until the recent approval, Lufthansa Systems provided Cargoitalia with the required paper runway weight charts and supported the airline during the approval process.

Cargo Airport Services USA, LLC (CAS) has been awarded the cargo warehouse handling contract with Air France and partner airlines KLM and Alitalia at Chicago O’Hare International Airport effective July 01, 2010. The Air France Sky Team Alliance includes KLM and Alitalia whose combined fleet of A340/300, B747/400, and B767 passenger and freighter aircraft provide twenty five weekly flights from ORD. CAS will serve the Sky Team in the Air France cargo facility building number 617 located on airport on South Access Road.

Cobham Aviation Services Australia is expanding its air service offering to the vital and fast-growing mining and resource sector in the country by leasing two more jets from BAE Systems. The first of the new aircraft is a BAe 146-300QT (Quiet Trader) freighter, which has recently been converted from a passenger to freighter aircraft at Aerostar in Bacau, Romania.

Cargoitalia Italy’s all-cargo airline – will take delivery of its third MD11 freighter aircraft in June.The latest aircraft – registration EI-EMS – is a new conversion leased from Boeing Capital, and being delivered by SASCO (ST Aviation Services Company Pte. Ltd) of Singapore. It has a larger (90 tonne) payload than the airline’s first two MD11 aircraft, with the same range (3910 NM, 7241 km) and volume (478 cu m). The new aircraft has a forward cargo door, making loading easier.The aircraft will enter service in July, and is expected to operate a programme of charter flights. It will then provide operational cover for Cargoitalia’s other aircraft when they receive C-checks in August, before entering scheduled service in September.Cargoitalia plans to deploy its latest aircraft on a twice-weekly service from its Milan hub to Shanghai Pudong. In October, the service will increase to three times weekly.

Cargolux Airlines International S.A., announces the introduction of a third weekly frequency to Komatsu.CV 6344 is operated every Thursday evening.The return flight, CV 6355, departs from Komatsu  and is operated via Seoul, with arrival in Luxembourg at 06.15.a.m. on Saturday morning. All times are local times. The two existing flights to Komatsu are operated on Tuesday and Friday evening out of Luxembourg, with arrivals in Komatsu on Wednesday and Saturday afternoon.

Cargolux Airlines International S.A., announces the introduction of a third weekly frequency to Seoul. The two existing flights to Seoul are operated on Tuesday and Friday evening out of Luxembourg with arrivals in Seoul on Wednesday and Saturday evening.  On board of Cargolux’s B747-400 freighters to Seoul, mostly machinery, spare parts, and computers are flown, while from Korea, electric goods and machinery are transported on board of Cargolux’s freighters for the company’s  European stations.

Cathay Pacific has resumed development of its US$707 million air Cargo terminal after a two year break because of the economic downturn. By the time the new terminal opens in 2013, Cathay will have added another 10 Boeing 747 cargo planes to its fleet and be established in its new, near-50-50 joint venture with Air China, which gives the two partners a foothold in Shanghai, a major air hub on the Chinese mainland.

Cargolux Airlines International S.A. was  awarded ‘BEST FREIGHTER-ONLY AIRLINE 2010’ by the British magazine Air Cargo News, based on over 40,000 votes from the global cargo forwarding industry. The award was handed over to Renate Bechthold, Cargolux Manager Press & Promotions, by John Batten, Executive Vice-President Global Cargo of Swissport, in presence of the British television personality, Gyles Brandreth, at London’s Lancaster Hotel. Earlier, in February of this year, Cargolux also received the ALL-CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR award by the STAT TIMES, India, the award as ‘BEST PERFORMING CARGO AIRLINE 2009 AT BUDAPEST AIRPORT, and was also among the winners of the ‘AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2010’, following a worldwide ‘air cargo excellence survey’ initiated by U.S. magazine AIR CARGO WORLD.

China International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFA), Air Cargo Media UK and the WCA Family of Logistic Networks, have teamed up to create the world’s largest and most influential cargo networking event.  Encompassing the entire global transport logistics chain, the 7th Sino-International Freight Forwarders Conference adds World Cargo Connections in 2010 which at last provides both air and ocean cargo industries with a platform to network directly with their customers, partners and suppliers in an effective proven format that is guaranteed to generate new business.

Cargolux, said it lost $153 million in 2009 as falling cargo volume and shrinking margins slashed revenue by 34 percent to $1.3 billion. But the market picked up in the final quarter prompting the carrier to lease three 747-200 freighters to keep pace with increased cargo demand.

CHAMP Cargosystems announced the selection by Finnair of CHAMP's Cargospot solutions as part of a five-year transformation plan for the airline's € 200 million cargo business. This five-year deal includes Cargospot Airline, Handling and Revenue modules to incorporate with GCCS, CHAMP's global community messaging solution. In addition, CargoWEB, the web booking, distribution and tracking solution, will be provided as a hosted ASP (application service provider) service. Finnair, the flag carrier of Finland and widely recognised as an industry leader in the use of IT, has been a CHAMP customer for six years and has chosen to migrate to the new generation Cargospot portfolio to manage the transformation of their cargo business. The new system will drive out costs and improve yields across the airline's € 200 million division. CHAMP has seen an extensive growth over the last year with 17 airlines choosing Cargospot Airline to help develop their business, reaffirming its position as the leading air cargo system.

Cargo Airport Services USA, LLC (“CAS”) has been awarded the cargo warehouse and ramp handling contract with China Airlines Cargo (CI) at JFK International Airport. CAS will handle China Airlines in their cargo facility consisting of 66,000 square foot warehouse and ramp space with parking for wide body aircraft. China Airlines is the leading carrier to Taiwan with destinations to 85 cities in 27 countries. China Airlines operates Boeing 747/400 equipment with four weekly passenger flights and nine weekly freighter flights with direct service to Taipai.

Coyne Airways has been appointed as the exclusive sales agent in the UK and Ireland for RUS Aviation, giving freight forwarders direct access to the most extensive route network into Iraq.Coyne first launched neutral air cargo services into Iraq in 2004 and, to date, has managed the secure delivery of 35 million kilos of cargo into Iraq from all over the world. It has worked with RUS Aviation as its preferred airline partner into Iraq since August 2009. RUS Aviation flies from both Dubai and Sharjah, operating 42 ton capacity Airbus A300 freighters and IL-76F aircraft with a payload of 38 tons. Twice-weekly services provide fast and secure cargo deliveries to Baghdad, Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Balad, while all other major airports in Iraq – including Basra, Mosul and Kirkuk – are available on request.

Cargoitalia is boosting its schedule by 50 per cent with flights to the US and Hong Kong rising to three per week. The American service is to operate Milan (Malpensa) - New York - Chicago on Wednesdays, Milan - Chicago on Saturdays and Milan - New York on Sundays. Flights to Hong Kong also are to increase to three-times-weekly. Tuesday services route via a new destination, Sharjah, while Thursday and Saturday services continue to fly via Dubai.

Changi Airport, Asia's fifth-largest, saw a 16.2 percent rise in air freight by tonnage in February from a year ago, showing stronger global demand for goods, data showed .The airport also saw a 21.5 percent jump in passenger traffic in February, the biggest rise in six years, though this was skewed by visitors passing through the airport to the Singapore Airshow, as well as by the Lunar New Year holiday. Changi Airport Group said it handled 3.11 million passenger movements last month, and 130,578 tonnes of airfreight movements.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering Limited, a major air charter broker with a global presence in over 20 countries, and Air Niugini Limited, the national airline of Papua New Guinea, have entered into a partnership arrangement to provide cargo solutions for Papua New Guinea and its energy projects.The arrangement will provide Air Niugini with access to the international cargo charter market, allowing the airline to offer its clients freighter aircraft from third party operators managed by Chapman Freeborn.

Cargoitalia launches two new destinations following its successful restart in the summer last year by adding Dubai and Chicago to its existing network services to Asia, North America, and Africa.

Cathay Pacific will invest CNY1.7 billion (US$249 million) Air China's cargo operation in response to a rebound in Chinese exports. Under the terms announced, Cathay will hold 49 per cent of Air China Cargo, as reported earlier. The carrier will inject four Boeing 747-400 freighters and two spare engines into the unit to pay for the deal. Cathay and Air China first raised the prospect in 2006, but market volatility put off the deal, Cathay chairman Christopher Pratt told the media. "We are very optimistic about the joint venture's success," said Mr Pratt. "China exports are rebounding. Will that continue? We are not sure, but it's a long-term trend." Air China is Cathay Pacific's second-largest shareholder with a 30 per cent stake. Cathay Pacific owns 18 per cent of Air China, the nation's largest international carrier.

China Airlines posted US$625.15 million in revenue in the first two months of this year, up 33.36 percent year-on-year. Yang Ming Marine Transport registered $461.15 million, up15 percent while Wan Hai Lines scored $256.75 million, up 21.06 percent. Compared to the same period of 2009, CAL, Yang Ming and Wan Hai saw revenue decline by 0.6 percent, 28 percent and 22 percent, respectively. The airlines' revenue growth in the first two months of this year was mostly generated by higher cargo services. For instance, CAL saw revenue from passenger transport services grow only 8.5 percent and that for the cargo services jump by 128 percent year-on-year, in the first two months of this year.

China Eastern has taken over a controlling share of Great Wall Airlines  With this the competition for the booming Shanghai cargo market has intensified. China Eastern will now have three all-cargo carriers under its wing - Shanghai Airlines, China Cargo Airlines and Great Wall - as it positions itself to compete with the cargo joint venture formed by Cathay Pacific and Air China last month.

Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong-based carrier reported in its 2009 annual results that it made US$2.2 million in cargo revenue, a fall of 29.9 percent over the previous year. Cargo may have performed poorly, but the carrier came surging back from the worst result in its history in 2008. Cathay posted a net annual profit of $601 million, well up from 2008's loss of $1.1 billion.

Chapman Freeborn has successfully completed an Antonov 225 charter to transport four giant pieces of oil and gas equipment totalling almost 150 tons from Houston (IAH) to São Paulo (GRU). The charter was the first time the AN-225, the world’s largest fixed-wing aircraft, had been used for an operation in South America. The global aircraft charter specialist’s Brazil office was heavily involved in the complex preparations and loading of four valves each weighing 37 tonnes. They were assisted by the company’s US team.

Cargonaut International B. V. based at Amsterdam airport and Traxon Europe based in Frankfurt (Germany) have signed a cooperation agreement which took effect at the beginning of this year. Jointly they launched the web based central document and message management system eCargo Pouch on January. The new product is designed to fully support the IATA e-freight initiative.

Commonwealth Cargo, Inc. announces that they are providing local PUD in CHO, linehaul between CHO and RIC and hotshot service.

Cargolux has concluded a five-year agreement with ULD supply and management provider, Unitpool. The five-year contract includes the sale of the Cargolux ULD fleet to Unitpool, provision of service including 24/7 ULD management across the airline’s worldwide network, repairs and maintenance, and supply of ULD to secure replacement and growth. Unitpool has been working closely with Cargolux since the end of October 2009 refining processes, visiting the various stations across the network, and bringing on board new staff to ensure all is set for a seamless transfer of operations which began in January.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair expect air cargo demand to remain relatively strong in the run-up to Chinese new year in mid-February, following a strong December. The Hong Kong-based carriers saw a combined 25% year-on-year rise in cargo volumes last month, reflecting strong pre-Christmas demand and a weak comparison figure last year. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 15.7 percentage points to 78.6%, while capacity for the month, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was 3.3% down.

Cargoitalia is adding two new destinations to its network. The airline commences a bi-weekly service to Dubai. This new stop on Cargoitalia’s Wednesday and Saturday service to Hong Kong replaces the outbound technical stop in Almaty, which is retained on inbound flights.The Dubai service will carry cargo from Milan, and will also provide a through connection for traffic from Cargoitalia’s North American stations.Cargoitalia will add Chicago to its Thursday transAtlantic service, now operating Milan – New York – Chicago – Milan; Chicago replaces the original Toronto stop. The Sunday transAtlantic service will continue to operate Milan – New York – Toronto – Milan.

Chapman Freeborn has appointed Lizane Albers-Mostert  as Business Development Manager for South Africa, based primarily in Johannesburg with responsibility for the strategic development of the company’s activity in the country and the surrounding region. Her appointment follows a highly successful first 10 months of business for Chapman Freeborn’s office in Entebbe, Uganda, which opened in January 2009. Lizane joins Chapman Freeborn with several years experience in the South African charter aviation industry.

CHAMP Cargosystems announced that Air China, the flag  carrier for the People's Republic of China, has selected Cargospot Revenue Accounting to further improve the management of their air cargo business. They join a group of more than 15 organisations that have already chosen Cargospot this year. Air China will integrate Cargospot Revenue Accounting with its existing core cargo system to expedite billing and improve cash flow.

Cargologic AG and CFS the aim of the merger is to simplify and consolidate the service offering for customers, and to generally improve profitability. CFS (Cargologic Freight Services AG), which was founded three years ago, operates in Zurich, Basel and Lugano. The company specialises primarily in landside handling of airfreight. This perfectly complements Cargologic's service offering, which traditionally has a strong focus on airside freight handling.

Cargo 2000’s aim to develop a quality measurement for air cargo at airports has received a boost with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s decision to join the group. The airport is one of the world’s leading cargo gateways, handling 1.57 million tonnes of cargo per annum carried by nearly 100 airlines, including 25 freighter operators. Enno Osinga, Senior Vice President Cargo of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, said: “Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's membership of Cargo 2000 exemplifies our commitment to simplifying the air cargo business. Cargo 2000 perfectly complements the airport's efforts in air cargo process improvements, such as promotion of e-freight and Schiphol SmartGate Cargo, a project aimed at integrating cargo control and inspection processes. Cargo 2000's focus on process quality and control fits perfectly in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's ambition to become Europe's fastest, most efficient and reliable air cargo hub.”

China Southern Airlines inaugurated scheduled freighter services between Shanghai (PVG) and Frankfurt Airport (FRA) on December 4, 2009. The service is currently operated with a Boeing 747-400F but  will be replaced by a lower emission and more fuel-efficient Boeing 777ER next year. Based in Guangzhou, China Southern Airlines is China's largest carrier and the domestic market leader. "Fraport AG is proud to welcome China Southern Airlines as a new customer at Frankfurt Airport. Particularly during the global economic crisis, this underscores the strength and attractiveness of Frankfurt Airport," said Fraport AG's chief operating officer Peter Schmitz. "With this new carrier, we are strengthening Frankfurt Airport's leading position as the European gateway to China." With China Southern, all major carriers from the Chinese market are now represented at FRA with all-cargo services.

Celebi Turkish ground-handling services company said it had submitted a non-binding bid for Spain's Newco Airport Services. Newco Airport Services, which Celebi said supplied ground-handling services in 22 cities in Spain including Madrid and Barcelona, is a unit of Acciona. Celebi's bid is for 100 percent of Newco Airport Services and it will start negotiations with Newco if the latter accepts the bid. The statement said Newco had 2,450 workers and handled 103,000 planes in 2008.

Cargolux has branded 2009 a “disaster” for the company. Ulrich Ogiermann, president and chief  executive officer of Cargolux said that a year of poor demand and heavy fines will leave the carrier with a “three-digit million loss”.  Cargolux has to pay the first of five US$19 million annual fines to the US Department of Justice for its part in the airfreight price-fixing cartel of 2001-2006, on top of an unprecedented drop in demand.

Care By Air, with founding members – Maximus Air Cargo, Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Airports Company -  aims to provide cargo space ‘at cost’ to deliver relief aid to disaster-stricken areas around the world.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has announced the formal expansion of its global charter coverage into South Africa. The aircraft charter specialist has appointed Lizane Albers-Mostert as Business Development Manager for South Africa, based primarily in Johannesburg with responsibility for the strategic development of the company’s activity in the country and the surrounding region.

Cathay Pacific Airways reported cargo and mail tonne kilometres fell by 1.9 per cent in October, but it was still its best month of the year so far. General manager cargo sales and marketing Titus Diu said strong demand from Hong Kong and Shanghai had resulted in high load factors. "We expect demand to remain strong through to mid-December, though it is still too early to say whether we are seeing a sustained recovery," said Diu.

Cargojet is Canada’s leading provider of time sensitive overnight air cargo services, and it offers over 14 000 routes annually. Thanks to its wide range, flexibility and fast delivery, it is considered the best Canadian freighter. The flights from Toronto to Katowice and back are scheduled once a week and they will be operated by Boeing 767-200 Extended Range Freighter. The plane can take up to 45 tons of goods and it will dramatically increase the capacity and ability to carry oversized cargo on transatlantic routes from Poland.

Cargoitalia’s second scheduled service - from Milan to New York and Toronto – began operating, utilising the airline’s second MD11SF freighter. Flights will now operate twice weekly on Thursdays (u nder flight numbers 2G4630 outbound, and 2G4631 inbound) and Sundays (flight numbers 2G4660 and 2G4661).Cargoitalia has appointed New York-based Heavyweight Air Express (HAE) as its US-wide GSSA. Says HAE Director Peter Kerins: “Cargoitalia is one of few carriers offering maindeck capacity between the USA and Italy. There are also strong opportunities in Europe using road feeders from the airline’s Milan hub.”

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering’s worldwide offices have been heavily involved with the effort to get rescue teams and emergency aid supplies to the thousands affected by the earthquake and typhoons in South East Asia and a tsunami in the South Pacific. The global aircraft charter specialist’s Singapore office took the lead as the company oversaw the movement of hundreds of tons of relief cargo to Sumatra, the Philippines and Samoa on behalf of international aid agencies. In the aftermath of the earthquake and typhoons in South East Asia which claimed over 1,000 victims and left 400,000 people homeless, aid was flown into airports including Padang (PDG), Indonesia and Manila (MNL), Philippines on chartered DC10, IL-76, B777F, B747F and Hercules aircraft.

Cargoitalia has commenced its first scheduled service between Milan and Hong Kong. The airline was formed from an April merger of an entity called Cargoitalia and assets of the old Italian flag carrier Alitalia to commence a new cargo business. "The market here in Italy is supportive of our new venture. The Italian air cargo community appreciates the restoration of Italian-owned and managed freighter services, and we look forward to extending our network," said Cargoitalia, Commercial Director, Roberto Gilardoni.

Consolidators International (CII) Los Angeles-based has joined Cargo 2000, an organization geared to improving the quality standards of the worldwide air cargo industry. Cargo 2000, sponsored by IATA, brings together over 70 major airlines, freight forwarders, ground handling agents, road transport and technology providers located at 350 sites around the world. Its members are implementing re-engineered air cargo transportation processes from shipper to consignee using Cargo's 2000's 'Master Operating Plan'.

CHAMP Cargosystems, a leading provider of IT solutions to over 85 airlines and 200 customers worldwide, including GHAs, GSAs and freight forwarders, has joined Cargo 2000 to help drive improvements in the delivery of quality air cargo services and the move to a secure paper-free environment. James Fernandez, VP Sales & Marketing said: “CHAMP has enjoyed a long association with Cargo 2000 (C2K) and has been operating a C2K Data Management Platform (CDMP) exclusively for a major carrier for many years. By joining Cargo 2000, CHAMP will now be able to fully contribute to the programme not only by providing a range of C2K compliant solutions, but by supporting our customers through participation in a unique group within the industry. This is a significant milestone for CHAMP and our customers.”

Continental Airlines announced changes to its checked baggage policy for customers traveling between Europe and the United States, including U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Customers who have purchased certain economy class tickets for travel on or after the effective date were able to check one bag for free and will pay $50 for a second checked bag. Customers checking in and pre-paying for bags at continental.com received a $5 discount. The new policy took effect immediately for tickets purchased Aug. 27, 2009 for travel on or after Sept. 15, 2009.

Cargolux currently operates three weekly flights through Ecuador, mainly uplifting fresh flowers. This service is complemented with additional fifth freedom cargo originating in Brazil, Chile and Panama. After having served Cotopaxi International Airport at Latacunga - Ecuador, for almost eight years, Cargolux was asked to switch airports, at least during a three months period. The Government of Ecuador decided to revamp Latacunga Airport to include a new passenger terminal, a new warehouse and refurbishment of the runway. Between 15 of June and 16 of September 2009, Cargolux had, therefore, been landing at Mariscal International Airport in the Ecuador capital, Quito.

Cargoitalia the new Italian-owned all-cargo airline - has appointed the GSSAs and handling agents who will represent the carrier in its four launch markets of Hong Kong, the UAE, Canada, and the USA. Cargoitalia’s first scheduled flights to Hong Kong will commence on September 9th. Sales in Italy will be handled by the airline’s own sales team, while terminal and ramp handling at its Milan (Malpensa) Airport home base will be provided by ALHA and SEA respectively. In Hong Kong, Cargoitalia will be represented by New Asia Capital Resources Ltd, while handling will be performed by HACTL.

CAL Cargo Airlines is the latest airline to join Cargo 2000’s quality management system. Founded in 1976, the airline is privately owned by the Nir Shitufi agricultural cooperative that represents the Israeli kibbutzim and moshavim. C.A.L. carries approximately 75,000 tons of cargo annually, exporting goods from Israel ranging from fresh agricultural produce and industrial materials, and importing heavy machinery, automobiles, sensitive and sophisticated industrial and scientific equipment, livestock and hazardous materials from all over the world.

Cargoitalia and Lufthansa Systems announced that they have signed five-year contracts to provide the Italian air cargo carrier with integrated solutions from the IT provider's Airline Operations portfolio. This includes the Lido RouteManual navigation charts and Flight Management System (FMS) data to optimize Cargoitalia's flight operations processes. The airline also opted for Lido Topas and Lido Landing Performance, Lufthansa Systems' solutions for performance data analysis. All innovative Airline Operations solutions from Lufthansa Systems are based on the Lido navigation database.

Cathay Pacific Airways and its subsidiary Dragonair have reported moderating declines in cargo tonnage with the two carriers uplifting a total 123,860 tonnes of cargo and mail in June, down 10 per cent on June 2008.

Con-way Freight, a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier and subsidiary of Con-way Inc, announced the launch of Global LTL, a comprehensive portfolio of the company's worldwide LTL services. The new offering was created to help customers understand and benefit from the breadth of Con-way Freight's global services.

Changi Airport Group welcomed AeroLogic, an airline formed from the joint venture between DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo, at the JetQuay CIP Terminal in Changi Airport

CH Robinson US forwarding and logistics group has bought UK forwarder Walker Logistics Overseas as part of plans to expand its European base.

Cirrus Aircraft and Aerospace Products International, Inc. (API) signed a multi-year exclusive logistics services agreement to support Cirrus owners, operators and service centers worldwide.

China Airlines is suspending its cargo service between Taipei, Taiwan, and Nashville, USA.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has announced the official reopening of its operations in Italy. The global aircraft charter specialist has established a new office in Turin in response to growing demand for its award-winning services. The new team will work closely with Chapman Freeborn’s international offices to further strengthen the company’s cargo and passenger charter presence in Italy and across Southern Europe.

Cargolux Italia has named Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited its “one-stop-shop service provider” for cargo, documentation and ramp handling at Hong Kong International Airport, according to HACTL. Cargolux Italia now operates services between Hong Kong and Milan twice weekly. Cargolux Italia has appointed Cargolux International S.A. as the world-wide GSA, representing Cargolux Italia “on all commercial enquiries and cargo operations,”

Coyne Airways added second weekly Boeing 747-400 freighter service to its hub in Tbilisi with effect from July 1st 2009. In addition to its existing flight every Monday from London Stansted and Cologne to Tbilisi, Coyne has signed an agreement with Jade Cargo for further B747-400 capacity each Wednesday from Frankfurt to the Georgian capital.

Cargo B and Eagle Aviation Europe select AFI KLM E&M for 747 support Belgian freight airline, Cargo B, has signed a five-year agreement for airframe and component support with Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) for its two 747-400s. The agreement covers airframe A checks; component maintenance, pooling and logistics support; as well as line maintenance services at the cargo carrier's global outstations. French wet lease operator Eagle Aviation Europe also signed a 747-400 component maintenance and pooling agreement with the Franco-Dutch MRO provider.

Continental Airlines is extending its business partnership with Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) in North America with the awarding on a new contract in Honolulu. The agreement will see WFS provide the airline with cargo warehousing, customer service, mail handling and ramp handling for 45 passenger flights a week linking Honolulu with Los Angles, Houston, Guam, and Newark. WFS will also be responsible for loading and unloading of Continental Airlines’ twice-weekly Boeing 727 freighter services to and from Majuro in the South Pacific.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has successfully arranged the first ever charter on LAN Cargo’s latest addition to their fleet - a new Boeing 777 Freighter only delivered to the Miami-based airline a few days prior to the flight. The global aircraft charter specialist coordinated the movement of 18 tons of generator equipment from Toronto (YYZ) to Havana (HAV) for the inaugural flight, on behalf of Project Freight Forwarding company Rohde & Liesenfeld Canada.

Calogi team has recently launched an innovative new service for the members of its industry-respected cargo web portal, called c-Trade.

Cargo B Airlines has signed an interline agreement with Astral Aviation of Nairobi, opening up a number of new destinations within Africa. Following the delivery of a second B747-400 freighter, the Brussels-based all-cargo airline recently began thrice-weekly flights from Brussels to Nairobi, while Astral offers capacity on a DC9F to and from its Nairobi hub to Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Zanzibar, Juba, Kigali, Bujumbura and Entebbe.

CHAMP Cargosystems Integrated air cargo IT solutions provider has announced that Cargolux will be the launch customer for the first ever graphical weight and balance solution specifically designed for the air freight sector. The new system has already demonstrated the ability to halve Cargolux’s load sheet preparation time. By enabling load controllers to manage the sorting of ULDs using colour-coded differentials based on contour, weight, destination and type, average load planning time can be significantly cut.

China Southern Airlines is to postpone indefinitely the launch of its cargo venture with Air France KLM, due to low demand in the cargo market. Last June the parties signed an agreement to launch the venture, with China Southern holding 75 per cent. The Chinese carrier has delayed delivery of two of four 777Fs to the end of the year with the remaining 777Fs due in 2010. One A300 was also ordered for the cargo operation.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has once again landed the prestigious Air Cargo Charter Broker of the Year prize at the ACW World Air Cargo Awards For the third successive year, worldwide freight forwarders, logistics providers and airlines have chosen the company as their favourite charter partner following a round of independent voting.

Central Global Cargo of Germany, Qualitair & Sea of France and the UK's Davies Turner Aviation, a division of Davies Turner Air Cargo three European freight forwarding and logistics companies – have announced the formation of the Aviation Logistics Network (ALN). They are aiming to provide all aspects of the aircraft parts supply chain, from sourcing of parts through to airside delivery of time-critical AOG (aircraft on ground) spares and services to MRO stations worldwide.

Cargoitalia now has its former Alitalia, AWAS-leased, MD11 freighters on a three-year term. According to Roberto Gilardoni, the airline’s ex-DHL Commercial Director, as soon as the company gets its AOC for the U.S. and Canada it’ll begin twice-weekly rotations between Milan, New York, Toronto and Abu Dhabi. Probably in September because the company is still recruiting pilots and August isn’t far away.

Cathay Pacific's cargo business has steadied, but a pickup depends on when demand from major Western economies returns, CEO Tony Tyler said. Hong Kong's dominant carrier reported a 24 percent fall in revenue derived from passenger and cargo in the first quarter.

Cargoitalia the Italian all-cargo airline being re-launched under the new ownership of ALIS has taken delivery of the first of three MD11SF freighters.The first aircraft - registration EI-UPI was formerly operated by Alitalia Cargo, and is currently undergoing certification with Italy's civil aviation authorities. After this, it will enter commercial service. The second aircraft (EI-UPE) is scheduled to arrive during July, with a third planned later in the year.

Cargolux despite the extreme volatility of key market parameters, strengthened its overall market position and increased revenues (+18%) to a record level of close to US$ 2 billion. The company ended the year with an operational profit of US$ 55 million. Tonnage carried grew slightly by +0.1% to 703,601 tons, freight tonne kilometres decreased by 2.3% to 5.4 million, and load factors reached 70.6%. Daily aircraft utilization was 15:37 block hours, slightly higher than the 2007 average.Based on IATA statistics and measured in international freight tonne kilometers, Cargolux’ global market share was about 4%, slightly higher than 2007. The net (after-tax) loss for the year is US$ 61 million following tax adjustments required to be made pursuant to the Company’s accounting rules.

Continental Airlines Cargo, the first U.S. airline to offer a structured cold chain program, has reached an agreement with CSafe to become the first passenger airline to offer the company’s innovative AcuTemp RKN. The new equipment has passed all U.S. regulatory hurdles and CO will release details of its operating plan shortly.

Calogi, a new and revolutionary cargo community portal, which has saved the Dubai forwarding community an estimated AED 3.5 million, is now being made available across the GCC. Calogi is a self service web based portal designed to serve the information processing needs of the local supply chain community. Aimed at simplifying the air cargo business, Calogi enables local supply chain stakeholders to seamlessly interact with each other. Information is entered once by the originator and used throughout the shipment lifecycle.

Cargolux Airlines International S.A., among other cargo airlines, has entered into a plea agreement with the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) in connection with its ongoing investigation relating to air cargo services of a large number of international air cargo operators in the US. “Cargolux has cooperated intensively with the DoJ and the other authorities throughout the investigation and will continue to do so. Cargolux takes its obligation and commitment to abide by the laws and specifically competition laws very seriously. Cargolux has meanwhile reviewed and reinforced its competition compliance program in place, which requires all our staff to fully comply with such requirements at all times.” says Mr. Marc Hoffmann, Chairman of the Board of Cargolux.

Cargolux Airlines International S.A. has successfully passed the ISO 14001 certification audit for its flight operations division and received the official certificate from the TÜV Rheinland (Technischer Überwachungsverein). This certificate is valid for three years and Cargolux will have to undergo an annual surveillance audit to maintain its certification. Companies such as Cargolux are increasingly concerned with achieving and demonstrating sound environmental performance by controlling the impact of their activities, products and services on the environment, consistent with their environmental policy and objectives.

Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM), a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, has selected AAR to manufacture cargo systems for six of its 767-200 package carrier aircraft, which are to be converted into higher capacity general market freighter (GMF) aircraft. While the cargo systems will be manufactured at AAR’s facility in Goldsboro, North Carolina, with deliveries scheduled , the installation will be done by IAI Bedek of Tel Aviv, Israel.

Cathay Pacific drops 2 more B747-400 freighters as drastic cost cutting continues with an 11% reduction in cargo capacity from this month. The airline says it will park – taking the total to 5. In addition to an 8% cut in passenger flights – and complementary bellyhold capacity – from May the airline is reducing its weekly freighter flights from a high of 124 last year to 84 with a reduction to Europe from 32 to 22; to North America from 31 to 26; to China from 23 to 15; flights to Japan and Taiwan are halved from 20; and to S.E. Asia from 9 to 3.

CRS Airlines Representatives – the Spanish member of the EGSAC GSSA network – has launched a new subsidiary in Portugal, with offices within Lisbon’s new cargo complex and at Porto Airport’s cargo facility. CRS Portugal has also been appointed as EGSAC’s exclusive member for the territory. Launch client for the new CRS business is Leisure Airline Group, already represented by CRS Spain and several other EGSAC members. CRS Portugal will also represent a number of its Spanish parent’s other carrier clients including Aerosur Cargo, CSA Czech Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and TAM; further appointments are expected in the near future.

CargoB Airlines takes delivery of its second brand new aircraft in Seattle. This aircraft is also leased from the airline’s strategic partner, Nippon Cargo Airlines and will start operations from Brussels . Niek Van Der Weide’ Executive VP commercial states “We can now serve our African markets once more with three weekly flights to destinations such as Kinshasa, Libreville, Nairobi and Ndjamena with Johannesburg operating twice per week. The increase in capacity also offers good possibilities and capacity for part and full charters, for which there is a significant demand. We are now operating on a level playing field in terms of competing with other carriers already operating with fuel efficient aircraft, capable of carrying higher payloads over longer distances.“Cargo B continues to use the first of these 747-400Fs on the three weekly flights to Latin America, serving Sao Paulo, Lima, Quito and Bogota and Caracas.

Cargo B, the Belgian all cargo carrier that started operations in October 2007, has decided to relocate its hub to Liege Airport to further develop its operations as well as its new routes to/from Africa.

Cargolux will be the launch customer for the first ever graphical weight and balance solution specifically designed for the air freight sector. The new system, provided by Champ Cargosystems, has already demonstrated the ability to halve Cargolux's load sheet preparation time. The graphical interface and 'drag and drop' functionality, though commonly used for passenger loading, has never before been provided to meet the unique requirements of freight handlers. By enabling load controllers to manage the sorting of ULDs using colour-coded differentials based on contour, weight, destination and type, average load planning time can be significantly cut. Champ says that throughout testing the system has delivered up to 55 per cent reduction in load sheet preparation time.

Cargolux will start a new weekly B747-400 freighter service to Toronto/Ontario. This new scheduled service provides important main deck trans-Atlantic capacity, thus supporting the positive economic development of this region, especially for the transportation of oversize pieces of varying commodities. Furthermore it offers new possibilities for the transportation of dangerous goods that can only be carried on board cargo aircraft. From Europe to Toronto, mainly general cargo is expected.

Cargoitalia the Italian all-cargo airline being re-launched under the new ownership of ALIS has completed its management line-up with the appointment of Roberto Gilardoni as Commercial Director. In his new post, Gilardoni is responsible for Cargoitalia's marketing and sales, network development, and the appointment of general sales agents, handling agents and other service partners. Gilardoni completes a senior management line-up comprising Alcide Leali (Chairman and CEO), Giacomo Manzon (Managing Director), Stefano Barone (Industry Director), Gabriele Cori (CFO), Angelo Boscolo (Flight Operations) and Danilo Zenari (Maintenance).

CargoGulf has announced its first new office opening of 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand, that will operate under a value partner scheme with its long-standing agent, GAC.The Bangkok office is headed by CargoGulf Manager, Vanchai Polchai, who will work to develop new business, develop trade lanes and manage import/export consolidation services locally and globally.

CEVA Logistics announced that it had maintained its number one position in the International Transport Air Association (IATA) ranking in Thailand. This is the second consecutive year that CEVA tops the IATA ranking list after it announced a 27% airfreight growth and achieved over 3.8 billion Baht of airfreight sales volume in Thailand for 2008.

Cologne Bonn Cargo Center (CBCC) opened Green light for cargo after a construction period of ten months at Cologne Bonn Airport. The multi-functional cargo hall fulfils state-of-the-art standards and is geared towards forwarding agents, logistics companies and airlines who want a quick and efficient transfer of their freight from road to air, and of course vice-versa.

Cologne Bonn Cargo Center has arrangements to produce eco-electricity.Clean solar electricity is being generated on the roof of the Cologne Bonn Cargo Center (CBCC). The Cologne system house Energiebau has installed one of the largest photovoltaic systems in the Cologne/Bonn region. “With this system, the Airport is making an exemplary contribution to applying regenerative energies,” explained Jens Baganz, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Economics of North-Rhine in praise of this project. Airport CEO, Michael Garvens stated: We are making a contribution to protecting the climate and show that we are making every effort to improve our environmental track.”

China Cargo, entered into the Sale and Purchase Agreements with, inter alia, the Purchaser regarding the sale of the Freighter from China Cargo to the Purchaser. On the same day, China Cargo entered into the Lease Agreements with the Purchaser regarding the leaseback of the same Freighter in accordance with the terms and conditions thereof.

Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair released combined airfreight and passenger traffic figures for February 2009 that show a drop in the number of passengers carried and another pronounced fall in cargo and mail tonnage compared to the same period one year ago The two airlines carried a total of 100,906 tonnes of cargo and mail in January, down 16.7 percent from one year ago, while capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, fell by exactly the same percentage. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 0.1 percentage points to 64.7 percent. For the year to date, tonnage has fallen by 19.4 percent compared to a capacity drop of 16.3 percent.

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), the Centre for Perishable Cargo will soon become operational. The facility will be inaugurated by the country's Union Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh. The centre has been set up with the financial aid of Rs 13.20 crore from Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). It will have all modern infrastructure facilities and fully automated systems for ensuring export of farm fresh products to worldwide markets. According to the State Fisheries Minster and Director of CIAL, the farmers of Kerala and neighbouring States would benefit from the 22,000 sq ft centre as they can get better prices for their fresh products.

Cargo Aircraft Management, a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, signed an option agreement to lease up to five 767-200 freighters to Amerijet International. Amerijet has already exercised options for its first two freighters under seven-year dry-lease agreements and is expected to begin operating them following FAA approval around mid-year.

Cathay Pacific Airways announced plans to expand its global freighter network with the launch of services to two new destinations in the United States. The airline will add Miami and Houston to its list of US freighter destinations, which already includes New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Cargolux Airlines International, S.A. after successfully concluding the required audits, has received its IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certificate. 'Our IOSA registry underlines our strong commitment to the safety of our operations and the safety standards of the airline industry,' says Uli Ogiermann, President and CEO of Cargolux. The internationally recognized IOSA certificate is awarded to airlines after an in-depth audit by independent bodies under the supervision of IATA. IATA member airlines are required to obtain IOSA registry and have to renew it every two years.The IOSA program was initiated in 2003; meanwhile, more than 200 airlines have been certified. The audit covers the main aspects of safety in an airline's operation, including flight operations, maintenance, dispatch, security and crew training, but also cargo operations and ground hand.

Cargo B Airlines wasted no time getting their new B747 -400 F into action with full loads of flowers from Latacunga in Ecuador on the second,fourth and sixth of January. Both this new aircraft and the existing B 747-200 F will be fully occupied with Latin American routes over the next few months.

Cathay Pacific Services Limited (CPSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, has signed a supplemental agreement with the Airport Authority Hong Kong (HKAA) to defer the completion of its new Hong Kong cargo terminal by a maximum of 24 months to mid-2013.

Cargolux Airlines International S.A. introduced a new B747 freighter service to the Egyptian capital Cairo. The service operates from Luxembourg every Tuesday and the flight continues to Hong Kong.Forwarders have identified a need for airfreight capacity between Europe and Egypt that Cargolux responds to with the new service. The airline will carry general cargo, consisting mainly of consumer goods, as well as shipments for the oil and gas industry on its flights.

DB Schenker Logistics is investing in a new, ultra-modern logistics terminal at the airport in Klagenfurt, Austria. The aim is to use the new terminal to further expand the position in European land transport on the regional Carinthia market and also in the long term to secure its leading position in air and ocean freight. The new location of Schenker & Co AG will be ideally equipped to achieve this aim. With an investment volume of around 10 million euros, a modern freight forwarding facility is being erected on a total area of 30,500 square meters that will consist of a 2,500 square meter transshipment hall, a logistics warehouse covering an area of 1,800 square meters and a 1,200 square meter office building designed to accommodate 130 employees.

DHL Global Forwarding is to be responsible for the distribution by sea and air of the new Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS Gullwing sports car to 40 destinations worldwide.

Delta Air Lines - now including the merged carrier Northwest's figures - has posted its best quarter in more than decade at US$547 million.  It reported a 22 per cent cargo income increase and a 19 per cent increase in passenger revenue.  Meanwhile, despite their contribution of US$24 million, the carrier is cutting back on ancillary fees because of passenger resentment.

DHL Global Forwarding said it doesn't expect a significant reduction in orders this year despite headwinds threatening the global economic recovery, but sees more volatility in the global sea and air freight businesses in 2011.

Dubai joined an elite group of two-airport cities when Dubai Airports officially opened Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC) for cargo operations welcoming inaugural flights operated by Rus Aviation, Skyline and Aerospace Consortium.

DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics  company and Blue Dart, South Asia’s premier number one express air and integrated transportation, distribution and logistics Company, have once again been voted as two of India’s most trusted brands in the ‘Airfreight/Courier Service’ category at the Annual Trusted Brands Awards 2010 organized by Reader’s Digest. The Brands were recognized in the midst of a gala ceremony held at Hotel ITC Grand Central, Mumbai on 29th June, 2010.

DHL Supply Chain and Cadbury India have shared an enriching relationship over the past three years, and have emerged stronger strategic partners as DHL continues to play a significant role in optimizing supply chain solutions to provide Cadbury a sustained competitive advantage.As competent  3PL providers, DHL Supply Chain offers integrated solutions to optimize the supply chain, reduce cycle time, and provide unprecedented customer responsiveness. Information Technology (IT) plays a significant role in rendering these services as IT enables better coordination of activities and optimization of resources.“A third party logistics player understands the needs of its clients. DHL Supply Chain has continually managed smooth operations for us and demonstrated consistent commitment by efficiently delivering the agreed service levels” said Shammi Dua, Regional Customer Operations Manager –North, Cadbury India Ltd. 

DHL says underlying profit (EBIT) rose 81.4 per cent to EUR566 million in the first quarter of this year on sales that were up 4.4 per cent at EUR12 billion. "Our first quarter results demonstrate clearly that we are well prepared for the future: We have broadly improved our performance," said chief executive Frank Appel. "But there is much more to accomplish. We will continue to press forward with the implementation of our Strategy 2015 and unlock the group's full potential step by step."

DB Schenker logistics terminal near the Bulgarian capital of Sofia is now fully starting operation. As one of the most modern freight hubs in the country, the logistics center interconnects successfully rail and road traffic, with two private sidings. The ten-million euros terminal is situated in Bozhuriste, close to the international road link between Sofia and Belgrade, 20 minutes from the center of the capital. It has 3,000 square meters logistics area with ten meters height, 2,000 square meters cross-docking hall, both having 30 loading bays with hydraulic ramps. The buildings are equipped with state-of-the-art security technology and fire safety systems. An office complex covering roughly 3,500 square meters is built next to the center. The terminal has two private sidings with a total length of approximately 220 meters. A ramp will enable five four-axle cars to be processed simultaneously. Up to six cars can be loaded and unloaded on the other track.

Dubai Airports says it expects a 48 per cent rise in cargo traffic in the emirate by 2015. Cargo tonnage at Dubai International Airport and the new Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International (DWC), which will open later this year, will reach three million tonnes by the end of 2015, up from 1.9 million in 2009, the company's ceo Paul Griffiths said.

DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, has been recognized for industry excellence with two wins at the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Voice of Customer Award for Excellence in Logistics. DHL India received the awards for ‘Best International Logistics Service Provider’ and ‘Best Logistics Service Provider in Indian Consumer Durables Industry.’ DHL India scored high on key parameters like industry expertise, reputation, reliability, international network, domestic reach and robust IT infrastructure.

DHL and American Airlines (AA) for cargo security, following the tie-up AA partner British Airways is joining the group, which aims to create a common platform on standard operating procedures for high-value and high-risk air cargo and to exchange security best practices and information on crime trends.

DHL Global Forwarding and British Airways World Cargo have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Strategic Air Cargo Security Partnership, a DHL Global Forwarding initiative. As one of DHL's preferred air carriers, British Airways World Cargo joins this program, and becomes a vital member together with other important airlines from North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. The basis of this partnership is to create a common understanding of standard operating procedures for high-value and high-risk air cargo that support and fulfil customer and governmental security requirements. Another core element is common exchange of security best practices and information on crime trends which underlines the partnership approach.

Dubai Airports Cargo and Logistics handled a total of 171,707 tonnes of freight in February 2010, up 26.7 per cent over the same month in 2009. The year to date cargo traffic has reached 343,160 tonnes as compared to 265,870 tonnes in the first two months in 2009 – an upsurge of 29 per cent. Rising shippers’ confidence and the re-stocking of inventories worldwide is influencing freight volumes that are already buoyed by increasing economic activity, particularly in Asia.

DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, has been recognized for its distinction in brand management. Indira Group of Institutes rolled out the 9th Indira Awards for Marketing Excellence at a glittering function held in Pune. DHL Express India was felicitated with the Brand Leadership Award.

DFW International Airport  has earned the distinction of “Best cargo airport in North America” for 2010 from Air Cargo World, the air freight industry's global publication.The publication’s Air Cargo Excellence (ACE) survey asked cargo airlines to rate airports on performance, value, facilities and operations. DFW finished first in the half-million to one million ton category for North America. The recognition for DFW comes as the Airport’s international cargo business continues to grow in 2010.

DB Schenker has gained Accreditation as a Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP) at several stations in Europe and Asia by Envirotainer AB, the Sweden-based provider of active temperature-controlled air cargo containers.The accreditation, which verifies that DB Schenker can manage temperature sensitive shipments that are shipped in Envirotainer containers in accordance with Good Distribution Practice, has been awarded for the European stations in Brussels, Basel, Frankfurt, Geneva, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich as well as the Singapore operation. After completing the audit process, Envirotainer congratulated DB Schenker on the high level of its internal QEP documentation and the full commitment of the company’s Quality and Commercial Management to the QEP Program.“DB Schenker plans on expanding its QEP Accreditation, to support our customers’ requirements for the temperature controlled supply chain globally,” said Bob Gahan, VP Global Sales, Health Care, DB Schenker.

DHL, has been awarded the ‘Freight Forwarder of the Year’ at the STAT TIMES International Awards for Excellence in Air Cargo, held in Mumbai recently. The award was received by Christoph Remund, CEO, DHL Lemuir Logistics, in recognition of DHL Global Forwarding’s outstanding capabilities in freight forwarding to meet the increasingly complex air freight requirements of industry. This is the second time DHL Global Forwarding has won this award,  having received it previously  in 2008. Commenting on the occasion, Christoph Remund, CEO, DHL Lemuir Logistics said, “DHL has demonstrated its competence in the air freight sector by combining global presence with local knowledge, as well as its innovation, service excellence and commitment to providing customers with superior end-to-end logistics solutions. This award has greatly encouraged us to maintain and improve the benchmark that we have set for ourselves.”

DHL, Logistics giant in partnership with American Airlines Cargo is helping pharmaceutical industry customers to prepare for the implementation of a new US regulation that foresees 100 percent piece level screening of cargo carried on passenger aircraft, according to ENP Newswire. With half a year to go before the regulation takes effect, which could cause major delays of shipments, both companies have started offering joint trainings to educate pharmaceutical customers on how best to comply with the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP).

DB Schenker officially opened its first ever IT Shared Services Centre (SSC) at the Jiangsu Software Park in Nanjing. The SSC occupies more than 15,000 square feet and will primarily pool IT functions such as application development, maintenance, application operations, information and communication technology infrastructure and help desk, for the DB Schenker Asia Pacific organisation and several countries in the region.  The Euro 1.5 million project investment for the SSC is expected to yield a project payback in less than three years through greater cost efficiencies and economies of scale.

Damco, a world leader in freight forwarding and supply chain management services, has selected Savi Networks' SaviTrak(TM) wireless tracking intelligence service to improve the visibility, security and safety of global container shipments for their customers. Damco will incorporate this technology into its logistics service offerings to provide real-time, automated intelligence on the location and status of customer shipments.

DHL and Volvo Trucks have signed an agreement for 1,800 new 'green' trucks for Deutsche Post's UK, Finnish and Swedish operations. Deliveries will be made over two years and primarily cover Express, Freight and Supply Chain subsidiaries.

DHL, said it will donate its former principal US air hub "as a gift" to the local community of Wilmington, Ohio, for redevelopment as an airport/commerce park before the end of March. The company closed the site, which it said was worth $310m, in August 2009 and moved the operations to its principal hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG).

Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines recent bag check  fee increases by could prompt rivals to follow as the US airline industry struggles to claw its way out of the 2009 economic downturn. Sales of ancillary goods and services by airlines enable them to earn more money while keeping fares competitive. The strategy has paid off for US carriers that have struggled for survival amid high fuel prices, low-fare competition and recession.

DHL has paid ABX Air, subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group $75m to cover the pensions and severance of pilots that lost their jobs as a result of restructuring. "The funding for the pilots' pension trust will improve their retirement security as well as reduce pension obligations on our balance sheet, a key objective of ours," said Joe Hete, ATSG president and CEO. DHL paid ABX Air the $75m in December 2009; $31.4m of which contributed to the pilots' pension trust; $30.4m was paid in pilot severance benefits. ABX said that the remaining $13.2m of severance benefits is expected to be disbursed in the coming months.

DHL has agreed to sell its UK domestic parcel business to Home Delivery Network (HDN). HDN will take on all employees and facilities of the business by the end of the first quarter, with both parties also entering a wider prefe  rred-supplier relationship, under which HDN will continue to use the DHL Domestic brand in the short term.The agreement also covers joint customer management processes.The agreement is limited to DHL’s domestic parcel business, also known as the Day Definite Domestic business, which concentrates on shipments that are delivered within the UK on a certain day rather than at a specific time the next day.

Dubai, an increasingly vital hub for transport and logistics sector, is firmly committed to becoming a global leader in this sector by 2015. DWC is one of the strategic projects for the government as it positions the emirate to be a commercial center and international logistics hub. It is considered to be one of the most ambitious projects in the world occupying an area of 140 sq m in Jebel Ali. Outlining Dubai’s strategic focus on transport and logistics at the SITL Dubai 2009, a comprehensive industry forum in the region, Khalifa Al Zaffin, DWC executive chairman, said, 'Dubai is uniquely positioned to offer the world’s business community competitive supply-chain advantages that will help achieve improved customer care, reduced costs and an improvement in supply-chain predictability.'

DHL Global Forwarding is securing additional  capacity from commercial carriers to avoid capacity constraints between North Asia and Europe throughout the first quarter of 2010. In November and December 2009, the global airfreight industry faced a strong increase in demand for transportation space, which contributed to backlogs of goods shipped from China to Europe. This resulted in steep increases in freight rates. "In order to mitigate the shortage of space we will be securing extra capacity from commercial carriers on our trade lanes between North Asia and Europe throughout the first quarter of 2010", said Thomas Nieszner, CEO Europe/CEE DHL Global Forwarding. "We are working very closely with our customers on capacity planning to ensure their supply chains are stable and our delivery times are fast."

Dnata, a unit of the Emirates Group said it was acquiring two British ground handling operations. "These acquisitions, which are valued at GBP15 million pounds (USD$25.05 million), mark Dnata's entry into the airport handling business in the UK," it said .The transaction will be completed on January 30, it said. The group is buying Plane Handling, part of the Go-Ahead Group, and passenger and ramp handling operations at Terminal 3 and 4 at London Heathrow Airport from Aviance, also part Go-Ahead.

DB Schenker, as an integrated logistics service provider, is among the winners of the third 3PL Executive Excellence Award. The prize was given out at the European 3PL Summit in Brussels. Conferred by eyefortransport, one of the largest providers of logistics and transportation information, the award recognizes companies that continuously deliver excellence and superior service to their customers. "3PL" stands for third-party logistics provider. Companies nominated for the 3PL Executive Excellence Award are chosen directly by the manufacturers and dealers that work with the 3PL providers every day. The 3PL Executive Excellence Award recognized DB Schenker's key competence of offering custom contract logistics solutions from a single source and controlling complex logistics chains world-wide.

Deccan 360, promoted by G R Gopinath’s express operation, started flying eight freighters internationally on its Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Hong Kong route. But at the same time Gopinath’s Deccan Cargo, which only started flying in May, has temporarily shut down its international operations due to lack of demand.

DHL Global Forwarding, the world's leading Logistics Company has signed security partnership with Air IndiaSATS, Bengaluru.  The security partnership aims to develop standard operating procedures that support and fulfill customers' security requirements. This is the first time in the Indian logistics industry that a freight forwarder has initiated a security partnership program with a cargo terminal operator. According to the partnership program MOU, DHL Global Forwarding will work together with Air India-SATS  and agree on standard operating procedures (SOP) for high-value and high-risk air cargo, to share best practices and information on crime trends.

DHX-Maui has just opened a new freight handling facility on Maui, one of the Hawaiian Islands. The new facility will serve business and residential communities on Maui.

DHL Express, the world's leading express delivery and logistics company, announced it has expanded its agreement with Retail Shipping Associates (RSA). RSA will now act as a preferred retail partner for the DHL Authorized Shipping Center network, supporting DHL international express services at thousands of independently owned or franchised retail shipping center outlets in the United States.

DB Schenker is constructing a new logistics center near the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. The ten-million euros center in Bozhuriste, just 20 minutes from the center of Sofia, is scheduled to go into operation in spring 2010 and will be one of Bulgaria's most modern freight hubs. Both buildings are equipped with state-of-the-art security technology and fire safety systems. An office complex covering roughly 3,500 square meters is also being built next to the center.

DB Schenker has won a three year contract to set-up and execute the European distribution network. So Systagenix can ensure a cost-effective and timely delivery to their customers across Europe. Systagenix Wound Management, formerly the Professional Wound Care Business of Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, will start to operate their own Global Distribution Network when moving away from the transition services being provided by Johnson & Johnson.

DHL, is investing US$15 million (INR 72 crores) to strengthen its infrastructure to fulfill the growing demand for logistics services in the global Life Science industry. Towards this end, DHL Global Forwarding is also launching Life Science Competence Centers at strategic locations across Asia – Mumbai, Hyderabad and Singapore to bolster its international freight capabilities for the Life Science industry in the region. With a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% per annum in airfreight and 12% in ocean freight, India is poised to be the fastest growing country in Asia for Life Sciences by 2014. DHL Global Forwarding’s vast experience in the Life Sciences sector necessitates handling of sensitive cargo, which is often involved in aid and relief efforts. As an extension of this expertise, DHL Global Forwarding is setting up the regional Aid & Relief Logistics unit in Singapore to provide dedicated services to the international Aid, Humanitarian and Development Sector. This sector, which comprises the United Nations (UN) agencies, Governments and other organizations, spends approximately US$25 billion annually on logistics services globally. Currently, Asia Pacific is the second largest recipient of global humanitarian assistance, after Africa.

DHL Aviation has awarded a cargo GSA contract to EFIS Morocco to market capacity on its Boeing 757 freighter services from Casablanca to Paris and Leipzig.The daily service has capacity for 25 tonnes, and EFIS Morocco, part of the European Cargo Services (ECS) group, is aiming to generate 120 tonnes of general cargo a month for the service.

DHL Airways has contracted Florida-based Aircraft Service International Group (AISG) to provide aircraft de-icing services at the cargo carrier's hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The award comes on the heels of the BBA Aviation subsidiary securing DHL's refueling contract at CVG.

DHL Global Forwarding, has been awarded the ‘Best Logistics Service Provider of the year – Air Freight” at the 3rd Express, Logistics & Supply Chain conclave. The Award was received by Christoph Remund, Chief Executive Officer - DHL Lemuir Logistics Pvt. Ltd. at the Taj Lands End, Mumbai.DHL Global Forwarding maintained its perfect record, taking home the coveted ‘Best Logistics Service Provider Award’ for the second time in a row. This award was won amidst stiff competition from leading logistics companies in India. This achievement is a recognition of DHL’s seamless efforts towards delivering consistent and timely services in the air freight business on a continual basis.

DETA Air Kazakhstan-based freighter carrier has appointed Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (Hactl) to handle cargo ground handling at Hong Kong International Airport, including physical cargo handling, air cargo documentation, ramp handling and crew bus services. DETA Air currently operates a twice-weekly DC-10 freighter service routing of Almaty - Hong Kong - Almaty – Istanbul.

DPD Continental Pvt. Ltd. (DPD Continental), a joint venture between GeoPost, the express parcel arm of French Groupe La Poste, and Continental Air Express Pvt Ltd, an associate company of the Vohra family owned Continental Carriers Group, announced its plans to expand its operation in the Southern market. After introducing its services in New Delhi and Mumbai, the company has identified Bangalore and Chennai. As part of this expansion, DPD has opened new depots in Bangalore and Chennai, both centrally located, thus extending its services to millions of people in South India. Headquartered in New Delhi, DPD Continental offers inbound and outbound express parcel services under the world-class brand DPD to customers in India. Shortly after launc

DHL Global Forwarding, the global leader in logistics, has been awarded the ‘Best Logistics Service Provider of the year – Air Freight” at the 3rd Express, Logistics & Supply Chain conclave on the 17th September 2009. The Award was received by Christoph Remund, Chief Executive Officer - DHL Lemuir Logistics Pvt. Ltd. at the Taj Lands End, Mumbai.

DHL Express India, announced its Memorandum of Understanding with Balmer Lawrie & Co.Ltd, a Mini Ratna Public Sector Undertaking with diversified business interests in manufacturing and services sector and a major player in Air Consolidation.  The tie-up will offer Balmer Lawrie customers an enhanced service portfolio of international and domestic express solutions, courier requirements and movement of temperature sensitive cargos.

Delhi International Airport (DIAL) has signed a 25 year concession agreement with Celebi Hava Servisi AS of Turkey to upgrade, modernize, finance, operate and maintain and manage the existing Cargo Terminal on an area of approx 70,000 sq.mts at IGI Airport, New Delhi.

DHL announced the launch of its guaranteed weekly direct Less than Container Load (LCL) services from Vietnam to Germany, Italy and the United States. The launch of the new services connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Hamburg, Genoa, and Los Angeles taps into the key trade lanes for businesses in Vietnam, the logistics giant said. The two European destinations facilitate trade with Vietnam's largest export region, with the continent receiving $12.2 billion in Vietnamese products in 2008, according to DHL. Vietnam's second largest trading partner is the U.S., which received $11.86 billion worth of goods from the Southeast Asian nation last year.

DHL, a global provider of international express and logistics, has opened its first RM2 million regional packaging centre in Malaysia, targeting to capture a slice of the US$12.5 billion (RM44 billion) packaging market in Asia-Pacific. The 65,000 sq ft facility is the first-of-its-kind to be established by DHL in the region and the company plans to set up six more of such centres by 2012, namely in China, Thailand, Indonesia and India. DHL supply chain chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific, Paul H. Graham said the packaging business in Asia-Pacific is expected to grow by 15 per cent year-on-year over the next three years.

DHL, together with its subsidiary DHL, and The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) enhanced its services in the area of Disaster Management. In addition to previous and existing disaster response initiatives, both parties launched a new module in the field of disaster preparedness. GARD, which stands for "Get Airports Ready for Disaster" is a crucial initiative in making worldwide relief efforts more effective. Two pilot projects were just completed successfully at the Indonesian airports of Makassar and Palu and mark the start of a global roll-out for GARD.

DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, has launched a “Stop for Safety” campaign in Asia Pacific. Led by DHL Supply Chain, the campaign reaches out to 3,000 employees across over 130 sites PAN India and is designed to drive awareness on occupational health and safety across its expansive network of offices, hubs and warehouses in India and across the Asia Pacific region. Promoting the message ‘Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility’ DHL Supply Chain will conduct workshops for staff to reiterate the importance of safety and health standards at the work place.

Deutsche Post DHL said that while the logistics firm earnings had stabilised during the first six months of this year, it still posted a 37.8% year-on-year decline in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to €257m (US367m) and its revenues were down 17.7% to €11.1bn.

DB Schenker has expanded its operations in the Middle East through a joint venture with its partner for many years, ITS -International Transport Service of Egypt. “The new company is a further important new hub within DB Schenker’s worldwide network. This step will enable us to provide even better, high quality end-to-end solutions across the entire process chain in this very promising growth market,” said Dr Detlef Trefzger, responsible for contract logistics/supply chain management in the Near Middle East/Africa region.

DB Schenker is expanding its range of innovative services in monitoring shipments in international freight forwarding. The DB SCHENKERsmartbox service offers satellite-aided shipment tracking in real time using sensor technology. DHL has signed a five-year telecommunications agreement with AT&T for its units throughout the US. The service will start in late 2009.

DHL has been recognized for its industry-leading excellence in Asia Pacific with five wins at the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Transportation & Logistics Awards in Singapore.

DB Schenker has extended its involvement in the Korean logistics market with the start of operations of Schenker Korea Ltd's semi-conductor distribution centre at its Korea Logistics Center in the Free Trade Zone at Incheon Airport. DB Schenker introduced its new European air freight hub at Frankfurt Airport. The air freight hub began operation in early August. Fifty million euros have been invested in the project.

DHL has opened a new hub in Shanghai, part of a $25 million investment in a domestic road network. Citing All China Marketing Research and IBIS World data, DHL says total revenue from domestic road transport in China rose from $15 billion to $25 billion between 1998 and is projected to reach $36 billion by 2013.

DB Schenker has reorganized its range of contract logistics services in Spain. Schenker Logistics España S.L. and Schenker Industrial Logistics Iberica merged in early 2009 to form the new company Schenker High Tech Logistics, S.L., headquartered in Madrid.

DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, announced an enhanced strategy for providing superior levels of service and quality to customers in the Life Sciences and Healthcare sector. The announcement was made at the company’s 9th Annual Life Sciences and Healthcare Global Conference in Miami.

Deutsche Post will stop the evening flights of its domestic aircraft network that transport letters throughout the country and hopes to save EUR40 million - EUR60 million annually as a result.

DHL has announced the launch of its guaranteed weekly LCL services connecting Bangkok to Los Angeles, Hamburg and Tokyo. The LCL Less than Container Load market from Asia is expanding as Averitt Express already has a service to Memphis. The service is aimed at by-passing the busy port of Los Angeles as the final destination for cargo and using Memphis instead, which is better for businesses in the south-east US.

DHL, unveiled its industry roadmap to power India’s automotive sector to a broad cross section of industry leaders at the Automotive India Conference 2009 in Pune hosted by DHL. DHL identified the key logistics factors in the three core areas of inbound to manufacturing, aftermarket, and international supply chain that would determine the auto success stories in India in the near and long term.

Deccan Cargo and Express Logistics (DCEL) has signed a 10-year "Total Component Support" (TCS) contract with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) to supply components for three A310F aircraft. The MRO's local subsidiary, Lufthansa Technik Services India, will ensure on-site supply of components to the airline's home base in Bangalore. It will take care of all aspects of supplying components to the fleet, from writing specifications, initial provisioning studies and home base allocation to repair and overhaul, troubleshooting, documentation and engineering services.

DHL has sold 25 million shares in Deutsche Bank for a net gain of Euro 100 million. The shares were part of an eight percent stake in Deutsche Bank acquired by Deutsche Post when it sold off part of its stake in Deutsche Postbank earlier this year. The company withdrew its interest in acquiring 30 percent of Britain’s Royal Mail. Recently the organization reported a profit of $487 million for the year ending in April 2009.

DHL Express announced that it has signed a MoU with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) on for a Retail Alliance with their In&Out convenience stores across India. This tie up will essentially progress in three phases giving access to almost 300+ stores to DHL.With over 350 DHL – Blue Dart exclusive retail outlets in India, DHL has the largest retail network providing greater accessibility, reach and convenience to customers across India.

DHL has invested HK$100m (US$12.9m) in a new 11,100sq metre Global Forwarding office in Kowloon Commerce Centre (KCC). The DHL Fashion Competency Center will develop bespoke logistics products and solutions, and house a team of industry experts providing consultancy services to customers in North Asia Pacific.

DHL is displaying a lot of optimism about Taiwan. The integrator has invested NT $210 million (US $6.38 million) in a new Taipei gateway located in the Farglory free trade zone of Taoyuan International Airport. Covering 145,474 square feet, it is four times the size of the integrator’s previous set-up, while the capacity has tripled to 11,000 pieces an hour.

Dubai Logistics City, a core component of the colossal Dubai World Central development project, has “begun licensing completed warehouses and logistics offices” and “handing over facilities to tenants to begin operations on-site,” according to His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation. “The completion of Dubai World Center’s first cargo terminal is a significant milestone in the project’s history, said Sheikh Ahmed, who added that the $59.9 billion Dubai World Central project would go live when DWC-Al Maktoum International Airport opens in June 2010.

DHL’s Strategy 2015 Following the recent launch of, DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, announced an enhanced strategy for providing superior levels of service and quality to customers in the Life Sciences and Healthcare sector. The announcement was made at the company’s 9th Annual Life Sciences and Healthcare Global Conference in Miami, USA, where it is hosting many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology companies.

Delta Air Lines will exit the all-cargo business at the end of 2009 with the grounding of its remaining Northwest Airlines’ B747 200 freighters due to “age and inefficiency. ”The company had no plans to replace the seven aircraft with new capacity or contract with other operators. Currently the freighters – five of which had engine upgrades last year – operate on the trans-Pacific linking the U.S. with several Asia markets via Anchorage, AK.The now-combined Northwest Cargo and Delta Cargo units produced revenue of $331 million for the first quarter of 2009 – a drop of $146 million or 44 percent over the same period last year.

DHL and UPS have failed to agree on a USD 1 billion deal to coordinate their US air express operations. According to a report UPS and DHL have mutually agreed to terminate their negotiations, putting an end to a deal that could have been worth an additional USD 1.0 billion in annual revenue for UPS. Under the proposed agreement, DHL would have outsourced the air transport element of domestic deliveries to UPS, enabling DHL to close its own air operations within the US whilst retaining an express service capability within North America.

DB Schenker is building a green mega hub in Melbourne. According to plan, Schenker Australia Pty Ltd will expand its forwarding and logistics operations with a new facility located directly at Melbourne's international airport in July. The hub comprises of 11,000 square meters warehouse area for a wide range of logistics services and 2,500 square meters office space for 230 employees. The new building will bring teams together that currently work in four different locations. The in-house recycling programs shall minimize landfill/general waste by 60 percent. The setup installation of office fit-out and services will achieve Green Star rating. This is a comprehensive, national, voluntary environmental rating scheme that evaluates the environmental design and achievements of buildings.

DHL Express recently opened two new, state-of-the-art gateways and almost simultaneously won awards in five categories at the Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA) 2009. At the official ceremony in Hong Kong on DHL was awarded prizes as the "Best Express Operator", "Best Road Haulier Asia", "Best Contract Logistics Provider", "Best 3PL" as well as "Best Lead Logistics Provider". The AFSCA awards are given by Cargonews Asia, one of the leading logistics magazines in Asia.

DHL reported first quarter operating profit crashed 95 percent from a year ago mainly due to the cost of shuttering its U.S. domestic express delivery service. Earnings before interest and taxes tumbled to $35.9 million in the three months to March 31 from $716.9 million in the same period in 2008. One off restructuring costs in the United States totaled $323 million. Underlying earnings fell 42 percent to $415 million on revenue 12.9 percent lower at $15.3 billion.

DHL has tripled its capacity at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport after investing some NT$210m (US$6.2m) in new facilities. Taipei Gateway, located at Farglory Free Trade Zone, can now handle 11,000 items per hour after its footprint was expanded from 3,867 sq metres to 13,515 sq metres. The facility boasts 13 X-ray machines, surveying instruments for large-sized shipments, 10 telescopic conveyors and an LED panel onsite to monitor flight information.

DB Schenker has launched an environmental initiative tobundle its activities in the field of global warming management. With this initiative, DB Schenker consolidates its role as an environmentally friendly provider of transportation and logistics services. DB Schenker CEO Dr. Norbert Bensel. “With our activities in the field of climate change, we will optimize not only our own carbon footprint, but also that of our customers.” With its four defined lighthouse projects “Green Logistics Networks”, “Green Road”, “Green Product Rail” and “Green Terminals”, DB Schenker is leading the way in the logistics sector, and at the same time, DB Schenker is making a major contribution to the “DB Eco Program”, the global warming management program of the DB Group. On this basis, DB will reduce its specific carbon output worldwide, i.e. its carbon emissions relative to its transportation volume, by another 20 percent between 2006 and 2020.

Deccan 360-launched recently at Delhi International Airport. Founded by Capt. Gopinath, who launched India's first budget carrier, Air Deccan "is the first to create a hub-and-spoke distribution model in the express industry in India."Starting Deccan 360 will launch its express long-haul and freight service operations across multiple industry verticals such as automotive spare parts, textiles, pharmaceuticals, machinery and heavy equipment, banking and organized retail with an Airbus A310 freighter on the Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Hong Kong-Dubai route offering domestic as well as international express cargo services to freight forwarders.

DHL Express, sent its first carbon neutral express shipments from Africa on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net) of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The trophies, which are made of recycled glass, with recycled metal stands, were shipped from Nairobi, Kenya, to the 86 cities, associations and companies around the world that currently form UNEP's CN NET www.unep.org/climateneutral. DHL expanded its service offering to temporarily include GOGREEN services, which are currently not part of the standard DHL portfolio for Africa.

Delta Cargo customers can now book and manage their shipments on Cargo Portal Services (CPS), a free, web-based, multi-carrier portal. “CPS gives every Delta customer a simple way to book and manage their shipments online at no charge,” says Neel Shah, vice president Delta Cargo.

DHL has been awarded by the The State of New York, Office of General Services, one of two five-year statewide contracts for international express shipping services. All authorized users of the State of New York contract including State agencies, colleges, and hospitals will be able to leverage DHL's fast, reliable door-to-door international express services to and from New York State and more than 220 countries and territories served by DHL.

DHL, has been recognized for its global environmental commitment by Climate Counts. Climate Counts, a leading nonprofit organization working in collaboration with Clean Air-Cool Planet, placed DHL well ahead of other major players in the logistics industry in their environmental scoreboard. The scoreboard evaluates businesses based on their efforts to review, reduce and report their impacts on the climate. With 67 out of 100 possible points, DHL led the competition in the logistics industry by a high margin in all main categories.

DB Schenker has opened a new logistics center in Binh Duong Province, close to Ho Chi Minh City. The $5.5 million investment together with local Vietnam partner Gemadept will function as a key logistics hub for manufacturers, OEMs and distributors for the high-tech industrial zones in Binh Duong Province and Ho Chi Minh City.

DHL Express, announced the launch of its full suite of Intra-Asia DHL Economy Select service. This will include outbound shipments in India and 17 other locations in Asia Pacific. DHL Economy Select offers the convenience of door-to-door delivery of non-time-sensitive outbound consignments within Asia Pacific at lower shipping costs.

Deutsche Post, parent of DHL and Europe's biggest mail carrier, lost $4 billion in the fourth quarter due to declines in volume, which may persist through 2009.As volume fell in the fourth quarter, revenue dropped 3.3 percent to $17.9 billion. Even worse, the German company was hit by the cost of closing the U.S. domestic component of its DHL Express unit.

Deccan Express Logistics, India's new Express delivery system announced its tie up with NACIL (Air India) for providing line maintenance and technical handling support to its aircraft fleet and operations. Deccan Express Logistics will launch its services in the month of May this year and will operate on the Delhi Mumbai Delhi Honk Kong route offering dedicated cargo space to freight forwarders and anyone who wants to move international freight to these cities for time definite delivery.

DHL Express expanded its international services by extending its time definite guarantee for inbound shipments. The carrier launched DHL Import Express 12:00, a premium time definite product for inbound shipments. DHL Import Express 12:00 assures an inbound delivery by noon from major cities and business centers, with transportation charges met by the receiver. At first, the guaranteed service will be available from major centers in Europe and Asia to the Middle East. DHL plans to roll it out globally throughout the year.

DHL, expects India to become increasingly important as an export country into Europe with growth driven largely by the Apparels, Engineering & Manufacturing and Manufactured Goods sectors. The company launched the "DHL Fashion and Apparel Center of Excellence", based largely in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, India, to facilitate trade within the region, Europe and North America. The first-of-its-kind center across Asia Pacific will comprise of a core team of industry experts and be responsible for developing bespoke products and solutions and provide consultancy services to customers.

Deutsche Post's decision to have subsidiary DHL exit the US express shipping market has left the company's competitors jockeying for the estimated US$3.4 billion in business up for grabs in ground express and air parcel markets. Now, with volumes falling, pundits say logistics buyers may find better deals available. Analyst Stifel, Nicolaus & Co estimates DHL held three per cent of the US ground express market and eight per cent of the air parcel market and that rival UPS, for example, would be able to absorb that business without increasing capacity. When other competitors are factored in, lower prices are a possibility, experts check.

DHL Express, the world's largest express and logistics company, announced that its $3.7m Hub in Jordan is now fully operational. The new facility combines a state-of-the-art airside operation with the hub and transit point. The Hub services all of DHL's road activity from the GCC through to the Levant, North Africa, and Europe.

Etihad Crystal Cargo has received the first widebody A330-200 freighter. The aircraft will enter service in September this year. “The new aircraft will become a key part of our freighter fleet and make major contribution to building the strength and network of our cargo business,” said Etihad chief executive officer, James Hogan. “The additional capacity will help us expand our footprint in Asia and Europe, including China, as well as enhancing our worldwide charter service.”

Emirates SkyCargo has been awarded Quality Envirotainer Provider (QEP) status following stringent audits carried out by Envirotainer™ - the pioneer and leader in developing active temperature controlled air transportation solutions. The award means Emirates SkyCargo has been formally recognised as being a competent industry best practices carrier for pharmaceutical products.

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has awarded Envirotainer with the airworthiness certificate for Envirotainer’s newest development, the RAP e2 container.The Envirotainer RAP e2 container is the latest addition to the fleet of active temperature controlled containers and features electrical heating and compressor cooling functionality to  maintain strict temperature control in the toughest environments.

Etihad Airways and Airbus have participated in a handover ceremony at Farnborough International Air Show , celebrating the first A330-200 freighter aircraft to be produced. Etihad is the launch customer of the A330-200 freighter aircraft, which will enter service for Etihad’s cargo business, Etihad Crystal Cargo, in September.

Emirates SkyCargo’s status as a leading innovator was confirmed as total shipments of e-freight – paperless cargo consignments – reached the one million kilos a month milestone. It also passed the 16 million kilo mark in total e-freight shipments in the first week of July.

Emirates SkyCargo has been voted Cargo Airline of the Year – the highest accolade at the prestigious Cargo Airline of the Year Awards. This is the sixth time the cargo carrier has won the award in its 25-year history. Emirates SkyCargo was also voted Best Middle East Cargo Airline for 22nd consecutive year at the Awards, which were held in London. Ram Menen, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, who was present at the event, said: “Emirates SkyCargo is thrilled to receive these awards. To be recognised as the world’s leading air cargo carrier is an incredible achievement and a powerful endorsement of our commitment to customer service and quality. Our close relationship with the cargo industry is of great importance to us and we are very grateful to them for their continued support.”

Emirates' new Dubai-Prague service, which launches 1st July, presents a "crystal clear" opportunity - quite literally. Nearly a third of all exports from the Czech Republic to the United Arab Emirates are glass products, which can be seen in chandeliers and other decorative features in hotels across Dubai and elsewhere in the UAE. Ram Menen, Emirates' Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo, said: "Bohemian Glass is probably the best known of the glass to be produced in the Czech Republic and Emirates SkyCargo already carries this via road to connect with Emirates' Vienna flights. There is no doubt that the new non-stop flight between Prague and Dubai presents, excuse the pun, a crystal clear opportunity - not just to support the glass industry, but a whole range of trade, which we can carry in the belly hold of the A330-200s serving the route."

Emirates’ quick to establish new trade channel with Amsterdam. Leather, silk, garments, tools, flowers, fruit, fish, plants and telecoms equipment to be loaded aboard Emirates' first passenger flight to Amsterdam are a sure sign that a new trading channel has been born. As well as the usual United Nations mix of passengers on flights out of the airline's international hub in Dubai, there is similar international representation in the cargo hold with commodities from around the Indian sub-continent, Africa, the Far East and Australasia.

Etihad Crystal Cargo, has launched a weekly service from its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport to Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The service operates an A300-600F freighter to Erbil with a payload of 42 tonnes on the route. Cargo flights to Erbil are Etihad’s second cargo service to Iraq, following a twice weekly service to Baghdad which commenced on September 11, 2010. Des Vertannes, Executive Vice President of Cargo said: “We are very pleased to be operating our second service to Iraq.

EASA has granted the A330-200 freighter type certificate. The approval came after a 200-hour flight test campaign and covers both engine types on offer: the Pratt and Whitney PW4000 and the Rolls-Royce Trent 700. The freighter derivative of the A330-200 passenger aircraft has been certified through an amendment to the existing EASA type certificate granted in 1998. FAA type certification is expected to follow. Due to some design optimisation, the aircraft's payload capability of 70 tonnes (154,320lb) is one tonne (2,200lb) more than initially expected. Christian Favre, A330/340 chief engineer, said that the freighter market showed “signs of recovery, rising by 20 per cent so far this year.”

Etihad Crystal Cargo, a division of Etihad Airways, has announced it will launch a weekly service from its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport to N’djamena, the capital of the Republic of Chad. N’djamena will be Etihad’s first cargo-only destination in Chad and in the region of Central Africa.Des Vertannes, Executive Vice President of Cargo, said:  “Trade and business ties between the UAE and Chad continue to grow and we look forward to developing our local partnerships and build a strong customer base in the country, which is widely considered one of the region’s fastest growing economies. With its fleet of two Airbus A300-600 aircraft and two MD11, Etihad Crystal Cargo has 21 cargo freighter destinations in the Middle East and Africa and 69 destinations across the globe.

Emirates airline has added yet another honour to its roster by taking home a Gold Award at the Annual Air Cargo Excellence Awards at a recent ceremony at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Vancouver, Canada, further reinforcing its position as a leader in the global aviation industry. Airline winners were elected by a survey determined by freight forwarders around the globe, who rated airlines on customer service, performance, value and information technology.

Emirates SkyCargo recently became the first carrier to send eFreight shipments from northern Germany’s busiest cargo airport. The shipments were bound for Dubai. The first paperless, or eFreight, cargo shipments have been sent from Hamburg Airport.  Emirates SkyCargo will be able to dispatch cargo shipments from Hamburg without the need for paper documents in the future. Documents needed for shippers and customs authorities, such as the air waybill, are no longer printed, but electronically stored and transmitted. Hamburg is Emirates’ third gateway in Germany to be eFreight capable, after Frankfurt and Munich.

Emirates SkyCargo,  has again bagged the title of “International Cargo Airline of the Year” presented by STAT TIMES - the international multimodal transport media which has been encouraging excellence in various categories of the Air Cargo industry since 2006. Emirates SkyCargo was elected as a winner through a poll conducted across sectors in the aviation industry. On receiving the award, Ram Menen, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo said, “We are delighted that we have been chosen as an ‘International Cargo Airline of the Year’. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers, front line staff and airport services team who have helped us achieve this success year on year. This recognition is the best acknowledgment of our continued investment and commitment to providing a world-class cargo service to our customers.

ECS Globe Air Cargo is increasing its sales program for Air China in France and Scandinavia following the launch of a twice-weekly Boeing 747-200 freighter service by the airline to Shanghai and Beijing. Globe Air Cargo is Air China’s exclusive GSA partner in France and already markets 500 tons of cargo capacity a month on the airline’s Airbus A330 passenger flights from Paris CDG Airport. Air China operates a daily flight to Beijing and four services a week to Shanghai. The B747-200F service will offer additional weekly capacity of nearly 200 tons to Air China’s network, with 120 tons allocated to the French market and 80 tons to Scandinavia, the first stop for the all-cargo service on its Copenhagen-Paris-Shanghai-Beijing routing.

Emirates has bagged another prestigious award at the 2010 Air Transport World (ATW) AdAwards held at Swissotel Singapore – The Stamford, further cementing its position as a leader in the global aviation industry. Judged by almost 135 individuals who are in a position to influence the purchase of a product or service advertised, Emirates airline’s cargo division, Emirates SkyCargo, was awarded the coveted “Gold” award in ATW AdAward’s Cargo Services category, for its innovative and impactful advertisement "Where next? From the far corners of Europe to the Americas", in promoting its Europe-Americas cargo route network. Created by Emirates’ ad agency, Dubai-based Brandcom, the advertisement was run in the March 2009 issue of Air Transport World.

EGSAC – the independent cargo GSSA network – has appointed SNTTA Cargo as its exclusive member for Sharjah in the UAE. In addition to the customary activities of a GSSA, SNTTA Cargo also provides aircraft chartering and ramp supervision services. The company is an IATA-accredited GSSA, and is owned by the Liberty Investment Company -  which also has interests in travel and tourism, automotive dealerships, transportation, logistics and real estate.

Emirates SkyCargo recently  trans-ported the ultimate in production cars when the Ulitmate Aero, the world's fastest production car, was taken from Dubai to appear at the Millionaire Fair in Moscow. Worth more than two million Dirhams, the car proved a real challenge to transport, as it was expected to be delivered intact. The only problem was that normally such loads can only be delivered via a freighter aircraft.

Emirates SkyCargo has been voted the top cargo carrier in a survey which questioned 130 freight forwarders on which Emirates Sky Cargo was the best airline in terms of service, quality, customer relations and price. Emirates SkyCargo came out on top beating Lufthansa by one point and Singapore Airlines by six points, with Cathay Pacific a massive 113 points back in fourth. Ram Menen, Emirates' Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo, said: "This survey result is a superb achievement for Emirates SkyCargo and it underlines all the good work we are doing for our customers. Well done to all and keep up the good work."

Emirates reports a 165 percent improvement in net profit to $205 million for the first six months of its current financial year ending 30th September 2009. The airline estimates its direct contribution to the U.A.E. economy was $2.4 billion with the carriage of 13 million passengers and over 700,000 tonnes of cargo during the period. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group said, “The months since the global meltdown have really tested our mettle. Unlike others in the industry, Emirates did not cut back on its product, service or people. Instead, we invested in these areas and looked to our people to develop ever more innovative ways to manage costs, improve efficiencies, reallocate resources, and drive alternative strategies for the business. "Total revenue was $5.4 billion - a drop of 13.5 percent compared to the same period last year due to lower passenger and cargo yields. Costs were reduced by 15.8 percent to $5.2 billion compared to 2008 because of lower fuel prices and "cost containment."

Emirates SkyCargo has scooped a top award at the recent 'Quality Award Italy 2008' event organised by ANAMA, the IATA Airfreight Forwarders Association of Italy. Emirates SkyCargo was judged the best 'Flown As Booked' airline after receiving top marks in areas such as quality of service and performance.

Etihad Crystal Cargo’s new A330-200 freighter has made its maiden flight over Toulouse in France, where the aircraft manufacturer Airbus is based. The flight marks the start of a 200 hour flight-test and certification campaign and paves the way for delivery to Etihad Crystal Cargo, the launch operator, next year. The new A330-200F will enhance significantly Etihad Crystal Cargo’s capacity with its extensive range and a higher maximum payload. Etihad ordered the A330-200F at the 2007 Paris Air Show in Le Bourget.

Ethiopian Airlines has appointed Freight-In-Time (FIT) – the East African member of the EGSAC network - as its cargo GSSA for Kenya, following its decision to outsource cargo sales in the country. FIT will handle sales and marketing, and also deal with customer service matters. FIT will feed Ethiopian’s daily B767 flights from Nairobi to Addis Ababa, which have a cargo capacity of up to 15 tonnes. Says FIT CEO Amit Shah: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious contract with one of has excellent potential, and we expect strong support for the Africa’s leading carriers; this is a very important addition to our client base.“Ethiopian airline’s network in Europe, as well as its comprehensive coverage of other African markets - particularly for fish, cut flowers, horticultural produce, pharmaceuticals and personal effects.”

Emirates SkyCargo launched direct services to the South African port city of Durban, its third destination in the country and 17th in Africa. Peter Sedgley, Senior Vice President Cargo Commercial Operations, said Emirates was ideally placed provide the port city with swift, reliable connections to its trading partners around the world. “There is a variety of commodities moving out of Durban – car parts, pay channel decoders, electronic parking meters, aluminium, electronics, tools, perishables such as pineapples, and textiles – to markets as far afield as Europe, the Middle East, the US and Australia. Emirates, with our short connection times and modern facilities, has been serving the South Africa for 14 years and we are looking forward to better serving Durban with this new service.

Etihad Crystal Cargo is launching a scheduled freighter service to Baghdad. It will use a 42-tonne payload A300-600F to operate the twice-weekly service between the Iraqi capital and Etihad’s Abu Dhabi hub.

Ethiopian Airlines announce the acquisition of its 2nd MD-11 freighter aircraft from the Boeing Corporation based in Seattle, USA. The newly leased MD-11F aircraft has a payload capacity of 95 tons, 32 pallets and a volume of 513 cubic meters. This new acquisition will increase the total capacity of the current cargo service of the airline by 23% thereby enhancing the newly developed cargo market from Europe and South-East Asia.

East Midlands Airport (EMA) saw a downturn in volumes in the first half of the year, but claims to have fared better than its European rivals. EMA said tonnage was down year-on-year, 7% because of “poor market conditions”, but it said other European airports had seen volumes drop by as much as 46%. EMA Cargo manager Bill Blanchard said: “In consideration of the on-going global recession and the larger declines at other airports; the relatively small drop in our cargo volumes is good news for East Midlands Airport and is a positive indicator of future prosperity for when the market starts to pick up.”

EGSAC – the independent cargo GSSA network – has appointed Airspace Aviation Solutions as its exclusive UK member. Founded in 2000, Airspace represents Air New Zealand, Air Transat, Austrian Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Sri Lankan, and TAP Air Portugal. The company is headquartered in Manchester in the north of England, and has sales offices and staff covering London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Glasgow (Scotland) Airports. In addition to sales and marketing, Airspace provides a full cargo management service to any airline that requires it, and has previous experience of acting as global GSA for a major leisure airline, managing 25 sub-GSAs.

Emirates SkyCargo is hitting the road in Africa to lift the profile of its expansion plans on the continent in South Africa and Angola, countries where Emirates is launching new routes this year. Flights to Durban start on October 1, while services to the Angolan capital of Luanda begin on October 25. The launch of daily flights to Durban will supplement a daily service into Cape Town and a triple daily into Johannesburg.

Emirates SkyCargo has launched a new SkyChain Customer Relations module through which customers can submit any post-sale feedback on the carrier’s products and services, and they can submit intent of claims or claim online. The paper-free system enables the customers to access information on the status of their queries and claims at any time, and communicate with Emirates SkyCargo for follow-up on related issues.

EGSAC the independent GSSA network – has appointed Airline Marketing Services (AMS) as its exclusive member for Pakistan. Family-owned AMS was founded in 2001 by Javed Johri, who has spent 35 years in the freight industry, largely in North America. The company’s main client carrier is Air Canada Cargo.

Etihad Crystal Cargo has selected Descartes Cargo 2000 to help the airline comply with business process and automation standards established by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Cargo 2000, an industry initiative led by IATA, was created to standardize processes that improve efficiencies for the worldwide air cargo industry.

Emirates’ cargo Divisional Senior Vice president Ram Menen has told the Dubai-based airline expects the air cargo industry to reach its trough in the next 3-4 months.”

Emirates SkyCargo, in conjunction with logistics provider Kuehne & Nagel, has transported 120 tonnes of relief supplies to the conflict stricken Swat region of Pakistan. A Boeing 747 freighter, specially chartered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), left Dubai carrying aid to Islamabad, where it was distributed by the UNHCR.

Emirates SkyCargo has appointed a General Sales Agent (GSA) in Slovenia, taking its number of offline stations in Europe to 12.Prakash Nair, Emirates Manager Network Cargo Sales Development, said, “As one of our key regions, Emirates has vowed to provide our European customers with the best services possible including short connection times, an expansive route network and professional handling of their cargoes.

Emirates SkyCargo has added four highly coveted accolades to its impressive trophy collection. Emirates’ cargo division won the premier prize at the prestigious Cargo Airline of the Year Awards, one of the leading events in the cargo industry calendar, hosted by Air Cargo News (ACN) in London.

Emirates SkyCargo has begun assisting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with the transport of humanitarian relief for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka. An Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 747-400 freighter on charter to the UNHCR landed at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), with a cargo of 119 tonnes of tents for people who have crossed into government controlled areas to escape the ongoing conflict in the north east of the island. It was the first aircraft carrying relief supplies to arrive in the country.

Emirates SkyCargo has added four highly coveted accolades to its impressive trophy collection. Emirates’ cargo division won the premier prize at the prestigious Cargo Airline of the Year Awards, one of the leading events in the cargo industry calendar, hosted by Air Cargo News (ACN) in London. The Dubai-based inter-continental carrier, which last won the ACN Cargo Airline of the Year in 2001, was also voted Best All-Cargo Airline and, for an incredible 21st successive year, Best Middle East Cargo Airline. It also took the prize for Best Air Cargo Carrier – Middle East in the 2009 Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards (AFSCAs) in Hong Kong. This is the 14th consecutive year that Emirates SkyCargo has won this award. Organised by Cargonews Asia, the AFSCAs are widely regarded as the most authoritative for the industry in Asia.

Emirates SkyCargo has taken delivery of its first B777 freighter a lease from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Capital that has eight on order. A second aircraft arrives later this year. The aircraft can fly non-stop between Dubai and Frankfurt or Hong Kong with a 103-tonnes payload.

Emirates SkyCargo is to start flights to Angola with an Airbus A330-200. This will serve the Dubai-Luanda route when it starts on August 2nd this year. Emirates SkyCargo will operate this route three times a week - on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. This is the second new route into Africa to be announced by Emirates this year. Flights to Durban in South Africa start October 1st. The thrice weekly Luanda service allows Angola to further embrace international trade by being brought into the six continent-wide Emirates' network.

Emirates SkyCargo has been awarded top spot in an air cargo excellence survey of forwarder customers. The annual poll, which was conducted by Air Cargo World according to four categories - customer service, performance, value and information technology - also cements the emergence of other regional operators.

Etihad Crystal Cargo, has been awarded the quality certification by the industry body, “Cargo 2000”, and is the first carrier in the Middle East region to make this achievement. Cargo 2000 is an industry initiative, supported by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and aims to implement a new quality management system for the worldwide air cargo industry. The objective is to implement processes, backed by quality standards that are measurable to improve the efficiency of air cargo.

Ernst & Young, one of the world's largest professional services companies, has released a new report titled: "Global Supply Chain: Balancing Cost Reduction and Performance Improvement", which includes feedback from 250 supply executives from global companies. Survey results indicate a divide between what executives require of their supply chains and what they see being delivered. More than 60% of respondents report supply chains are expected to play a key role in building credibility with investors by positively impacting the bottom line. Only half of these respondents are confident that their supply chains are capable of managing the business issues associated with this role.

Etihad Crystal Cargo has launched an A300-600 freighter service linking Abu Dhabi with Nairobi twice a week following an interline deal with Kenya-based Astral Aviation. The partnership also gives Etihad access to seven additional Astral destinations across Africa: Entebbe, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Juba, Kigali and Bujumbura.

European Cargo Services (ECS) has launched a second, wholly-owned general sales agency business in Germany to meet the requirements of its fast-growing airline customer base. The network GSA group has operated successfully as Globe Air Cargo in Germany since 2002, representing major airline clients including Brussels Airlines, Ukraine International, Delta Airlines, EL AL and Malev.
The new company is trading as Aero Cargo International and has several launch customers; Africa West Airlines, Air Senegal, Cargo B, Corsair, Cubana Airlines, Carpatair and Mexicana.

Envirotainer, providers of active temperature-controlled air cargo containers and cold chain management specialists to the healthcare industry, won the 'Most Influential Project Award' at Cool Chain Europe 2009 in Brussels.The Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP)/Certified Envirotainer Partner (CEP) program was developed in response to requests from the pharmaceutical industry to be able to best define those service providers capable of using Envirotainer's solution to ensure the integrity of their shipments during the transportation process.

e-global Logistics Network (eGLN) is launching e-commerce driven solutions to help reduce costs, boost revenues and improve sales effectiveness enabling eGLN members, partners and customers to develop new opportunities during the global downturn.

Emirates Airline unveiled plans to grow the number of flights across its network by 14 per cent in 2009, increasing cargo capacity by 17 per cent. Emirates SkyCargo recently took delivery of new, state-of-the-art Boeing 777 freighter, the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world with a maximum payload of 103 tonnes. In addition, 18 new wide-bodied passenger aircraft will be added to the Emirates fleet, enabling Emirates SkyCargo to increase frequencies and capacity on many existing routes. The carrier will welcome another Boeing 777 freighter in the 2009-10 fiscal year. Ram Menen, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, said: “The last two years have not been easy for the air cargo industry, but we hope to see some stability return in the coming months. For Emirates SkyCargo, 2009 will be a year of consolidation.

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates Airline, has carried more than 300 tonnes of air cargo capacity a week for one direction out of Hyderabad, south India, to Dubai. It has carried over 50 per cent of the air exports of hazardous goods which includes active pharmaceutical ingredients having hazardous properties, chemicals and inflammable liquids used for industrial purposes out of Hyderabad.

Emirates SkyCargo has signed agreements with Globe Air Cargo, a European Cargo Services (ECS) company based in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, to sell cargo capacity on its freighters, and in the bellyhold of its 114-strong fleet of wide-bodied passenger aircraft. Prakash Nair, Emirates Manager Network Cargo Sales Development, said: "Emirates SkyCargo is pleased to appoint Globe Air Cargo to leverage the significant opportunities available to us in Central Europe. We operate an extensive trucking network throughout the region, transporting cargo from offline points to stations we serve directly, and look forward to working with our new partners to grow our business there.”

EGSAC the network of independent GSSA companies has appointed Cargo Care International (CCI) as its exclusive member for Denmark. Copenhagen-based CCI was formed in 2007 by Anders Herrgaard Jepsen, who has spent 10 years in the air cargo industry working for two GSSA´s, and already represents six airlines. CCI has a close association with EGSAC's member for Finland, Norway and Sweden, Airline Services GSA, acting as its representative in Denmark and enabling both companies to offer total coverage of Scandinavia and Finland.

Emirates’ non-stop flight between Dubai and Los Angeles is now operating three times a week, Emirates SkyCargo is enjoying a boost in business on what is set to be a robust route.Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the 12th busiest cargo airport in the world, handling 1.88 million tonnes of cargo last year. Dubai International Airport (DXB) finished one place behind LAX in the rankings at 13th, with 1.66 million tonnes. Initially operating three times a week, Emirates is flying a Boeing 777-200LR on the route, offering up to 10 tonnes of cargo capacity in each direction. The new service has been welcomed by American fruit and vegetable exporters, whose produce is expected to account for the majority of the cargo space on the US outbound flight, along with US Postal Service mail.

FedEx announced plans to strengthen the company’s international and domestic services across India. FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. and the world’s largest express transportation company, has launched a new flight from Bengaluru establishing direct connections to Europe and the Middle East and the U.S.  With this, Bengaluru becomes the third Indian gateway for FedEx joining Delhi and Mumbai and enhancing FedEx customers’ access to the global marketplace.

FedEx Ground, is building a package sorting and delivery station that would be the company’s fifth in the Chicago area.The 214,000 square-foot facility is expected to open late next year. Its workforce will start with 200 full-time and part-time employees and could grow to almost 500 when operating at full capacity airfreight showed continued strong demand growth in June as the industry recovers from the impact of the global financial crisis.

FedEx and UPS have the most to gain from declining main deck and belly capacity in the Asia Pacific region, according to transport industry analyst Helane Becker of Jesup & Lamont. Becker said the two companies operate in both the lower end of the freight distribution business - through truckers in the US - and in the high end with international priority products.

FedEx Trade Networks a unit of Fedex has selected Fritz Companies Israel as its exclusive Regional Service Provider (RSP) in Israel. The deal will allow both companies to offer expanded international  ocean and air freight forwarding services.

FedEx Express, has announced agreements to purchase six additional B777F air freighters for its fleet. The largest all-cargo airline in the world will purchase four B777Fs directly from Boeing. Including this announcement, FedEx Express has agreed to purchase a total of 38 B777F aircraft. To date, FedEx Express has already taken delivery of six B777Fs and four of them have already been introduced into service.

Frankfurt Airport's monthly cargo tonnage has exceeded 200,000 metric tons for the first time. It recorded 33.5 per cent growth for the first three months of the year and in March, throughput rose by 37.4 per cent year-on-year to top the 200,000 metric ton mark. The new monthly record of 203,308 metric tons was about 11,400 metric tons more than the earlier peak month of November 2007. Parent Fraport ended the first quarter of 2010 with a 3.9 per cent increase in passenger figures at 11.3 million. In March 2010 alone, FRA registered a total of 4.4 million passengers - an 8.3 per cent year-on-year increase.

FedEx Office, an operating company of FedEx Corp. has formed an alliance with Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. and HP to create an unmatched network of printing and imaging capabilities, giving customers access to leading-edge technologies and a state-of-the-art machine fleet. These new solutions enable FedEx Office to offer individuals and business customers a better, faster, more flexible and environmentally smarter way of creating, customizing, printing and distributing their materials—transforming the retail printing experience.

FedEx earns $8.7bn in revenue in 3Q09 In the third quarter 2009 FedEx reported revenue of $8.7bn, up seven per cent from $8.14bn a year ago. Operating income was up 129 per cent to $416m, from $182m the previous year, operating margin was 4.8 per cent, up from 2.2 per cent in the previous period and the net income was up 146 per cent to $239m from 2008's $97m.

FedEx Corp. said  it has launched a system that allows shippers to electronically upload and manage international shipping documents.The FedEx Electronic Trade Documents system allows customers to migrate to a fully automated system for international shipping, the carrier said.

FedEx Express has expanded FedEx International EconomyR (IE) and International EconomyR Freight (IEF) services from Asia to Europe-Middle East and Latin America, adding an additional 11 and 15 destinations respectively.

Flightcare Cargo announced the signing of a long term agreement with Egypt Air for the handling of its cargo and A300F full freighters at Brussels Airport. The agreement took effect from 1 February 2010 with one weekly flight , increasing to 4 flights a week and up to 15 flights a week in high season (November, December January).

FedEx Corp reported a doubling in fiscal third-quarter profit as rising global trade volume offset a loss at its domestic trucking unit. The package shipper also raised its 2010 earnings guidance alongside higher capital expenditure for the airline freight unit, whose performance drove the improvement in the latest quarter, reported Dow Jones Newswires.

FedEx's express delivery arm may see the uptrend in its outbound volume from China continue this year along with the country's improving trade situation, a senior executive said. FedEx Express and its rivals were affected by the global economic downturn and a rare decline of China's exports for the most part of 2009, but a recovery has taken root since the middle of last year.

FedEx Corp. and growing international ocean and air freight forwarder, announced it has opened two new offices in India in addition to four new freight forwarding offices across its Europe and Latin America as part of a global expansion plan.  The company has opened 20 international freight forwarding locations in the past nine months, bringing the company’s total to 22 new international locations since 2008.

Fraport Cargo Services (FCS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, recently announced the winners among its airline customers at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) for the “Best Cargo Performer 2009” award. AirBridgeCargo Airlines took first place in the category “Most Volume in 2009”, ahead of Cathay Pacific and Emirates.  Eleven-month tonnage for AirBridgeCargo totaled 31,040 metric tons – 30 per cent higher year-on-year.

FedEx Express,  is advancing international express shipping with the introduction of its first Boeing 777 Freighter (777F) service in Shanghai, mainland China.The new 777F directly connects Shanghai with the FedEx SuperHub in Memphis, Tenn. and provides customers in Shanghai, Suzhou and Kunshan with a best-in-class, two-hour improvement in cut-off times* in select areas, making it even more convenient for businesses to ship internationally by giving them more time to prepare their FedEx International Priority and FedEx International Economy shipments.

FedEx Corp. said its less-than-truckload units will boost rates by 5.9%.The rate increases for its FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL will apply to interstate and intrastate LTL shipments, as well as shipments between the U.S. and Canada.Various additional changes will include minimum and accessorial charges and some adjustments to fuel surcharges, FedEx said.

Frankfurt Airport airfreight segment continued its upward trend. Almost all traffic regions experienced double-digit growth in airfreight tonnage in December 2009. "Nearly 174,000 metric tons of airfreight represent a significant 29.1 percent gain over December 2008 and a fourfold increase over the 7 percent rise in November 2009," said Schulte. Handling 8,429 metric tons on December 13, 2009, FRA recorded its second-busiest day ever for freight throughput. FRA only handled more freight in a single day on September 17, 2006 (8,477 metric tons). December 2009 figures also contributed to stabilizing traffic development on an annual basis.

FedEx Corp has announced the launch of FedEx India, a  next-business-day* domestic express service for the Indian market.  FedEx India will provide customers with a highly reliable and convenient shipping solution for their time critical commercial and non-commercial consignments across key Indian markets. The launch follows the company’s domestic express service launches in China, Mexico and the UK.

FedEx Corp. said it will raise its standard list rates for its FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery units by an average of 4.9%. FedEx Corp. previously announced that it would increase shipping rates for FedEx Express by an average of 5.9% for U.S. domestic and U.S. export services, also effective Jan. 4.

flydubai, Dubai’s first low cost carrier, has signed a deal with Danzas AEI Emirates, a joint venture between Al Tayer Group and DHL, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, the world’s largest logistics group. The role for Danzas is to coordinate all flydubai’s logistics requirements from transporting undercarriage spare parts to delivering new seating and stairways. Danzas has facilities in Dubai Cargo Village, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai Investment Park and Sharjah, and provides transport by ocean, road and air as well as warehousing and distribution services.

FedEx Corp. said its second-quarter profit fell 30% to $345 million, or $1.10 per share, from $493 million, or $1.58, a year ago. The earnings were in line with a recent company projection. Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Nov. 30 fell 10% to $8.6 billion. less-than-truckload unit FedEx Freight posted an operating loss of $12 million, compared with operating income of $32 million a year ago, while revenue fell 11% to $1.07 billion.

FedEx Trade Networks, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. and growing international ocean and air freight forwarder, announced it has opened seven new freight forwarding offices across Asia and Europe as part of an aggressive global expansion plan. The company has opened a total of 14 new freight forwarding locations in 2009. In Asia, the facilities are located in Xiamen, Tianjin, Dalian and Ningbo, China, as well as a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. These new offices support the company's international freight forwarding operations and provide comprehensive coverage in key Asia-Pacific trade lanes. In Europe, the company opened two new facilities in Paris, France and Amsterdam, Netherlands. These openings mark the company’s first owned operations in Europe and will allow FedEx Trade Networks to provide its customers with enhanced freight forwarding services between Europe, Asia and North America, including additional support and capabilities in the growing Europe-Asia trade lane. The Netherlands office also serves as the FedEx Trade Networks headquarters for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
flydubai, Dubai's first low cost carrier, has signed a deal with Danzas AEI Emirates, a joint venture between Al Tayer Group and DHL, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, the world's largest logistics group.  The role for Danzas is to coordinate all flydubai's logisticsrequirements from transporting undercarriage spare parts to delivering new seating and stairways. Danzas has facilities in Dubai Cargo Village, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai Investment Park and Sharjah, and provides transport by ocean, road and air as well as warehousing and distribution services. flydubaihas taken delivery of five aircraft and begun commercial flights to eight destinations in five months, making it one of the fastest growing start-up airlines in the world. The airline's sixth aircraft is due to be delivered in December.
FedEx Corp has announced the launch of FedEx India, a next-business-day* domestic express service for the Indian market.  FedEx India will provide customers with a highly reliable and convenient shipping solution for their time critical commercial and non-commercial consignments across key Indian markets. The launch follows the company’s domestic express service launches in China, Mexico and the UK.

FedEx Express a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. reported the completion of two significant infrastructure projects within its global network: the expansion of its European Hub at Charles de Gaulle in Paris, France and the expansion of its bonded warehouse at Guadalajara International Airport in Jalisco, Mexico. Both newly-expanded facilities strengthen the company’s ability to deliver seamless service to customers around the world.

Fraser has renewed its £33.7m (US$54.3m) UK logistics contract with DHL Supply Chain for a further three-years. The expanded deal also includes the retailer’s online business and new wedding list service, both of which were awarded to DHL’s specialist fashion unit in March 2009. House of Fraser’s supply chain director Mark Holland said: "DHL’s existing knowledge and understanding of our business enabled them to deliver a strong multi-channel solution to a demanding deadline with no disruption to this key part of our business." DHL manages the complete end-to-end supply chain covering inbound logistics, distribution and warehousing and vendor management.

FedEx Express has launched a next-business-day service connecting mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore with France and Germany. It said connections for FedEx International Priority would be Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore with Frankfurt, Cologne and Paris, basis. It said the new service was part of an ongoing focus on strengthening its links between Asia and Europe.

FedEx Express claims the advantages offered by the B777 freighter will change the face of air cargo operations.Speaking as the company took delivery of its first 777F international operations, called the 777F a “game changer”. Transit times from points in Asia to FedEx’s US hub in Memphis, for example, would fall by 1-3 hours compared with the MD-11 freighter, allowing the acceptance of packages later in the day.

FedEx Trade Networks, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation and an international ocean and air freight forwarder, has named Fred Schardt president and chief executive officer, responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of the company as well as the company’s global operations and product portfolio. Schardt has spent more than 35 years in the international freight forwarding, transportation and logistics industries. He joined FedEx Trade Networks in 2008 as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

FedEx Corp, has unveiled the industry’s first onboard automatic fire-suppression system (FSS), elevating the level of safety during international, over-water flights. The comprehensive fire-safety system is the result of seven years of design and development efforts at FedEx Express, and expands upon the company’s existing commitment to advancing aviation safety. “The in-flight safety of crew and cargo is a top priority at FedEx Express, leading to our development of this enhanced fire-safety technology,” Joel Murdock, managing director, Strategic Projects, FedEx Express, said. “After seven years of design and development, we’re proud to see this proprietary technology take flight on a variety of aircraft in the FedEx fleet, representing another strong step forward in our air-safety initiatives.” In April 2009, FedEx Express began installation of the FSS technology on MD-11 freighters —the workhorse of the FedEx international aircraft fleet. Each installation requires approximately 700 man hours and will be completed on the company’s 59 MD-11 aircraft in early 2011. FedEx also plans to install the FSS technology on new Boeing 777 Freighters, which begin international service in company’s fleet in April 2010. In all, 74 FedEx wide-body planes used for international, over-water flights will be upgraded with the technology.FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. and the world’s largest express transportation company, announced the expansion of its international shipping portfolio to provide customers with more choices and reach when shipping packages and freight worldwide. FedEx Express now offers FedEx International Economy service from more than 90 countries and territories around the globe. In addition, FedEx International Economy Freight service is available from more than 50 countries and territories. Prior to this global expansion, FedEx International Economy was offered from 16 countries and territories and FedEx International Economy Freight was available from 13 countries.

FedEx Corp. said that its first-quarter profit will be 58 cents per share, higher than the guidance it had previously announced. The Memphis, Tenn., parcel carrier had previously estimated that its profit for the quarter ended Aug. 31 would fall between 30 cents and 45 cents a share.

FedEx Express has renewed its contract with the U.S. Postal Service for the organization's GXG date-definite delivery service to over 190 countries worldwide. The service is available at USPS throughout the U.S. and via Click-N-Ship online at usps.com. “The Postal Service is pleased to renew this important agreement with FedEx,” said Pranab Shah, USPS vice president and managing director, Global Business. “We plan to build on the accomplishments of the initial agreement, enhancing GXG’s world-class service reliability by using the resources of both organizations to provide quality and value for our customers.”

First Flight is planning to invest Rs.100 Crore in the next one year to enter third-party logistics logistics business by setting up warehouses across India and purchasing two new aircraft. To start with the company would be setting up warehouses in four major cities and in the next phase would expand operations in tier 1 cities.

FedEx Corp. said it has expanded its international economy package and freight services to 90 countries, from the 16 previously serviced. The services typically deliver in two to five days, FedEx said. “In today’s challenging economic environment, we understand that our customers need to keep costs down while maintaining a competitive edge in the global marketplace,” said Michael Ducker, president of FedEx Express’ international unit.

Forward Air Corp.’s second-quarter net income fell to $2.8 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a profit of $12.1 million, or 42 cents, a year ago. Revenue fell 18% to $99.7 million. The earnings-per-share was within its guidance of 6 to 12 cents per share. Income from operations fell to $4.9 million, compared with $20.3 million in the prior-year quarter.

FedEx Express, has been ranked third in the 2009 Great Places to Work Survey (GPTW) in India. FedEx was also awarded the special category award for Best Company for Leadership Development. For six successive years, FedEx has been the only express transportation company to rank among the top 20 best places to work.

FedEx Corp. reported it lost $876 million in its fiscal fourth quarter, due largely to one-time charges totaling $1.2 billion. The loss for the quarter ended May 31 was $2.82 per share, FedEx said. Excluding the previously disclosed charges, the company earned 64 cents per share.In the same quarter last year, FedEx lost $241 million, or 78 cents per share.

F1 Team Force India sent one of their show cars to Mumbai recently through team sponsor Kingfisher Airlines where it will be displayed in a variety of high profile locations. There was a quick glimpse of the 2009 Force India team colours while the vehicle was secured to its pallet."We needed to balance speed with caution during the build and load processes" says Kingfisher Airlines Cargo Manager UK & Ireland, Stephen James."We were very impressed with the teamwork displayed by our cargo terminal operators (Airline Handling) and our ramp handling partners (Cobalt Ground Services).

Federation of Asia Pacific Aircargo Associations (FAPAA) has grown with addition of the Pakistan International Freight Forwarders Association (PIFFA), bringing the association to a total of 18 country associations. Established in 2005, PIFFA represents more than 400 companies based in Pakistan providing land, air, ocean combined transport and other logistics services.

Focus Aviation has been selected by Transmile Air Services as sole marketing agent for the sale of four MD-11 freighter aircraft. The aircraft were manufactured in 1991-92 before being converted for freight use over 2004-05. These four aircraft were part of the fifteen MD-11’s managed and marketed on behalf of a syndicate of European Banks in 2001. Since 2004-05 they have been operated by Transmile Air Services from their base in Kuala Lumpur, after a deal arranged by Focus. Transmile Air Services is a cargo airline based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which offers express freight, courier and charter services. It works alongside globally recognised companies such as DHL Worldwide Express and UPS – United Parcel Service, utilising a fleet of B737-200C and B727-200F aircraft.

FedEx Express, has been ranked third in the 2009 Great Places to Work Survey (GPTW) in India. FedEx was also awarded the special category award for Best Company for Leadership Development. For six successive years, FedEx has been the only express transportation company to rank among the top 20 best places to work. The annual GPTW survey is conducted by the Great Places to Work® Institute in association with The Economic Times and covers over 375 companies across India.

FedEx has expressed its desire to get 30 per cent of its fuel from petroleum alternatives by 2030. The company believes it could make significant reductions on its air transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions under the "30 by 30" initiative. CEO Fred Smith told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce aviation forum that biodiesel derived from jatropha, ethanol from switchgrass, and other second-generation biofuels produce less greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum.

FedEx is to scrap 14 of its aircraft in the face of continuing decline in demand. Ten A310-200s and four MD10-10s has been removed from service and be replaced “This decision reflects management’s ongoing efforts to optimise the company’s express network in light of continued excess aircraft capacity due to weak economic conditions and the expected delivery of newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft in fiscal year 2010,” said the company in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Four Soft Limited , a global leader offering software solutions for transportation and logistics industry, announces that its subsidiary Four Soft Netherlands BV, has recently secured a contract with Midl b.v. Integrated Logistics (Midl) to implement its connectivity solution - 4S eConnect, to exchange order information between Midl and its customers. Midl b.v. Integrated Logistics is a Netherlands based freight forwarding and third party (3PL) logistics company, with an established international network, covering various geographical locations. Midl has been using Four Soft’s applications - 4S eTrans SME (freight forwarding application) and 4S eLog (warehouse management system) for quite some time now. Both the applications are running successfully at Midl’s locations.

Federal Express Corp. reported that its third-quarter net income plummeted 75 percent to $97 million, compared to last year's $393 million, prodding the company to layoff more staff, introduce more pay cuts and trim capacity.

Flybe, Europe's largest and most successful regional airline and the United Kingdom's premier domestic airline, is to increase its relationship with Swissport, one of the world's largest airport service businesses with the award of three contracts for full ground handling. The contracts at Newcastle and Birmingham Airports renew the existing business between the two companies, whilst at Gatwick Airport Flybe has awarded its business to Swissport for the first time. At all three airports, Swissport will provide full baggage handling and check-in services.

FedEx Express, announced the expansion of its customer portfolio of services with the launch of FedEx International Economy® service in India.FedEx International Economy is an economical, day-definite, customs-cleared, door-to-door service that features a transit time typically two business days longer than premium FedEx International Priority® service, which is designed for more time-sensitive shipments. The new service effectively addresses the needs of customers who look for reliability and cost efficiency as a top priority in shipping.

FIATA and IATA have signed an initial five-year agreement to develop training courses for home study, classroom training and e-learning. The move was announced at the meeting of the Airfreight Institute attendees at the FIATA Headquarters Session 2009 held in Zurich recently. The training courses will have primary delivery through FIATA’s association members, who operate in 112 countries and whose total membership exceeds 40,000 freight forwarding companies.

FedEx Express began operations at its new Asia Pacific hub located at the Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China. This hub is now the company's largest outside of the US.The new hub is located in the heart of Guangzhou's Pearl River Delta a major international centre of production and trade in the region.

FedEx Office released the results of its national "Finding Better Balance" survey, a pulse check on full-time, U.S. workers' views towards work/life balance moving into the New Year. It might seem that personal priorities will suffer as employers cut jobs and pressure mounts for greater workplace productivity in this challenging economy. However, 47 percent of survey respondents say better work/life balance would be even more important to them in 2009, compared to 2008.

Frankfurt airport freight traffic dropped by 25 percent in December from a year ago, the third successive monthly decline at Europe's biggest airfreight hub as the global economic downturn reduced German exports. The collapse in shipments, to around 142,000 metric tons, was three times the rate of decline in November and nearly five times the year-on-year decrease in tonnage in October which ended nine months of solid growth. Growth in the first three quarters left full-year traffic just 2.7 percent lower at 2.1 million tons. But Fraport AG, Frankfurt's operator, is bracing for further declines through 2009 as the airport's main customer, Lufthansa Cargo, trimmed capacity by 10 percent at the beginning of the month following a 20-percent decline in its December tonnage.

FedEx Express exercised an option to purchase 15 more 777 freighters from Boeing. The move ups FedEx's capital expenditures by $15 million in fiscal 2009 and by $2.75 billion over the following 10 years, the company said in an SEC filing.Parent company FedEx Corp. provides transportation, e-commerce and business services with annual revenue of $39 billion.

FedEx will delay delivery of 11 Boeing freighters for up to 17 months. FedEx reached an agreement with Boeing to defer the delivery of the B777F aircraft, the company said. On the revised delivery schedule, FedEx will accept delivery of four B777Fs in 2010, as previously agreed. In 2011, Boeing will deliver only four, rather than the 10 originally planned. Five more will arrive in 2012 and two in 2013. The revised payment schedule will result in the deferral of approximately $275 million of commitments from 2009 to future periods. The company expects capital expenditures to be approximately $2.4 billion in 2009 and to include spending for aircraft and related equipment at FedEx Express, facility expansion at FedEx Ground and revenue equipment at FedEx Freight.

Garuda Indonesia, has taken the first step in rebuilding its long-haul international network with the launch of a new daily service from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Dubai. In line with the commencement of this new route, the airline has awarded a Europe-wide cargo GSA contract to European Cargo Services (ECS) to maximize the potential of its bellyhold freight capacity.

GAC Group has opened it newest logistics office at Oslo International Airport in Norway as part of organic growth to offer a wider range of integrated services to its clients. Located in the Oslo Air Cargo (OAC) building, the new office is well placed to provide a wide range of warehousing, logistics and air freight solutions. It is manned by a team headed by Logistics Manager Alexander Olsen, who has more than a decade of logistics experience including three and a half years with GAC in Singapore.

Globe Air Cargo has won the GSA contract to represent United Airlines Cargo in Spain. The airline operates a daily Airbus A330 flight from Madrid to Washington. From the US capital, United Airlines provides connections to all main US destinations. Globe Air Cargo, which won the contract through a competitive tender, expects to generate 4,000 tonnes a year for the airline ex Spain. Carlos Lazaro, Director of Globe Air Cargo in Spain, said: “This is the first time we have worked with United Airlines in Spain. Our network of offices in Spain and knowledge of the US market were significant factors in us winning this important new contract. With 11 tonnes capacity per flight and a superb network across the US, including wide-bodied flights to San Francisco and Los Angeles on the west coast, United Airlines is a prime air cargo partner to freight forwarders in Spain.”

GAC has strengthened its global energy and logistics network with the opening of GAC Energy & Marine Services LLC (GEMS) in the maritime and energy hub of Houston, Texas. Located in the new Central Green development close to Houston International Airport, the GEMS facility provides 65,000 square feet of covered warehousing space and 40,000 square feet of open air storage. It offers an extensive portfolio of services for the oil and gas and mining sectors, including: in-house case packing; international or domestic air and ocean freight management; and charter and project services. In addition, to give clients total visibility and control, GEMS uses the latest IT systems for all its operations, as well as track & trace and reporting management.

Great Wall Airlines, a cargo carrier based at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China, has selected Ameco Beijing to perform one C check and one D check on two 747-400F aircraft.

Great Wall Airlines (GWL) all -cargo carrier is assuring customers that a recent change in majority ownership will not affect the company’s operations. China Eastern Air Holding Company, the parent of China Eastern Airlines, has acquired a 51 per cent stake in GWL, which was previously held by Beijing Aerospace Satellite Applications Corporation.This brings the total number of cargo airlines that China Eastern runs to three, China Cargo Airlines, Great Wall Airlines and Shanghai Airlines Cargo.The other shareholders in GWL, namely Singapore Airlines Cargo and Dahlia Investments, remain invested with a 25 per cent and 24 per cent stake respectively.

GO Airport Express, Chicago's premier ground transportation company, has become an official donor for the World Land Trust-US. Under the Penny-per-Passenger program, GO Airport Express will donate one cent for every individual who books a ride to/from O'Hare or Midway airports. The company transports almost one million passengers per year, meaning approximately $10,000 will be donated annually to support the WLT-US's efforts to save rainforests and other threatened habitats, such as those in Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia.

GMR Infrastructure Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), a subsidiary of the Company, have approved a Scheme of Arrangement, pursuant to Section 391 and 394(1) of the Companies Act, 1956. The Scheme of Arrangement is for the vesting of the Undertaking of the Hotel Division of GHIAL, into its wholly owned subsidiary, GMR Hotels and Resorts Ltd (GHRL), through Court process. The Scheme once approved by the Hon'ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh, would be effective from April 01, 2009.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) will celebrate the grand opening of the IAH Fresh Cargo Center. Houston's largest airport partnered with Trammell Crow to develop the 61,484 square-foot facility, which opens Houston as a major gateway for temperature and time-sensitive air cargo. "This new cargo operation adds a needed dynamic to international and Houston-based importers and distributors of perishable products," said Eric Potts, Houston Airport System interim director of aviation. "The facility is the first of its kind in Houston in size and scope and allows airlines and logistics managers to better serve their customers."

GAC has signed a strategic partnership agreement with leading integrated document management specialist Swiss Post Solutions to bring its core document services and solutions to the Middle East. The alliance, to be known as GAC Office Solutions – Powered by Swiss Post Solutions, is part of the GAC Solutions umbrella. It combines GAC’s commercial skills, customer knowledge and geographical reach with Swiss Post Solutions technological and operational excellence in document outsourcing to offer a range of physical and digital solutions. These include mailroom services, scanning and processing of documents, data capture, records and archive management, print and reprographics as well as third party supplier management and the recently announced products Swiss Post Box and IncaMail. Clients will be able to manage their back office functions and customer interaction more effectively, creating clear business advantages.

Gigaset Communications (Shanghai) Ltd. has appointed Kuehne + Nagel to manage its national distribution centre in Shanghai. In addition, the logistics provider is responsible for domestic warehousing and distribution services for the entire range of Siemens-Gigaset-branded cordless phoneproducts in the Chinese sales market. The contract is an extension of the successful cooperation between Kuehne + Nagel and the Gigaset predecessor company Siemens Home & Office Communication Devices (Shanghai) Ltd. Since 2006,Kuehne + Nagel has been entrusted with central warehousing and national distribution services for Siemens Gigaset.

GeoPost, the express parcel arm of French Groupe La Poste, and Continental Air Express Pvt Ltd, an associate company of the Vohra family owned Continental Carriers Group, announced the setting up of a joint venture company. The new company will be called DPD Continental Pvt. Ltd. and offer inbound and outbound express parcel services under the world-class brand DPD to customers in India.

Groundforce Portugal has joined Cargo 2000’s quality management program to support airlines and freight forwarders. The company has a 69 percent share of the Portuguese market and employs 2,700 staff at five airports. Customers include TAP Air Portugal, SATA International, Air France, KLM and Austrian Airlines. Last year Groundforce handled nearly 123,000 tonnes of export and import cargo.

Graco Inc., one of the world’s leaders in fluid handling systems and components, has awarded Kuehne + Nagel a new contract for the provision of integrated logistics services for its Australian operations. Under the recently signed five-year agreement, Kuehne + Nagel is responsible for providing comprehensive services to support Graco’s entire product range of around 2,600 items to move, measure, control, dispense and spray a wide range of fluids and viscous materials used in lubrication, commercial and industrial settings.

Global Airline Services has been appointed GSA for Ethiopian Airlines in the Benelux region. The airline operates seven times per week with MD 11 or B747 freighters from Liege airport to Addis Ababa. Onward freighter service is available to 16 other destinations including Lagos, Khartoum, Lusaka, Kinshasa, Kigali, Mumbai and Dubai. Several extra destinations such as Douala, Harare and Lome are served with passenger flights using B757, B737 and B767 equipment. The total capacity of the MD 11 is between 75,000 to 85,000 kgs

Globe Air Cargo, part of European Cargo Services (ECS) has won the exclusive cargo general sales agency contract in the UK for the Nigerian airline, Arik Air. The new contract began recently with Globe Air Cargo marketing all of the airline’s cargo capacity on its daily flights from London Heathrow to Lagos. With Arik Air’s A340 passenger aircraft capable of lifting 12 tonnes of cargo, Globe expects to generate some 4,500 tonnes of freight a year for the airline from the UK.

Great Wall Airlines, an all cargo airline based in Shanghai Pudong Airport, commenced scheduled flight to India from June 2009. The routing will be Pudong- Chennai-Mumbai-Pudong. The carrier currently operates a fleet of 3 B 747-400 freighters with a network covering the major cargo hubs of Shanghai, Tianjin, Amsterdam, Manchester, Seoul, Chicago, Atlanta and Seattle.

Global Aviation, has announced the launch of a scheduled freighter service to Libya. It will operate a weekly flight, using an A300-600F, between Ostend in Belgium and the Libyan capital, Tripoli. It will be supported by a regular trucking service between Brussels and Ostend. Global Aviation has appointed Strike Aviation Group as its GSA for Europe and the Americas.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced its tonnage throughput for July 2010. A total of 256,838 tonnes of air cargo were handled in the month, representing a year-on-year growth of 27.7%.  Cumulative tonnage from January to July was 1,646,609 tonnes, up 36.7% year-on-year.

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport announced Asiana Airlines will begin operating cargo flights to the Atlanta airport starting September 13, the Atlanta Journal reported.  Asiana will operate four weekly flights to Seoul, South Korea, with Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft.

Hong Kong's busiest terminal handled 1,389,059 tonnes of cargo in the last six months with June cargo volumes continuing the strong upward trend this year. June volume reached 245,352 tonnes, up 30.5 percent year-on-year.  Tonnage throughput for the second quarter was 752,316 tonnes, representing a year-on-year growth of 39.1 percent.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) released its tonnage figures for June, the second quarter and the first half of 2010.  A total of 245,352 tonnes were handled in June, up 30.5% year-on-year. Tonnage throughput for the second quarter was 752,316 tonnes while tonnage throughput for the first half of the year was 1,389,059 tonnes, representing a year-on-year growth of 39.1% and 38.4% respectively.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) recorded the highest daily tonnage throughput ever on 23 April 2010, with a total of 10,080 tonnes of air cargo handled on that day, surpassing the previous historic record of 9,850 tonnes achieved in September 2007. Of the 10,080 tonnes handled, export volume accounts for 55%, with 5,541 tonnes registered. 2,607 tonnes of import volume was recorded on the day while transshipment volume was 1,932 tonnes.Over the past three months, Hactl has seen a continuous upsurge of cargo volume tonnage. A total of 636,743 tonnes were handled in the first quarter of 2010, representing a year-on-year growth of 37.5%. Ms Lilian Chan, General Manager, Marketing and Customer Service said, “We are extremely pleased that our cargo throughput passed the landmark of 10,000 tonnes per day and our handling was proven to be smooth and to the satisfaction of customers. The new handling record attests to Hactl’s strong ability and capability to handle huge volumes of cargo efficiently.”

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) registered positive growth for  air cargo tonnage for the seventh consecutive month, surging 38% year on year to 354,000 tonnes in April. Air traffic movements also increased by 2.7% over last April to 24,725. Passenger volume declined 1.5% to approximately 4.2 million. The strong cargo growth was mainly attributed to the continued recoveries in HKIA’s key export markets, in particular North America and Europe. Exports recorded an increase of 57%, while imports and transshipments showed year-on-year growth of 30% and 10% respectively. Meanwhile, Hong Kong resident travel registered a year-on-year decline of 4%, and transfer/ transit traffic dropped by 9%. However, visitor numbers showed an increase of 8%, which was driven by traffic to and from South East Asia and North Asia. Speaking about the performance of the passenger market, Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said, “The exceptionally strong Easter holiday traffic of last year had already created a high base for comparison. Then, Iceland’s volcanic eruption and the Black Outbound Travel Alert for Thailand (Bangkok) this year further impacted travel. As a result, there predictably was a slight decline in passenger throughput last month. However, growth momentum for passenger traffic remains strong, and I am confident we will continue to see an improvement in these numbers over the coming months.” From January to April 2010, HKIA handled 16.2 million passengers, 1.3 million tonnes of cargo and 94,825 aircraft movements, representing year-on-year growth of 4.5%, 35.1% and 1.6%, respectively.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the occasion of Earth Day 2010 announced a dramatic year-over-year reduction in water use at the world’s busiest airport. Because of recent sustainability measures, the Airport used 86.7 million fewer gallons of water in 2009-10 than in 2007-08 — enough water to fill about 130 Olympic-size swimming pools or more than 10 Georgia Aquariums. “The Airport and the City of Atlanta are committed to being good stewards of the environment,” said Tom Nissalke, Airport director of environmental and technical services. “Water conservation is one of the many ways we seek to enhance the sustainability of the Airport for the community.”

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) handled a total of 244,087 tonnes in March, with cumulative tonnage for the first quarter at 636,743 tonnes. Ignoring the results pit of 2009, and measuring against the same time in 2008 with 236,619 and 614,533 tonnes respectively, this shows the company is only three and 3.4 per cent off pre-crisis levels. Export volume in March and in the first quarter, reached 131,349 tonnes and 338,446 tonnes respectively.

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) registered year-on-year growth of 17.0% and 30.1% in passenger and cargo throughput respectively, to 3.9 million and 257,000 tonnes, in February 2010.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) released its tonnage throughput for the first month of 2010. A total of 212,623 tonnes were handled in the month, representing a significant year-on-year growth of 48.9%. Export volume in January increased 52.3% against last year to 115,297 tonnes while import volume for the month also showed a year-on-year growth of 64.6%, with 60,293 tonnes registered. Transshipment tonnage in January recorded an increase of 21.7%, with a total of 37,033 tonnes of cargo being handled.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced that its Logistic Control System 2 (LCS2) has been awarded the Best Business Grand Award and Best Business (Application) Gold Award in the Hong Kong Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Awards 2009 at the awards presentation ceremony held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 19 January 2010. Mrs Rita Lau Ng Wai Lan, JP, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development presented the Grand Awards to winners of the nine award categories in the Hong Kong ICT Awards. Hong Kong Computer Society is the organiser of the “Best Business Award” category and the judging panel of this award comprises 12 IT professionals who select the winners based on seven judging criteria: functionality, effectiveness & efficiency, competitiveness, cost performance, social impact, presentation and innovative use of IT. Hactl is honoured to be chosen as the Gold Award as well as Grand Award winner in the “Best Business Award” category.

Hactl announced the successful completion of its IT Disaster Recovery Drill. The drill was aimed at validating the IT disaster recovery procedures and time standards as well as testing the effectiveness of the business continuity procedures of various business units. The drill commenced in the evening of 15 February and completed in the early morning of 16 February. It was set against the background of a total system failure of the Primary Computer Room (PCR) at SuperTerminal 1, paralysing data and storage network connections of Hactl’s major IT systems. The IT Disaster Recovery plan was then activated and the Secondary Computer Room (SCR) provided immediate disaster recovery of critical systems at the backup site, which ensures the provision of Hactl’s 24x7 services to the air cargo community in Hong Kong.  More than 80 staff from the IT, Operations and Engineering departments participated in the drill, with representatives from the Airport Authority Hong Kong as observers.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl), which is responsible for handling around 80% of throughput at the airport, saw December volumes up 38.5% and fourth-quarter traffic up 17.9%, although full-year volumes were down 8.3% at 2.32m tonnes. Hong Kong’s biggest air cargo handler revealed the extent of the boom at the end of last year, with dramatic year-on-year growth figures for December and the fourth quarter, albeit against weak 2008 comparison figures.

Hahn Airport Frankfurt-more airfreight shipped in November than ever before. At 21,660 tonnes, the month’s cargo traffic was 30 per cent above the amount shipped in October. “After getting a very good result for October, an increase of 30 per cent is excellent,” said the local state’s minister of finance and transport, Hendrik Hering. “The good start to the Christmas season and the outstanding capacities of the Air Cargo Germany airline based at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, are considerable factors behind this new record.” The result is a 36 per cent increase year-on-year, from November 2008’s 15,885 tonnes.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced its air cargo tonnage throughput for October 2009. The overall cargo volume was further stabilised and picking up gradually. A total of 225,856 tonnes were handled in the month, representing a year-on-year growth of 1.7%. Cumulative tonnage from January to October was 1,849,972 tonnes, down 14.5% compared with the same period last year. Export volume in October declined 2.8% against last year to 123,772 tonnes.  Aggregate export volume for the first ten months was 966,256 tonnes, down 18.6% compared with the same period last year. Continuing the encouraging positive signs of improvement since August, the import volume for October showed a year-on-year growth of 15.4%, with 59,252 tonnes registered. Aggregate import volume for the first ten months was 498,798 tonnes, representing a decline of 9.8% against the same period last year

Hartsfield airport has got its first round-the-world freighter with the arrival of a Singapore Airlines Cargo 747-400 weekly service from Hong Kong. The flight returns to Singapore via Brussels and Sharjah.“Singapore Airlines’ decision to begin air cargo service to Atlanta furthers our position as one of the world’s premier logistics hubs and center for supply chain management,” said , vice president of supply chain development for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.Singapore Airlines is the 12th all-cargo operation at Atlanta-Hartsfield - which the airport claims supports 255,000 jobs and $44.7 billion in business throughout Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Hilti, one of the world’s market leaders in providing technology to the global construction industry, has entered into strategic partnership with Kuehne + Nagel for the planning, implementation and management of their future logistics locations in Europe. The cooperation between the Lichtenstein-based group and Kuehne + Nagel started in December 2007 with the construction of the new Hilti logistics centre in Nuremberg. This project, which was planned and implemented and is managed by the logistics specialists of Stute Verkehrs-GmbH, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Kuehne + Nagel Group, laid the foundations for the realignment of Hilti’s logistics processes in Europe. 

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced its tonnage throughput for September, the third quarter and the first nine months of 2009. September tonnage further stabilised with a total of 212,391 tonnes handled, registering a milder drop of 4.3% year-on-year. Tonnage performance in the third quarter also showed clear improvement compared with last quarter, with a total of 620,358 tonnes handled, down 6.3% year-on-year. Tonnage throughput for the first nine months of the year was 1,624,116 tonnes, representing a cumulative year-on-year drop of 16.3%. Export volume was 117,045 tonnes for September and 328,305 tonnes for the third quarter, down 7.0% and 10.3% year-on-year respectively. Cumulative export tonnage for the first nine months of the year was 842,484 tonnes, down 20.5% against the same period of last year. Import volume continued to improve in September with a growth of 8.5%, totaling 57,634 tonnes. Import from USA and Europe showed a satisfactory growth of 9.3% and 10.2% respectively in September. Total import volume in the third quarter was 169,064 tonnes, up 3.2% against last year whilst the cumulative import volume for the first nine months dropped 12.4% year-on year with a total of 439,546 tonnes.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced that TNT Airways has appointed Hactl as its cargo ground handler at Hong Kong International Airport to support its new freighter service between Hong Kong and Europe. TNT Airways, the leading global express services group, launched its first scheduled freighter service on 17 September 2009, flying directly between Hong Kong and Liege, Belgium three times a week with its B747-freighter fleet. Hactl was appointed to provide physical cargo handling as well as air cargo documentation handling services to TNT Airways which is currently the only freighter operator to provide scheduled direct flights connecting Hong Kong and Belgium, offering seamless connection for shipments moving between Asia and Europe.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced that D.E.T.A. Air JSC (D.E.T.A. Air) has appointed Hactl’s one-stop-shop service for cargo ground handling at Hong Kong International Airport, including physical cargo handling, air cargo documentation, ramp handling and crew bus services. The Kazakhstan-based freighter carrier, D.E.T.A. Air, launched its inaugural scheduled flight to H

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (International Airport grew for the first time this year in August. Total cargo moving through its facilities fell 6.2 per cent compared to August 2008, but imports rose four per cent. Air freight exports fell 10.1 per cent compared to last year, although the figure was 4.4 per cent better in August than in July - and reached a year’s best 107,946 metric tons. Hactl) says imports into Hong Kong.

Houston Airport System (HAS) and Trammell Crow Company announce that Tradewinds Cargo Handling, owned by New Jersey-based Group One Investments, LLC, signed a lease to operate a cold-storage air cargo facility at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Starting November 1, Tradewinds Cargo Handling will accept perishable imports flown into Houston from international markets and will distribute throughout the United States. Trammell Crow Company developed the 61,484 square-foot IAH International Air CargoCentre(TM) II with the intent of establishing Houston as a major gateway for temperature and time-sensitive air cargo.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced its air cargo tonnage throughput for July 2009. A total of 201,157 tonnes were handled in the month, representing a relatively mild year-on-year decline of 8.4% compared with that in previous months. Cumulative tonnage from January to July was 1,204,915 tonnes, down 19.6% compared with the same period last year. Export volume in July declined 13.9% against last year to 103,314 tonnes. Aggregate export volume for the first seven months was 617,493 tonnes, down 24.1% compared with the same period last year. Import volume for July and for the first seven months were 55,457 tonnes and 325,939 tonnes respectively, representing a 2.6% and 17.5% decline year-on-year for the respective periods.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) commemorated the completion of the construction of three external canopies. Situated at the north eastern corner of Super Terminal 1, these three linked canopies cover 2,192 square metres in total and can simultaneously accommodate air cargoes for two 747-freighters under shelter, with enhanced protection against adverse weather. The total investment of the project is approximately HK$21 million, underlining Hactl’s dedication in providing premier cargo handling services to all airline customers and associated business partners across the supply chain.

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has reported signs of improving cargo performance as volumes grew 5.9% in the second quarter of 2009 compared to the preceding quarter. However, volumes still fell 13.4% to 270,000 tonnes in June compared to a year earlier, with exports down 17%, mainly due to weak demand from markets in North America and Europe .Air traffic movements also decreased by 13.3% year-on-year in June to 21,505.

Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo throughput dropped 19.8 percent over last year as trade continued to shrink and exports to all major markets slid amid the global economic recession. Hong Kong International Airport said in a statement that it handled 257,000 tonnes of cargo in April, down 19.8 percent from April 2008.The reduction in cargo traffic was most pronounced in exports, which recorded “a 27 percent year-on-year drop, in which cargo volumes to all major markets experienced a decline. Imports also fell 16 percent from the same period last year, with cargo volumes from Southeast Asia and Japan showing the biggest drops. Transshipment cargo dropped around 7 percent year-on-year during the month, while the corresponding figures for Taiwan and the Mainland experienced double-digit declines.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) released its tonnage figures for May 2009. A total of 177,980 tonnes were handled in May, down 18.6% year-on-year. Cumulative tonnage for the first five months of the year was 815,803 tonnes, down 23.0% compared with the same period last year. Import volume for May registered a 16.4% decline on a year-on-year basis to 49,597 tonnes. Aggregate import volume for the first five months was 219,345 tonnes, down 21.8%. Market outlook for western countries continues to be gloomy: the import volume from Europe and the States decreased 19.7% and 16.5% year-on-year respectively.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has earned Air Cargo World magazine’s Award of Excellence for the best North American cargo operations in its category. The award, voted on by airline customers, was for airports that handle 500,000 to 999,999 tons per year Air Cargo World magazine measured reader responses in four key areas: performance, value, facilities and operations. “We are honored to receive this highly coveted distinction from Air Cargo World magazine,” said Warren Jones, Aviation development manager.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announce that the Company has been voted the “Best Air Cargo Terminal – Asia” at the 2009 Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards (AFSCAs), the awards presentation of which was held at Intercontinental Hong Kong..Organised by the reputable logistics publication Cargonews Asia, the AFSCAs are widely regarded as one of the most authoritative and prestigious awards for the freight industry in Asia.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced its tonnage throughput for March and the first quarter of 2009. A total of 186,636 tonnes were handled in March, showing a decline of 21.1% year-on-year. Cumulative tonnage for the first quarter was 463,014 tonnes, down 24.7% against 2008. Export volume in March was 96,529 tonnes, down 26.9% compared with last year. Cumulative export tonnage for the first quarter was 236,766 tonnes, representing a drop of 28.4% year-on- year. Export to China showed a considerable drop of 38.4% in the first quarter, while USA and Europe recorded a decline of 29.0% and 28.9% respectively. A total of 47,741 tonnes of import cargo were handled in March, showing a year-on-year drop of 19.3%. Cumulative import tonnage for the first quarter was 122,959 tonnes, down 24.8% against the same period last year. Import from China, USA and Europe declined 24.7%, 21.2% and 24.8% in the first quarter respectively. Transshipment volume for March recorded a comparatively mild decrease of 6.7% year-on-year to 42,366 tonnes. Total transshipment volume for the first quarter was 103,289 tonnes, down 14.2% year-on-year.

Hong Kong International Airport reported a 28.9% drop in cargo volume to 210,000 tonnes while air traffic movements declined 2.0% to 24,245. The steep fall in cargo volume was a result of continuously shrinking international trade caused by the global economic downturn.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) reported that its 2008 aggregate air cargo throughput had registered a decline, due primarily to the severe global economic downturn and the continued weak performance in import/export trading activities particularly in the latter part of the year. In 2008, Hactl handled 2,533,510 tonnes, representing a year-on-year reduction of 3.8%. Total volumes handled by Hactl for December and the fourth quarter were 167,845 and 593,082 tonnes, down 29.7% and 19.4% respectively compared with the same periods in 2007.

IATA reports that international airfreight showed continued strong demand growth in June as the industry recovers from the impact of the global financial crisis.  Global demand for air cargo grew 26.5 per cent, down from the 34 per cent recorded in May 2010. However, May was exceptionally high due to the shifting of some interrupted traffic from April’s ash crisis. Volumes remain six per cent above the pre-recession peak in early 2008. Capacity increased only slightly above demand improvements during the month, keeping load factors in line with historical highs at 53.8 per cent.Freight demand continues to follow economic recovery and trade patterns with airlines in Asia-Pacific (29.8 per cent), the Middle East (39.6 per cent), Latin America (44.9 per cent) and Africa (54 per cent) growing the fastest.Carriers in North America (24.2 per cent) occupy the middle ground.Europe (15.3 per cent) is growing at half the rate of the fastest growing regions based on slower economic growth. It is the only region still five to six per cent below the pre-recession peak. The low value of the Euro will be a help to the region’s exporters and eventually drive up freight volumes.

International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has launched a campaign to attract more freight forwarders to its ranks that offers reduced membership fees, discounts on exhibition and conference costs and access to a new Air Logistics Network (ALN) providing a series of value-added reference tools for cargo operators .The new low cost membership fee for freight forwarders of just US$300 per annum compares to the previous rate of $1,000. In addition, forwarders will be able to gain a reduced US$500 delegate package to attend TIACA’s International Air Cargo Forum and Exposition and, as all members, attend its annual Executive Summit and AGM on a complimentary basis. The Air Logistics Network will become a comprehensive service that facilitates business for forwarders and air logistics professionals. One of the first offerings is ALN’s new online ‘Reference Center’, designed to provide useful links to practical regulatory and commercial references and tools to support the daily work of cargo agents globally.

Incheon International Airport did not suffer much in the final reckoning from the slump in cargo demand in 2009, severe though it was in the first half of the year.  At the outset of the year Incheon International Airport Corp had scaled down its 2009 target to two million tonnes, but the final result came in at 2,312,881 tonnes, not much below the 2.42 million tonnes that passed through the airport in 2008. Freighters played a major role in this recovery. Their share of Incheon’s total last year was 64 per cent, up from 60 per cent two years earlier.The slump certainly has not dented the pace of IIAC’s expansion plans. Phase three of Incheon’s development kicked off late in 2009, one year ahead of schedule. Its main thrust is the construction of a second passenger terminal, but the plan also calls for an expansion of cargo buildings and aprons. An area of more than 3.2 million sq ft has been prepared for the cargo terminal site. IIAC plans to create 64 more parking positions for freighters before 2025, bringing the total number to 100. The expansion is going to boost Incheon’s capacity from currently 4.5 million tons to 5.8 million.

IBS Software has signed a contract for Delhi-based all-cargo airline Aryan Cargo Express to use its iCargo solution, which will automate its entire cargo operations. Qantas Freight, Nippon Cargo Airways, All Nippon Airways, Austrian Airlines, Spice Jet and the Tokyo International Air Cargo Terminal - and others - already use iCargo.

IATA said air cargo traffic jumped by a quarter in December compared with a year earlier, and passenger demand also picked up, data from the air industry association IATA showed in a sign of growing economic recovery. Freight demand rose 24.4 percent in December, but in 2009 as a whole was 10.1 percent lower than in 2008, while passenger demand rose 4.5 percent for a full-year decline of 3.5 percent, the International Air Transport Association said. "The industry starts 2010 with some enormous challenges. The worst is behind us, but it is not time to celebrate, said IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani, noting that 2009 was the worst year in aviation history in terms of demand.

Incheon International Airport registerd increase in  cargo volume has increased by 20% in the 4th quarter in comparison to the previous year, which is a positive indicator for the economy. This will lead to a positive trend of more business from cargo airlines originating from Incheon International Airport. Cargo volume in the first and second quarter of 2009 at Incheon International Airport was down due to the global downturn, falling 20% and 13% respectively. However, the downward trend was reversed in September when cargo volume rebounded. Cargo volume in the third quarter stabilized by only decreasing by 2% while volume in the fourth quarter increased sharply by 20%, giving positive indications of an economic recovery. As a result, Incheon International Airport was able to exceed its goal of handling 2 million tons of cargo despite the economic downturn last year. Total annual cargo volume for 2009 stands at 2.31 million tons of cargo, which is only 5% less than the previous year.

IBS Software transportation and logistics industries, has launched an airline ‘Manpower Management’ solution that has been developed with significant inputs from four leading global airlines - Air Astana, easyJet Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and Qatar Airways. A Manpower Planning system is a strategic business planning tool that enables airlines to plan cost effective and efficient operation of its fleet with an optimal level of properly trained and appropriately qualified crew. The solution is the first of its kind and goes way beyond the traditional thinking in the area of airline crew management. It enables faster, smarter crew allocation decisions leading to a reduction in crew costs through improved recruitment plans, training plans and crew movement profiles.

India's Minister for Civil Aviation,  Praful Patel inaugurated the first MIT professional workshop at Lavasa. Lavasa and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Office of Professional Education (MIT PE) are collaborating for the first time to present an Executive Program in Airport and Airlines Systems. A three day workshop on planning, design & management of Airport and Airlines Systems began on 11th January in Lavasa at the Dasvino Town and Country Club. Lavasa is free India’s first Hill City being developed by Lavasa Corporation Ltd, a part of HCC Group. Speaking on the occasion, Honourable Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr. Praful Patel said “Lavasa city is emerging as an education hub in the country and is poised to provide multiple learning opportunities. This collaboration with MIT comes at an opportune moment as giant strides made by India, in areas of science and technology has produced a critical mass of talented resource pool in India. Such specialised initiatives are critical in providing a positive direction to the human resource capital of India”

International Air Transport Association (IATA)   international scheduled traffic results for November shows freight demand was up 9.5 percent year on year while passenger volume rose 2.1 percent. The improvement in freight, said the Geneva-based industry association, is exaggerated because of the sharp fall in demand in the second half of 2008. Passenger load factors remain at pre-crisis levels at 75.4 percent while freight load factors stood at 56.6 percent. Freight demand is 20 percent better than the low point in December 2008, but still 10 percent below the peak levels seen in early 2008. Compared to October (and adjusting for seasonality), freight demand grew 4.7 percent, largely on the strength of markets connected to Asia Pacific.

India Logistics firms in plan to invest about 50 billion rupees over the next three years to expand warehousing operations across the country, a senior official of an industry body said. The investment has been committed by various players such as Future Group, Gati Ltd AFL, Safe Express and a few others, Tushar Jani, chairman, CII, Western Region Logistics Sub-Committee, said. The investment will lead to 30 mln sq feet of warehousing space in India over the next three years, he said. However, India is still likely to face a deficit of 50 million sq feet of warehousing space after the expansion as procurement of land is still difficult, Jani, who is also the chairman of SCA Group of Companies, said.

Irish Post Office, has awarded a contract to airBaltic for the carriage of mail between Ireland and Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Tallinn (Estonia). Mail is sent from Ireland to these countries three times per week, coinciding with three of airBaltic’s four weekly services ex Dublin. Says Ian McCool, Managing Director of IAM, which is airBaltic’s Irish cargo GSSA: “We are talking modest traffic levels, amounting to around 36,000 kilos per annum. But  this is the first time airBaltic has won business from An Post, and we are very pleased both with this prestigious contract and also with the welcome  additional revenue.”

Incheon International Airport, the world’s second largest international cargo airport and home base of Korean Air, has been chosen to host The International Air Cargo Association’s (TIACA) International Air Cargo Forum & Exposition in 2014. The airport is the biggest gateway located at the center of the fastest growing Northeast Asian market currently generating 20% of world GDP and 27% of the world logistics volume. Incheon handles 81% of Korea’s total air cargo and 25% of the country’s total trade volume. TIACA’s International Air Cargo Forum & Exposition will be hosted in the magnificent COEX convention center located in the World Trade Centre Complex in Seoul.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) has signed a MoU with the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation concerning safety, security, technology and international relations among other subjects. Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's CEO, urged Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president to "equalise" charges on Russian and foreign carriers and form foreign bilateral air service negotiations, which could lead to cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

International Business League (IBL), a contest launched by FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. The world’s largest express transportation company, aims to reward businesses that have delivered in challenging times over the past year. Launched on October 25, the contest invites participants to share their stories on how they have managed to innovate and turn around their business during the economic crisis. 

International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the dawn of a new era for the air cargo supply chain in Chinese Taipei. IATA e-freight went live in Chinese Taipei, and is operational at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport. IATA e-freight is one of the Simplifying the Business projects that improve service and cut costs. It aims to take the paper out of the air cargo supply chain. Facilitated by IATA, the project is an industry-wide initiative involving carriers, freight forwarders, ground handlers, shippers and customs authorities. IATA e-freight effectively eliminates the need to send 13 core paper documents with air cargo shipments, hence streamlining processes, improving speed and reliability and cutting costs. The Chinese Taipei IATA e-freight implementation team is led by the Association of Airfreight Forwarding & Logistics, China Airlines and EVA Air. The team started work in August 2009 and delivered IATA e-freight ahead of schedule. Chinese Taipei is the 22nd e-freight location worldwide to deliver paper-free cargo.

ITG has signed Fahrenheit Freight Forwarders of Malta as its official partner in the country. Fahrenheit, a member of Famalco Group, has been an established ITG partner for more than 10 years as carrier between Europe and Malta. As ITG’s official partner, Fahrenheit now has access to new markets including the Far East

India Post, the Indian Govt’s postal and telegraphic department managing 1.5 lakh post offices ,launched two more dedicated freighters to its fleet in a strategic tie-up with Air India, India’s national carrier. This would enable India Post to carry out faster transmission of Speed Post, mail parcel and logistics across the country. With this, the number of aircraft with the Department of Post(DoP) for its exclusive use has gone up to three.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international scheduled traffic results for August. Compared to August 2008, freight demand fell by 9.6% (an improvement compared to the 11.3% drop in July). Compared to the low point of December 2008, seasonally adjusted freight demand has improved by 12%, but remains exceptionally weak at 16% below April 2008 levels when the fall in demand began. All regions saw improved demand conditions in August compared to July.

India’s major airports are expected to enjoy air freight volumes rise between now and 2012, with Mumbai expected to grow one per cent in 2009-10, followed by 6.99 per cent growth in 2010-11, and by eight per cent in the 2011-12 period. This is according to figures in projects from Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who said Delhi air freight is expected to grow 3.7 per cent in 2009-10, four per cent in 2010-11 and five per cent in 2011-12. Even higher rates of growth are forecast for Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

IBS Software announced that S7 Cargo acting on behalf of S7 Airlines and GLOBUS airline, based in Russia, has signed up for iCargo, its new-generation cargo management solution. The S7 Cargo has chosen iCargoNet, the SaaS offering of iCargo, that will be hosted from IBS’ state-of-the-art data centres. With this the total number of cargo customers for IBS has grown to 19 in a very short time. iCargo, developed in association with a Core Group of Influencers comprising 6 leading airlines in the world, has, within a span of a few years grown to be an industry leading air cargo management solution globally. The IBS solution was selected by S7 Cargo for its strong customer service and proven ability to help cargo carriers in significantly increasing operational effectivity and cost efficiency. iCargoNet, the hosted version of iCargo lowers the total cost of ownership and facilitates transaction-based pricing, whilst bringing new benefits such as ease of global distribution and ability to add new modules and system features as the business needs of the airlines grow and change.

IBS Software has launched AxleratorZ, a ready-to-implement set of solution frameworks designed to accelerate operational efficiency at optimised costs. Vinay Parakala, Head of Software Services line of business for IBS, said: "At a time when the airline industry continues to face weak passenger and freight revenues, these ready cost effective solutions could provide the answer to many of the airlines' needs for enhanced operational efficiency. Since the launch, three leading airlines have signed up for these solutions while at least a dozen have shown initial interest to go ahead."

Iberia Maintenance has also signed an MRO contract with India’s Blue Dart Aviation Ltd. It will provide these services on the three RB211-535-C37 engines powering the B757-200 cargo aircraft operated by the company, which is based in Mumbai and Madras.

IBS has announced the availability of its award-winning IBS Enterprise applications products for the Windows platform, a major milestone in the company's new strategic direction announced at the end of 2008. Over the last few months IBS has started a number of transformation initiatives, under the umbrella of the new company strategy announced in September 2008. These transformation initiatives include a refined focus on core wholesale and distribution industry verticals and a broader technology-platform product line.

Iaqi Wings Air Cargo begin operation. Together with Avient they are launching a weekly scheduled direct service from Europe to Baghdad, Initially it will be a weekly commercial operation with plans already in place to increase the service in the future in direct response to market demands.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and DETA Air, a leading cargo operator in central Asia, signed a General Terms Agreement (G.T.A.) to engage in long-term strategic cooperative efforts. In the first phase of the agreement, IAI’s Bedek Aviation Group will perform heavy checks on two of DETA Air's DC-10-40SF aircraft, part of the company's fleet which also includes Russian cargo planes.

International air freight volumes have seen their first significant month-on-month improvement this year, according to May figures from the Interna-tional Air Transport Association (Iata).Chief economist Brian Pearce told the 3% improvement on April’s traffic levels was due to manufacturers beginning to add to inventories in anticipation of an economic recovery.

IATA e-freight continues to make progress towards its vision of a paper-free air cargo supply chain. Chinese Taipei has now been endorsed as ready for e-freight implementation. Egypt and Iceland have already begun implementing IATA e-freight, hoping to join the expanding list of live countries later this year. The most up-to-date list of IATA e-freight live countries, airports and companies is available on the project website. Indian Air Cargo Programme (IACP) which is set to be introduced shortly under the new IATA Resolution 815. Currently Indian air cargo agents are governed by Resolution 801. Under the new IACP a Joint Council comprising of 6 airlines and 6 ACAAI forwarders will equally represent the interest of Air Cargo Committee.

Iberia Cargo has appointed North Air Logistics as its General Sales and Service Agent (GSSA) in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. The exclusive GSSA agreement took effect on 1st April 2009; North Air Logistics will provide full sales, customer service and support functions for Iberia Cargo’s operation in the Nordic countries.Juan Aijón, Manager International Sales, Iberia Cargo commented: “North Air Logistics is an established and professional organisation, which will let us grow even more in Northern Europe. I am confident we will have a long and fruitful partnership,” said Aijón.

IBS, a specialist new-generation IT solution provider to airline cargo, global travel, transportation and logistics industries, and one of the fastest growing software product's company in the TTL space, will be the Platinum Sponsor for AIR CARGO INDIA 2010 scheduled for February 2-4, 2010 at Mumbai Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. IBS was Platinum Sponsor for AIR CARGO INDIA 2008 as well held at Mumbai in January 2008. AIR CARGO INDIA 2008 proved to be watershed for IBS as they had won the STAT TIMES readers' nomination for 'Emerging Cargo IT Systems Provider of the Year' award during the event.

Iberia Cargo has appointed North Air Logistics as its General Sales and Service Agent (GSSA) in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. The exclusive GSSA agreement took effect on 1st April 2009; North Air Logistics will provide full sales, customer service and support functions for Iberia Cargo's operation in the Nordic countries.

IATA e-Freight initiative launched in 2004 to create a simpler, electronic, paper-free documentation process, continues to gain momentum throughout the freight forwarding industry. This is helping eliminate the old pre-printed "original" Master Air Waybill (MAWB) concept while ushering in a cleaner, greener and more efficient paperless supply chain documentation procedure.

IATA World Cargo Symposium held in Bangkok and attended by over 700 delegates, called for a supply chain approach to battle the current air cargo crisis, highlighting speed, efficiency and reliability. E-freight will continue to be a key driver for speed, efficiency and cost savings. E-freight currently has the capability to convert 12 paper documents to e-documents and is already operating at 19 locations covering 27 airports. By 2010, the target is to have the capability to remove 64% of the paper from 81% of international shipments. The conference also highlighted the need to improve quality via Cargo 2000. This project was established over a decade ago to simplify processes by reducing 40 steps in the logistics chain to 19 and to implement effective quality standards.

India Post & Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) have joined forces to provide an Int'l express delivery service - WorldNet Express (WNX). WNX is India Post's first joint mail product. This partnership offers Indian businesses world-class speed, reliability and technology, and the ability to reach global markets. India Post currently offers an economical and reliable international express mail service (EMS) to 97 countries. WorldNet Express will expand India Post's reach to 220 countries.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) released international scheduled traffic results for both December 2008 and the full-year. In the month of December global international cargo traffic plummeted by 22.6% compared to December 2007. The same comparison for international passenger traffic showed a 4.6% drop. The international load factor stood at 73.8%.

Jade Cargo International has signed a contract to equip its cockpit crews with Lufthansa Systems’ Lido/RouteManual. By implementing the user-friendly navigation charts until summer 2010 the Shenzhen-based airline will join the growing group of airlines around the world profiting from the advantages of Lufthansa Systems’ aeronautical solutions. The electronic version of the charts, Lido/eRouteManual, will be introduced at a later point in time.

Japan Airlines has confirmed it will exit the air cargo freighter business by the end of October in a bid to cut costs. The carrier will continue carrying cargo in the bellies of passenger aircraft. It added that its passenger fleet had three times as much total cargo capacity as its freighter services. Its 10 freighter aircraft will be disposed of.

Japan Airlines (JAL) said it will suspend its scheduled freighter flight services by the end of October and would instead use the cargo belly space of passenger flights. The airline's passenger flights provide cargo capacity of about three times the volume available on its scheduled freighter flights.

JAL Group announced that it ended negotiations with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) on cargo business reform involving a possible merger between Japan Airlines International (JAL), the key subsidiary of Japan Airlines and NYK subsidiary, Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). The commencement of negotiations involving the restructuring of cargo business operated by JAL and NCA was announced in August 2009, and the feasibility of a potential merger between the cargo business of JAL and NCA was being analyzed. Both parties have reached an amicable conclusion to end the negotiations because the structure of the merger could not be organized within the scope of the agreement between JAL and NYK.

JV company Swissport/Losch will start its operations on March 1st, 2010 with four Airlines. On March 28th Continental Airlines, and on April 1st also Air Berlin, are joining the group. Swissport UK announced that the provision of Thomson Airways Ground Handling Services in LGW, STN & NCL has once again been awarded to Swissport. The new contract commences on the 1st April 2010 and will continue to operate in the same UK locations over the next 3 years. These multi million pound contracts will not only provide excellent safety and operational performance for the Airline, but will also allow to build on the extremely successful ‘Be A Great Partner’ programme started in 2009.

Jet Airways reportedly is in joint venture talks with FedEx Corporation aimed at launching a cargo airline. Jet is a major player in India, carrying a claimed 750631 domestic passengers in January 2010 and 364041 on international sectors.

Jade Cargo International and Chengdu  Municipality have entered into a strategic agreement to establish an international air cargo hub for western China. This hub will support the aviation business as well as promote the export-oriented economic development in Chengdu. Jade Cargo selected Chengdu Airport as the western center of its network and opens new international routes to Europe and the Middle East.

Jade Cargo International has selected IDMR’s Non-Routine module as their integrated electronic non-routine tracking and authoring system. The non-routine module will allow Jade Cargo to control all aspects of their non-routines. Many features including; simple data entry screens, image support, status tracking, man-hour accountability, electronic material slips, bar coding, seamless integration options and more will give Jade Cargo the ability to produce and track non-routines in the most efficient manner technology allows.

Japan Airlines delivered another stable month in terms of cargo volumes in August, with volumes down 10.8% year-on-year.That compares with a first-quarter figure to 31 June that was down 10.3% year-on-year and second-quarter volumes down 8%.

Jade Cargo International expands partnership with Air Logistics Group in India and the Middle East. Jade Cargo International and Air Logistics Group have entered into agreement to further expand their partnership. In August 2009, Air Logistics assumed the role of General Sales and Service Agent for Jade Cargo in India and the Middle East. “The professional efforts of Air Logistics Group will serve as the basis for our expanded sales presence in India and the Middle East,” commented Kay Kratky, CEO of Jade Cargo International. “During the past months our flight operations at Chennai, India and Sharjah, U.A.E have been well received by our customers. Now it is time to move forward with development of those markets,” he added.

Japan Airlines Cargo volumes for showed further signs of stabilisation in July. International volumes were down 20% year on year, following a 20.3% decline in June.In an attempt to match supply with demand, cargo capacity has also been reduced by around 20% in comparison to the previous year. 

Japan Airlines (JAL) has opened negotiations with the owner of Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) about a potential merger of their cargo divisions, to create Japan’s largest air cargo transport provider. If the deal proceeds, the new combined business would start operations from 1 April next year.

JAPAN Airlines (JAL) is to hike its international cargo charges by 30 per cent. The massive jump will start in the middle of July and is an attempt by the carrier to exploit the recent rebound in demand for Japanese exports to China and Taiwan, although the price rise applies to all routes.

Jade Cargo International and Air Logistics Group have entered into agreement for representation in Europe. Air Logistics Group will represent Jade Cargo International as General Sales and Service Agent in the European markets of Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

Jade Cargo, the Shenzhen-based all-cargo carrier has begun its twice weekly Seoul-Shanghai-Vienna-Frankfurt-Seoul route, utilising a 747-400ERF.

Japan Airlines (JAL) is seeking to increase its fuel surcharge on cargo flights departing from Japan. The airline has applied to the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) for a revision commencing July 1, 2009. The international cargo fuel surcharge on long-haul international routes would increase from YEN38 to YEN45 per kg, on medium-haul international routes from YEN33 to YEN39 per kg and on short-haul routes from YEN28 to YEN33 per kg. ($1=98.60)

Jade Cargo International and Air Logistics Group have entered into agreement for representation in Europe. Air Logistics Group will represent Jade Cargo International as General Sales and Service Agent in the European markets of Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

Japan Airlines Corp., Asia's largest air carrier, reported group operating revenue from international cargo fell 7 percent in the first nine months of the fiscal year starting in April from a year earlier to 133.5 billion yen (US$1.46 billion). The carrier also released data for the third fiscal quarter which clearly showed that international cargo was hit hard by the sharp global economic downturn that began last autumn.Group operating revenue from international cargo fell 26.8 percent on-year between October and December to 38.1 billion yen ($416 million).

Japan Airlines, Asia's biggest air carrier, says international cargo volume declined for five months in a row to November 2008, when volume fell 25.1 per cent to 51,823 tons. Figures for the first eight months of fiscal 2008, from April, show international volume totalled 479,443 tons, down 7.8 per cent from the same period of fiscal 2007. Japan's second-largest airline, All Nippon Airways, said international cargo volume declined for the first time ever in fiscal 2008 on a year-on-year basis. -Jack Handley

Korean Air Aerospace presented its first cargo door prototype for the A350XWB. The aerospace manufacturing division of Korean Air Group is responsible for three doors of the future long-haul twinjet. The company is a subcontractor to the EADS subsidiary Eurocopter, which is to supply all passenger, service and cargo doors for the aircraft.

Korean Air reported a record quarterly operating profit powered by a boom in air cargo demand and consumer appetite for international travel. South Korea's No 1 airline expects its earnings to peak in the third quarter on a firmer won and with passenger demand showing no signs of slowing down.

Kale Consultants Ltd,  announced that Vietnam Airlines has selected Kale's REVERA® and AMBER® solutions for its passenger & cargo revenue accounting requirements respectively. The airline will deploy these solutions on licensed basis. In current competitive times, airlines are continuously seeking various means of reducing operating costs and improving efficiencies.

Kuehne + Nagel opens a new state-of-the-art facility near the Colombian capital city to expand its integrated supply chain management solutions in the area. Located seven kilometres from Bogota, the Siberia’s industrial complex includes an industrial park, a “dry port” as well as business and logistics centres. The location has access to the main highways connecting major cities such as Medellin and Cali as well as the seaports of Cartagena on the Atlantic and Buenaventura on the Pacific coast and lies on direct route to Bogota’s main international airport.

Kale Consultants, expects the demand for Logistics IT solutions to grow in the coming year. With the rapidly growing economy producing an impressive market for logistics services, logistics service providers are feeling the need for best-of-breed solutions which can fulfill the criteria of efficiency, scalability, visibility and consistency. This, in turn, will enable the service providers to fulfill customer requirements of ‘MORE services at LESS cost’. The positive industry outlook is further strengthened by the results of Kale’s research study ‘Technology survey for the Indian Logistics Industry – 2009’ which points out that the technology adoption in the logistics industry is expected to grow by about 20% in 2010, compared to last year.

Kingfisher Airlines, has launched Kingfisher Xpress, a new Door-to-Door cargo delivery service.  Kingfisher Xpress Same Day service is India’s first and only same day delivery by air service, with a money-back guarantee. The promise of the Kingfisher Xpress Same Day service is that shipments will be picked up from your doorstep and delivered at the recipient’s doorstep on the same day. This service will offer a pick up facility in the 6 main metropolitan cities of India namely Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata with guaranteed same day delivery in up to 18 cities of India namely, Bagdogra, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Kochi, Goa, Guwahati,  Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Raipur, Ranchi, Lucknow, Nagpur, Pune and Srinagar.

Korean Air has posted almost a seven-fold increase in its quarterly operating profit. The carrier made a 154 billion won (US$132 million) operating profit in the last calendar quarter of 2009, above a forecasted 120 billion won ($103 million). A stronger won, up 8.2 per cent against the dollar last year, helped reduce fuel costs.With technology exports growing and Japan Airlines recently filing for bankruptcy protection, analysts are predicting that Korean Air will win business from its floundering rival on transPacific and north-east Asian routes.So confident is it that the airline is expecting a 2010 operating profit of 800 billion won ($694 million), an increase of over 400 per cent from last year’s 154 billion won.

Kennedy International Airport New York saw its first  year-over-year expansion in freight tonnage in two-and-a-half years in November, eking out a 0.2 percent gain that signaled the gateway is turning the corner on the steep decline in air cargo traffic. The airport also had its busiest freight month of 2009 in November with 107,825 tons, surpassing the previous high set in October. Although barely more than the total of November 2008, the new report broke a string of 29 straight monthly year-over-year declines at JFK, dating back to May 2007. The improvement came on steadier gains in international air freight, which grew 3.1 percent at Kennedy Airport over the same month a year ago, according to figures released by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The gain in New York mirrors reports of improving air freight demand across the world, where a late surge in Asia exports gave cargo carriers an unexpectedly strong peak season. For the first 11 months of the year, freight traffic at Kennedy Airport was down 24.9 percent from the same period a year ago. Carriers have responded by dropping cargo-only flights: The Port Authority said freighter operations were down 15.8 percent in November from a year ago, and off 27.8 percent over the first 11 months of 2009.

Kuehne + Nagel at the end of 2008, was awarded a contract to manage part of the BMW-operated logistics facility in Midrand. After this successful transition, the decision to outsource the entire Midrand distribution operation was made by the Management Board of BMW South Africa. Following a rigorous tender process, Kuehne + Nagel was awarded a three-year contract to manage the entire national parts distribution centre. The scope of services that Kuehne + Nagel will be providing consists of receiving, inventory control, picking & packing, handling of dangerous goods and value-added services, such as pre-packaging and returns handling of BMW automotive parts and accessories. The 16,500 sqm facility is owned by BMW and holds around 50,000 stockkeeping units. After the current implementation phase Kuehne + Nagel will cooperate with BMW on the continuous improvement of the car manufacturer’s supply chain processes in order to increase productivity and improve cost efficiency, introducing new tools such as the Kuehne + Nagel Production System.

Kuehne + Nagel has entered into an agreement with Finpro, formerly known as the Finnish Foreign Trade Association, to provide logistics services for Finpro’s exhibition area at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. The World Expo, which has been held since the mid-19th century, is an international exhibition of manufactured products.

Kuehne + Nagel ‘s Oil & Gas Logistics division will provide air, sea and overland logistics and packing services for Weatherford’s drilling, well completion and rig activities. In addition, it is currently managing the movement of two drilling rigs from Ukraine to Russia. Yvette Epstein, Global Logistics Manager of Weatherford International Ltd., said, “Kuehne + Nagel has the proven expertise we require to deliver highquality service for our customers in key geographies.”

KEC International Limited, a global leader in the power transmission project management business and an RPG Group company, has selected Kuehne + Nagel India as its partner for the provision of lead logistics solutions in Jaipur, Mumbai, Jabalpur and Nagpur. The new three-year contract was signed based on Kuehne + Nagel’s proven track record in offering lead logistics solutions for Saregama India Ltd., the entertainment unit of RPG Group, one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates with more than 20 companies spanning eight business sectors.

Kale Consultants, the leading technology solution provider to the airline, logistics and travel (ALT) industry, announced the launch of the detailed report on “Technology Adoption Index for the Logistics industry” (TAIL). The first-of-its-kind report, which includes a detailed study covering over 235 companies, is an attempt to arrive at a simple integrated measure of technology adoption in the Indian logistics industry. The index will now serve as an industry benchmark for logistics companies to derive their technology effectiveness and business competitiveness.  Kale’s ‘Technology Survey for the Indian Logistics Industry’ pointed out that only 0.26 % is spent on IT by the Logistics ecosystem as against the global standard of 2-3%. This low level of spend on IT is among several reasons for the high cost of running the Logistics business in India. The TAIL index focuses on the reasons behind the low spend (and the low level of IT adoption). The TAIL index goes a step beyond in relating the level of adoption to the business benefits that have been experienced by the Logistics industry. The TAIL index can be used as a benchmark by the Logistics service provider in ascertaining the quantum of IT spends and the benefit from the investment.

Kuehne + Nagel,  is the first company to receive the Good Distribution Practice Passport from Life Sciences Ireland, an industry grouping within the Irish Exporters Association. The voluntary code of Good Distribution Practice (GDP) for Life Science Products (pharmaceuticals, chemicals, diagnostics, medical devices and biotechnology) was launched by the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) in Dublin. It is the culmination of two years of development work between the IEA, Irish life sciences manufacturers, the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) and logistics companies providing services to the sector. The GDP standard recognizes an increased need for further compliance and regulatory requirements in the international supply chain; logistics companies that comply with a set of defined criteria may be awarded the Life Sciences Ireland GDP Passport.

Kuehne +Nagel is now the exclusive contract logistics service provider for Nesttle products managing its national distribution centres. Kuehne + Nagel is responsible for warehousing and distribution services for the shelf-stable range of Nestlé products. Under the terms of the agreement, Kuehne + Nagel manages Nestlé’s four distribution centres, which are strategically located across the country covering the northern area from Antofagasta, the central area from Quilicura (Santiago) and Maipú, and the southern area from Concepción. The total warehouse space for this operation comprises 65.000 sqm, including 3.100 sqm of cold chambers.

Kuehne + Nagel Group achieved very satisfactory results for the first nine months of the year due to the early, consistent implementation of its dual strategy of strict cost management and commitment to market-share expansion. Gross profit – the relevant indicator of a logistics provider’s volume and margin performance – was 7.3 per cent (currency-adjusted and excluding acquisitions: 4.5 per cent) below the figure of the previous year’s period. Operational result (EBITDA) decreased by 10.0 per cent (adjusted: by 8.2 per cent) and net earnings by 14.4 per cent (adjusted: by 6.4 per cent) to CHF 387 million.

Kuehne + Nagel has successfully defended its 23rd place in the second yearly ranking of the world’s 2,500 largest publicly-listed companies by the manage-ment consulting firm A.T. Kearney. On behalf of BusinessWeek magazine, A.T. Kearney ranked companies with a minimum turnover of 10 billion dollars (of which at least one quarter must come from outside the company’s home region) according to their sales growth and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) or value creation over the last five years. Further criteria were commitment to innovation and expansion, portfolio diversification, strong management leadership and clear vision for the future.

Kenya Airways operates a wide body aircraft daily to Lusaka and Lilongwe with capacity to uplift over 10tons daily. The daily flights to Lusaka and Lilongwe will be in operation throughout our winter schedule.

Kuehne + Nagel has been named by Benetton Italy, one of the world’s premier manufacturers of casual clothing, footwear and accessories, to provide integrated logistics services for its domestic retail operations in Russia. The comprehensive service offered by Kuehne + Nagel ranges from forwarding of merchandise to Russia by road and air, import customs clearance, storage and order deliveries to the Italian brand's more than 150 shops throughout the country.

Kuehne + Nagel is chosen by Woolworths Limited, the largest retailer of grocery, general merchandise and consumer electronics in Australia and New Zealand, as the exclusive provider for their global order management. Under the three-year contract Kuehne + Nagel will be responsible for the global order management of Woolworths Limited’s entire international sourcing utilising Kuehne + Nagel’s Order Management Solution. In addition, the contract includes freight management from the export regions Europe, Middle East, Africa, South East Asia, the Americas and Oceania with valueadded consolidation services in the large LCL areas Bangkok, Naples, Northern Europe and Australia.

Kuehne + Nagel has opened a new facility in Sochi, Russia. The site will be directly involved in providing logistics and transportation services to official contractors of the Olympic Winter Games 2014.

Kuehne + Nagel has been selected by LSG Sky Chefs, the world’s largest provider of in-flight services, to manage its Malpensa airport-related supply chain activities.

Kuehne + Nagel has been selected by Quadriga, the leading provider of Internet and entertainment services for the hotel industry across Europe and the Middle East, to manage its supply chain including logistics and distribution of all materials out to hotel customers.

Kuehne + Nagel, has been awarded a five-year contract by Virgin Megastore to support the optimization of its inventory management in France. Virgin Megastore, one of France’s leading chains of entertainment and lifestyle stores, relies on Kuehne + Nagel for the management of its central inventory and supplying the whole of its stores throughout the country. The new agreement is part of Virgin Megastore’s corporate project CALLAS (centralisation, approvisionnement, linéaires, logistique, assortiment).

Kuehne + Nagel has opened a new branch office in Chongqing, further extending its strong footprint in China to 39 locations. So far, Kuehne + Nagel has been serving the Chongqing market through its office in Chengdu. With the opening of the new location the company is following the market trend to increasingly explore opportunities made possible by moving inland.

Kuehne + Nagel has been selectedby Vizada VSAT to provide a range of logistics solutions including air and sea freight and warehousing for its satellite communications equipment in the USA, Europe and Asia. The new contract is the first to have been secured by Kuehne + Nagel in Norway following its acquisition of J. Martens AS earlier this year.

Kuehne + Nagel has opened a newly built state-of-the-art logistics facility with over 14,000 sqm of warehousing space strategically located in the Waasland Cargo Centre area in the very heart of the Antwerp port. The new facility is located close to the Deurgangdock container terminal and offers an excellent access to the hinterland and European highways. The building, consisting of two halls of approximately 7,000 sqm each, is designed and equipped to offer European importers and exporters, as well as foreign manufacturers who need to bring their stock closer to the European market, a full package of warehousing, cross-docking and specialised handling activities including bonded warehousing and import / export (de)consolidation services.

Kuehne + Nagel Group leveraged an effective cost-cutting programme and increased sales activities to counteract the severe, recession-related decline in volumes in the transport and logistics business. Compared to the previous year’s period, gross profit reduced just by 7.1 per cent (currency adjusted: + 3.2 per cent), the operational result (EBITDA) by 12.2 per cent (currency adjusted by 4.6 per cent) and net earnings by 16.9 per cent (currency adjusted by 10.3 per cent).

Kuehne + Nagel has signed a three year service contract with Audi Volkswagen covering its national spare parts distribution in South Korea, and the construction of a new warehouse near Incheon seaport.The new 4,500sq metre dedicated warehouse is scheduled to be operational in September.

Kuehne & Nagel (K&N) Germany is claiming the top slot for airfreight export traffic based on IATA Cargo Accounts Settlement System (CASS) data. Last year's turnover grew 12.4 percent to $156.2 million.

Kuehne Foundation, based in Schindellegi, Switzerland, which has already financed a number of chairs and institutes at public and private universities, expands its successful cooperation with Technische Universität Berlin to fund a new chair. The Kuehne Foundation chair originates in the “Competence Center for International Logistics Networks” at Technische Universität Berlin, which has been supported by the Kuehne Foundation since 2005, and is headed by Prof. Dr. Carl Marcus Wallenburg. The new chair is aimed to extend research at Technische Universität Berlin in the field of international logistics networks and to strengthen the courses offered in degree and non-degree programs.

Kuehne + Nagel is now the largest airfreight provider in Germany. With an airfreight-related turnover of 115 million euros in 2008, the Kuehne + Nagel Group's German organisation moved from second to first place in the ranking. Kuehne + Nagel's market share in the German airfreight export market organically grew to 12.4 per cent in 2008 despite the general decline in airfreight tonnages due to the economic downturn.

Kale Consultants Ltd, a leading solutions provider to Airline, Logistics and Travel (ALT) industry, announced that J. M. Baxi & Co., one of India's leading maritime logistics providers, has chosen Kale's FMS Freight Management Solution. The solution will encompass various functions of freight forwarding and third party logistics including Sales and Customer Relationship Management, Multi-modal Exports and Imports management, International Trade Documentation, Tracking and Integration with third-party applications. With a national network of over fifty-five offices at both major and minor ports on the East and West coast of India, J. M. Baxi & Co. is today the largest professionally managed maritime logistics service provider in the country.

Kent International handled 2,727 tonnes of freight in November more than double the October tonnage. Strong growth in services from Cargolux, and a return of several movements by MK Airlines, contributed to the growth. The November result was still 27% behind the 3,757 tonnes in November 2007 when MK Airlines was operating daily scheduled 747 freight flights.

Lufthansa Cargo will impose a hefty hike in cargo rates of up to 20 per cent from October. The rate rise will vary according to route and will be accompanied by a three per cent increase in security fees. The news broke after Lufthansa informed its customers by letter that freight rates on many routes had sunk below the level of previous years due to the economic crisis.

Lufthansa Cargo Executive Board has decided to reactivate one of the last two MD-11 freighters parked in the Californian desert. Plans are afoot for this 18th aircraft in the fleet to be back in service by fall 2010. Lufthansa Cargo significantly improved traffic performance in the first half year 2010. The continued, positive business developments and promising market opportunities have led to an earlier reactivation of the D-ALCP than planned. There will be more market opportunities in Japan through the retreat of JAL from freight business. With the return of this further MD-11 capacities will be expanded for the "High Season" in the fourth quarter - and to aim for those new opportunities.

LAN Cargo, a Latin American cargo airline, will join Boeing’s Component Services Program (CSP). The program will provide LAN CARGO timely, worldwide access to spare parts for the carrier’s 777 Freighter fleet.

Lufthansa Cargo continued on the up again in the second quarter of the year. Over the first six months, the cargo airline carried 830,000 tonnes of freight and mail, around 20 per cent more than in the first half 2009. Volume growth was particularly pronounced into and out of Asia as well as to America. The transported volume in the Asia/Pacific traffic region grew by 24.6 per cent and in America by an even higher 31.1 per cent.

Lufthansa's Cargo business is benefitting from rising demand for goods in China and growing appetite worldwide for Chinese goods, the airline's finance chief said."The cargo business is currently absolutely booming. For the first time in over 10 years we are seeing not just strong imports out of China, but also strong exports to China," Stephan Gemkow said.

Lufthansa Cargo has declared itself to be capable of scanning all belly-load cargo shipments on aircraft departing from its US stations. The carrier has thus completed the program one month ahead of schedule, and is the first carrier to fully comply with latest TSA requirements for air cargo security.

LAN CARGO has inaugurated its new cold storage facility at the Miami International Airport, the largest airline operated facility of its kind at an airport in the United States.  The Company invested US$4 million in the expansion of the current facility, which included a significant focus on technology. This investment doubles the airlines’ capacity to process perishable goods, which are the main export products from Latin America to the United States and to Europe and Asia via Miami International Airport. The new facility forms part of the over 430,000 square feet that LAN CARGO has at the Miami International Airport including export and import terminals, cold storage facilities, warehouses and offices.

Lufthansa Cargo significantly improved its transport performance. Following the dramatic slide in cargo volumes in the crisis year 2009, the figures for the first quarter of the current year are only slightly below the 2008 level. From January to March, Lufthansa Cargo transported about 390,000 tonnes of freight and mail. This represents a year-on-year increase of 19.3 per cent. The highest growth rates were achieved in the Americas traffic region, which reported 27.8 per cent growth, and Asia/Pacific, which saw 21.7 per cent growth. Targeted measures to Adjust capacity in response to market demand were implemented, resulting in a two per cent reduction in available capacity. As sales simultaneously rose by 22.2 per cent to 1.9 billion tonne-kilometres, the cargo load factor improved substantially, increasing by 14.2 percentage points to 71.8 per cent.

Lufthansa Cargo has received a top honour at the 2010 Cargo Airline of the Year Awards. The German carrier was named “Best European Cargo Airline” at the Gala Awards night held in London. The Cargo Airline of the Year Awards, which are presented by the renowned trade media company Air Cargo Media, are now in their 28th year. More than 23,500 freight forwarders from 72 countries took part in the online survey this year. Lufthansa Cargo received the highest number of votes in the category “Best European Cargo Airline”, ahead of Air France/KLM and British Airways, which were ranked second and third, respectively.

Lufthansa Cargo has further tightened up its strict regulations governing the transport of live animals. Since 1 April, the company has no longer transported dogs or cats which are intended for use in animal experiments. This regulation will thus remain in force permanently. Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo traditionally submit themselves to strict conditions with respect to the transport of live animals. The “IATA Live Animals Regulations”, which also apply in Germany, merely represent minimal conditions for Lufthansa, which are even exceeded by internal quality measures. In addition, the national and international laws and regulations are precisely observed.Lufthansa Cargo also strictly complies with the restrictions on the transport of certain animals, for example, within the scope of the regulations of the “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species” (CITES).

Lufthansa Cargo an  Mojix™  announced the successful completion of a pilot deployment of the MOJIX STAR™ passive RTLS (Real Time Location System) system. This RFID installation at the Lufthansa Cargo Center in Frankfurt, Germany is the largest scale such pilot application of passive RFID to date in the air cargo industry. Lufthansa Cargo is testing this innovative technology to locate single cargo shipments, pallets and containers on a realtime basis enabling better control of loading and shipping processes, sustained improvement in efficiency and quality of processes, and reduced costs. After extensive tests and simulations Lufthansa Cargo will apply this new solution in a set of real processes, to be followed by a fully deployed pilot installation integrated into all real processes of Lufthansa Cargo in Frankfurt.

Lufthansa Cargo in the first three months of this year significantly improved its transport performance. Following the dramatic slide in cargo volumes in the crisis year 2009, the figures for the first quarter of the current year are only slightly below the 2008 level. From January to March, Lufthansa Cargo transported about 390,000 tonnes of freight and mail. This represents a year-on-year increase of 19.3 per cent. The highest growth rates were achieved in the Americas traffic region, which reported 27.8 per cent growth, and Asia/Pacific, which saw 21.7 per cent growth. Targeted measures to adjust capacity in response to market demand were implemented, resulting in a two per cent reduction in available capacity. As sales simultaneously rose by 22.2 per cent to 1.9 billion tonne-kilometres, the cargo load factor improved substantially, increasing by 14.2 percentage points to 71.8 per cent.

Lufthansa Cargo ended the 2009 business year with an operating loss of 171 million Euros. The global recession left the logistics industry reeling. In the toughest year in company history, revenues at Lufthansa Cargo slumped by almost a third to around 1.95 billion Euros. In the present year, the Company is aiming to post a significantly better operating result. Short time working, introduced at the Company on 1 March 2009, is to be discontinued, initially in April and May. Depending on business developments, it is to be ended finally in September. Lufthansa Cargo Chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr, emphasised at the Company’s annual press conference that only early capacity cuts and comprehensive crisis management had averted appreciably higher losses, enabling the Company to keep all its staff on board. “In comparison with the previous year, we lost a billion Euros in revenues, plunging the Company into an absolutely exceptional situation. That we managed to make good about two-thirds of our lost earnings is an achievement of which all Lufthansa Cargo employees can be proud.” An operating loss of 171 million Euros is a result that no Lufthansa company can be satisfied with, said Spohr. But in direct comparison with competitors, Lufthansa Cargo had still underlined its role as industry leader in the crisis year 2009.

Lufthansa Cargo continues the expansion of its “eFreight” operations. The cargo carrier launched the first paperless airfreight shipment from Frankfurt in autumn 2008. Aside from simplifying processes in the airfreight business, “eFreight” also benefits the environment. Each year, the paperwork produced for air cargo could fill 80 Boeing 747-400 freighters. As lead carrier, Lufthansa Cargo is the principal motor driving the implementation of “eFreight” in Germany according to the standards of IATA. Since autumn 2008, 1,000 paperless shipments have been transported. “In that time, we have cooperated closely with airports as well as with officials at the Federal Finance Ministry and customs,” explains Lufthansa Cargo Vice President Global Handling Management Thilo Schäfer. The cargo carrier and its partners have already established e-freight in airfreight business routine at the airports of Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Dusseldorf. Paperless air cargo is to be expanded to all German stations in the Lufthansa Cargo network by the end of the year.

Los Angeles International Airport, USA Air freight traffic at jumped 26.6 per cent in February over the same month a year ago. Freight tonnage also was up (slightly) over January 2010 and was nearly at the freight levels of 2008.

LOT Polish Airlines introduces a new cargo connection between Warsaw and Minsk (Belarus). Flights will take place two times a week. The new connection is being made available through a partnership between LOT and Genex Ltd. This is the second regular freight route introduced by LOT in the past few months.

Lufthansa Systems presented  its innovative AdvancedCargo Platform at the IATA World Cargo Symposium. The integrated IT solution optimizes all cargo processes of an airline. By reducing costs and enhancing the speed and quality of decision-making, the AdvancedCargo Platform gives airlines a competitive edge in the market. Lufthansa Systems is an IATA Preferred Partner in the “Simplifying the Business” initiative and has 15 years of experience in implementing air cargo IT solutions.The AdvancedCargo Platform is one more step in Lufthansa Systems’ strategy to provide airlines with integrated platform solutions for optimizing their core processes. The innovative platform solution covers the cargo selling and booking processes, handling as well as revenue accounting. Lufthansa Systems will complete the development of the AdvancedCargo Platform in April 2010 and key modules are already in use at customers.

Lufthansa Cargo and Austrian Airlines have agreed to step up cooperation between their two companies in the airfreight sector. Under the new agreement, the flow of cargo traffic through the hubs at Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna will be optimised. Both companies’ global distribution activities will be merged and their product portfolios and production processes harmonised.In future, the two companies will jointly route their cargo traffic through the Vienna hub and boost freight flows. Lufthansa Cargo and Austrian Cargo will also integrate their freight handling and distribution activities in Austria. In all other countries worldwide, freight activities will in future be amalgamated under the aegis of Lufthansa Cargo.

Lufthansa Cargo is reducing the short-time working rate for its ground staff in Germany to 20 per cent. The Lufthansa Cargo Executive Board and the Works Council has signed a corresponding agreement, which will remain in effect until 28 February 2011. This measure will enable the company to continue to adjust its staffing capacities flexibly to declining demand in the air cargo business. Under the terms of the new agreement, all ground staff (including non-pay-scale employees, who are not bound by the collective agreement) will in future work 20 per cent - rather than 25 per cent - fewer hours. Executive Board members and senior executives will continue to take a voluntary pay cut while the measure remains in force.

Lufthansa Cargo and Jettainer, after around 120,000 trial runs on Lufthansa flights and six months of materials tests have successfully concluded a pilot scheme on the use of lightweight containers.  During the test series, a total of 1,000 of the new composite containers were trialled in the global route networks of Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo.

Lufthansa Cargo says 2,600 ground staff in Germany will see their reduced work hours partially restored. The airline cut their hours by 25 per cent last March, but now will scale that back to 20 per cent. "The crisis is not over. The important positive developments in our traffic figures still reflect a significant drop in cargo work compared with the pre-crisis period," said board member Peter Gerger. Lufthansa Cargo carried 18.6 per cent more cargo in January than a year ago, at 114,000 metric tonnes.

Lufthansa Cargo will raise its fuel surcharges to offset a fresh rise in oil prices over recent months that has driven up the cost of shipping goods, a transport industry source said.The cargo division of Lufthansa will increase the surcharge by 5 euro cents to 0.75 euro ($1.08) per kilogramme.

Lufthansa Cargo is reducing the short-time working  rate for its ground staff in Germany to 20 per cent. The Lufthansa Cargo Executive Board and the Works Council has signed a corresponding agreement, which will remain in effect until 28 February 2011. This measure will enable the company to continue to adjust its staffing capacities flexibly to declining demand in the air cargo business. Under the terms of the new agreement, all ground staff (including non-pay-scale employees,who are not bound by the collective agreement) will in future work 20 per cent   rather than 25 per cent   fewer hours. Executive Board members and senior executives will continue to take a voluntary pay cut while the measure remains in force.

Lufthansa Cargo Works Council hands State Premier Roland Koch 4,000 signatures against a  night-flight ban in Frankfurt. Those 4,000 signatures represent thousands of jobs in the Rhine-Main region, emphasised Lufthansa Cargo Works Council Chairman Willi Rörig. He organised the petition which was signed by staff from Lufthansa Cargo and other logistics services companies. The campaign is designed to draw attention to the effect of an outright ban on night flights at Frankfurt Airport.

Lufthansa Cargo is utilising new-generation x-ray technology in its security regime. The new systems scan the entire contents of airfreight containers for the first time instead of individual shipments. Supplied by the Smiths Heimann Company, the systems will be used in Frankfurt, Munich and Johannesburg to enhance the efficiency of security screening of air cargo.

Lufthansa Cargo (LC) has taken over the handling and logistics of all incoming shipments arriving at for the forwarding and logistics group Hermes Transport Logistics. In addition to airport handling, LC has taken over responsibility for arranging and loading trucks to transport goods to Hermes’ bases at Haldensleben and Altenkunstadt. Hermes imports more than 14,000 tonnes of air freight to Germany annually, principally textiles from the Far East, and said Leipzig was its most important gateway.

Lufthansa group recorded a fall of cargo and mail shipments at fell 9.3 percent in September as demand stayed weak, the German airline said. "No basic improvement in market conditions could be observed at Lufthansa Cargo," it said in its monthly report. Passenger traffic on the other and rose 14.6 percent thanks to consolidation of its bmi and Austrian Airlines units. Excluding the consolidation impact, it fell 3.1 percent.

Lufthansa Cargo Croatia Airlines (OU) have decided to continue their successful cooperation that started already in January 2007. Effective September 15th, 2009, the Cargo Management of Croatia Airlines’ flights to Croatia, e.g. Handling, Sales and Accounting, will be provided by Lufthansa Cargo’s local offices.Lufthansa Cargo will be responsible for flights from Germany and Europe to Croatia, while Croatia Airlines will continue marketing their flights out of Croatia themselves. Shipments marketed by Lufthansa Cargo will be booked and handled as Lufthansa Cargo-shipments. Croatia Airlines offers flights from Zagreb to/from various German and European cities like Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Brussels, Paris and London.

Leipzig-Halle Airport is to host The International Air Cargo Association’s (TIACA) Executive Summit and Annual General Meeting on May 16-18, 2010. The German airport is served by 24 airlines flying to 57 airports in 17 countries offering connections within Germany and Europe including direct air services to major cities such as Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Moscow, Paris and Vienna. The Executive Summit, free to TIACA members, will address a wide range of issues, including a practical look at how companies are preparing to meet 100% piece level screening for air cargo shipments moving on passenger aircraft to/from and within the United States. This particular session will hear how major shippers are preparing for the introduction of this new legislation in August 2010 and also consider what the US can learn from Europe’s approach to aviation security.

Lufthansa Cargo and the national Croatian carrier Croatia Airlines (OU) have decided to continue their successful cooperation that started already in January 2007. Effective September 15th, 2009, the Cargo Management of Croatia Airlines’ flights to Croatia, e.g. Handling, Sales and Accounting, will be provided by Lufthansa Cargo’s local offices.

Lufthansa Cargo has ruled out moving its freighter fleet to another German airport if night flights are banned at Frankfurt, and would instead downsize its fleet as traffic migrated to other European gateways that offered night flights. CEO Carsten Spohr said that in the event of a ban on night flights, Lufthansa Cargo - and also the complete logistics location of Frankfurt - would be "pulled into an irreversible downwards spiral, which would result from a reduction of the cargo tonnage, including the shift of traffic and jobs abroad".

Lufthansa Cargo has become the first airline to be certified by the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to operate an Independent Cargo Screening Facility. The first location certified has been Dallas, Texas. Lufthansa Cargo has been working aggressively in order to explore solutions for its customers in response to the United States Congressional Mandate for 100% cargo screening on passenger aircraft effective August 1st, 2010. In addition to applying security screening to its own business, Lufthansa Cargo is now able to assist business partners under their business portfolio.

Lufthansa Cargo and the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have been working towards the development of new technologies to enhance the screening of air cargo that is to be transported on air carriers. One of the biggest obstacles faced by the industry in meeting security mandates is the challenge of screening air cargo for various types of threats effectively and through non-intrusive means. The TSA has now approved the use of a new technology and screening measures for air cargo.

Lufthansa Cargo is offering new and attractive destinations in the USA and southern Europe. The Greek capital Athens has been added to the carrier’s freighter schedules. An MD-11F commenced a once-weekly flight on Thursdays ex Frankfurt to Athens. From there, it will fly on via the Indian business and trade centre Mumbai to Hong Kong. An MD-11 is launching twice-weekly flights ex Frankfurt to Seattle on the US West Coast.

Lufthansa Cargo is expanding its security concept by also offering customers at smaller stations maximum security standards. For that purpose, the logistics carrier has introduced a "Premium Security Station" certification procedure. Once certified, the smaller stations will guarantee customers comprehensive, top-quality security norms surpassing local and national security requirements. Premium Security Stations augment Lufthansa Cargo’s successful security regime already installed at Security Hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, New York, Chicago and Shanghai.

Lufthansa Cargo’s freight volumes fell 14.1 per cent in June to 128,000 tonnes from a year ago, similar to other European cargo carriers, but ending a brief burst of optimism in May when its volumes improved to only a -9.1 per cent drop year-on-year.

Lufthansa Cargo will be offering a connection to the Mexican city of Guadalajara (GDL). Once a week, on Wednesdays, Lufthansa’s freight subsidiary will be flying with an MD-11F freighter to the metropolis with its population of a million. The flight will operate from Frankfurt via Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Guadalajara and again via Dallas back to Frankfurt. Guadalajara is a large commercial centre and an important industrial location. The city with its one million inhabitants is also known as the Silicon Valley of Mexico.

Lufthansa Cargo AG honored its Global Partner Agility with the "Planet Award of Excellence". The air cargo carrier thus recognized the outstanding performances in its worldwide cooperation during the last year, which was confirmed, in particular, by the high level of customer satisfaction and a double-digit growth in the business with Lufthansa Cargo.

Lufthansa, has announced that its cargo statistics show a continued downward trajectory. Lufthansa cargo and mail fell 14.3 per cent during June, following from a 10 per cent slump in May. Half year figures show cargo has plummeted 20.1 per cent compared to the year ago period. Analysts had hoped that cargo, a crucial index of the level of world trade, was beginning to rise in line with a pick-up in the economy. During the last six months, the Lufthansa logistics subsidiary transported 694,000 tonnes of freight and mail. The cargo load factor fell to 59.2 per cent.

Lufthansa Systems announced that AeroLogic, the cargo airline owned by DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo, will launch flight operations by using industry-leading navigation products from aviation IT specialist Lufthansa Systems. The airline will use the electronic navigation charts Lido eRouteManual for its air and ground navigation. AeroLogic has also chosen the Lido FMS navigation database service for the flight management system and will calculate its crew rotations with NetLine/Crew.

LAN Cargo has signed a 12-year agreement with GE Aviation for the maintenance of the GE90-110B engines on its four Boeing 777 freighters. The pact announced is valued at $135 million over the life of the contract, according to GE. Chile-based LAN Cargo announced the arrival of its first Boeing 777F this spring.

Lockheed Martin’s Savi Technology released Savi SmartChain® 6.0, a flexible software application for managing assets, inventory and shipments both within facilities and throughout the global supply chain. Savi’s sixth-generation software drives "just-in-time" operations by providing decision makers with quality, up-to-date information about the location, condition and security of their assets.

Lufthansa's cargo business could lose tens of millions of euros a year if a German court rules for a night flight ban at Frankfurt airport, a Cargo management board member said. "It would be a mentionable figure, at least a high double-digit million euro sum," Karl-Heinz Koepfle said during a recess at the German higher administrative court, saying that figure consisted both of additional costs and lost revenue. The court's goal is to rule whether a limitation of night flights out of Frankfurt or an outright ban is legal, weighing the interests of airlines and cargo shippers against those of residents living near the airport. Frankfurt airport, operated by Fraport, handled almost 53.5 million passengers last year as well as more than 2 million metric tonnes of air freight.

Lufthansa Cargo AG, together with its Global Partner DB Schenker, has started a free transport of relief supplies to Mali in Africa . With the delivery of a new compressor, which had been donated by the Mannheim construction group Bilfinger Berger, important work on the construction of wells can be completed in the African country before the onset of the next rainy season. Lufthansa Cargo is flying the compressor on board of an MD-11 freighter, flight number LH8266, to Dakar, Senegal. From there the relief shipment will be transported on to Mali by truck.

Lockheed Martin’s Savi Technology released Savi SmartChain® 6.0, a flexible software application for managing assets, inventory and shipments both within facilities and throughout the global supply chain. Savi’s sixth-generation software drives "just-in-time" operations by providing decision makers with quality, up-to-date information about the location, condition and security of their assets.

Lufthansa Cargo’s March freight traffic fell 19.9 per cent year-on-year, from 123,000 tonnes to 154,000. Despite the carrier making a 4.7 per cent cut in capacity by parking 19 MD-11s, the decline overtook such measures, which resulted in a load factor decline of 11.4, down to 57.6 per cent. In addition, the company has cut the working hours of nearly 3,000 ground-handling staff and made other cost savings. The main culprits to blame for the fall were the North and South American networks, which fell 25.9 per cent to 38,000 tonnes, and Asia/Pacific down 14.7 per cent also down to 38,000.

Lufthansa Cargo is offering seven new destinations in Africa in cooperation with the Kenyan cargo carrier Astral Aviation. Under the accord with the Kenyan airline, Lufthansa Cargo MD11 freighters will fly cargo to Nairobi from where it will be distributed to five other African states on aircraft operated by Astral Aviation.

Los Angeles International Airport, freight traffic fell 20.8 percent in March compared to the same month last year, the eighth straight month of double-digit declines at the United States’ largest trans-Pacific gateway. But LAX also showed its first modest signs of recovery, with freight tonnage advancing 18 percent from February.The year-over-year fall, steep as it was, also was the best monthly performance for Los Angeles International since the freight business fell 14.8 percent last October. Since then, LAX has seen five straight months of declines of more than 20 percent.The airport has been hit hard by weaker U.S. imports from Asia and has seen its freight tonnage fall for 16 months in a row.

Lufthansa says a EUR140 million (US$185.5 million) charge on shares it holds in airport operator Fraport hit its bottom line in the first quarter after Fraport shares dropped around 35 per cent in the past year. Lufthansa recently said it still expects to turn in a profit this year, although it will be lower than last year's EUR1.35 billion. Its Q1 2009 result was a net loss of EUR256 million.

Lufthansa Cargo returned the second best-ever results in company history in the 2008 business year. The airfreight subsidiary in the Lufthansa Group again posted a strong increase in operating profit, which rose by 20.9 per cent to 164 million Euros (2007: 136m Euros). Revenues rose by 6.3 per cent to 2.9 billion Euros (2007: 2.74bn Euros).

LAN said its cargo arm had started domestic operations in Brazil. LAN Cargo said it now offers a daily service from Monday to Friday between Sao Paulo and the northern Amazon city of Manaus aboard a Boeing 767-300F with a 54 tonne cargo capacity.

Lufthansa Cargo’s 2600 ground staff will be put on short-time working. A company agreement to this effect was signed in Frankfurt by the Lufthansa Cargo Executive Board and the Works Council. The envisaged measures will enable the company to adapt its staffing capacities flexibly to accommodate declining demand in the air cargo business. Under the terms of the agreement, working hours for all ground staff (including non-pay-scale employees) will be reduced by 20 per cent. Lufthansa guarantees to pay staff on short-time working 90 per cent of their last net pay.

LAN Cargo has appointed RTW Air Services of Geneva as its GSSA for Switzerland with effect from January 1st 2009. LAN Cargo represents the cargo services of its parent LAN Airlines (LA), as well as LAN Peru (LP), LAN Argentina (4M), LAN Ecuador (XL), ABSA (M3), and Mas Air (M7). LAN Cargo operates daily A340-300 & B767-300 passenger aircraft from its European gateways of Frankfurt and Madrid to Santiago de Chile, Guayaquil and Quito (Ecuador), and Lima (Peru). It also operates three-times-weekly B767-300F freighters from Frankfurt and Amsterdam to Viracopos (Brazil) and Santiago. The latter will be upgraded to brand new Boeing 777 freighters from May 2009; LAN Cargo is one of the launch customers for this state of the art aircraft, which has over 100 tons cargo capacity and large cargo side door (305 cm high).

Lufthansa Cargo, Europe's biggest air-cargo carrier, reported freight traffic in December declined over 20 percent from a year ago and revenue fell even more amid a deepening economic downturn. The German carrier transported 114,000 metric tons of cargo, down 21.4 percent from December, 2007, leaving traffic for the year 6 percent lower at 1.696 million tons. Lufthansa trimmed capacity by 7.6 percent in December but the slump in demand resulted in the load factor, or capacity utilization, falling 11.1 percentage points to 59.9 percent. Cargo revenues decreased 22.1 percent from a year ago.The decline in demand was aggravated by extended vacations and plant closures in Germany, particularly in the automotive industry, a major exporter, the airline said. Total cargo, including subsidiary Swiss Cargo, fell 20.1 percent to 131,000 tons, while revenues were off 19.8 percent and the load factor was down 9.8 points at 57.1 percent. Full year traffic was 0.4-percent higher at 1.918 million tons.Americas traffic fell 19.2 percent to 37,000 tons and Asia-Pacific volume was down 23.7 percent to 34,000 tons.

Lufthansa Cargo is launching its new multimodal AirShip service from Europe to a number of destinations in Australia. Shipments flown daily from Europe to Shenzhen and Hong Kong can in future be shipped-on from there by sea to the Australian metropolises of Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.

Lufthansa Cargo from mid-2009, will also have capacities on the new Boeing 777-200LRF freighters in the AeroLogic fleet at its disposal. The joint venture set up by DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo will begin operations with a delay of several months due to delayed deliveries from Boeing owing a strike of several weeks in the USA. "The challenges are immense in face of the poor economic situation. But Lufthansa Cargo is positioned excellently and is embarking optimistically on 2009," underlined Spohr. "We have proved so often in the past that we can react quickly and flexibly to fluctuations in demand and that we have a high

LAN Cargo has appointed RTW Air Services of Geneva as its GSSA for Switzerland with effect from January 1st 2009. LAN Cargo represents the cargo services of its parent LAN Airlines (LA), as well as LAN Peru (LP), LAN Argentina (4M), LAN Ecuador (XL), ABSA (M3), and Mas Air (M7). LAN Cargo operates daily A340-300 & B767-300 passenger aircraft from its European gateways of Frankfurt and Madrid to Santiago de Chile, Guayaquil and Quito (Ecuador), and Lima (Peru). It also operates three-times-weekly B767-300F freighters from Frankfurt and Amsterdam to Viracopos (Brazil) and Santiago. The latter will be upgraded to brand new Boeing 777 freighters from May 2009; LAN Cargo is one of the launch customers for this state of the art aircraft, which has over 100 tons cargo capacity and large cargo side door (305 cm high).

Lufthansa Cargo, Europe's biggest air-cargo carrier, reported freig

Maximus Air Cargo, the UAE’s largest all air cargo operator, went big true to its name last night at Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). The Antonov 124-100, a beast of an aircraft with a payload of up to 120 tonnes, became the largest civilian aircraft to touch the tarmac at the recently launched Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International Airport.

Martinair Cargo returned to San Jose, Costa Rica after temporarily suspending service since November 2008.  On-going analysis and refinement of the network revealed an opportunity to once again be established in Central America’s most vibrant market Costa Rica.  The flight will be operated by Martinair’s MD-11 freighter aircraft routed from AMS via MIA to SJO then to Latin America and back to Europe. 

Miami International Airport is LAN Cargo’s international headquarters and is where the company operates coldstorage import facility. LAN Cargo has made a US$4m investment to double its capacity for processing perishable goods and becomes the company with the largest coldstorage facility operated by an airline at a US airport, according to a report by the Miami Herald. The report also concludes that the airport was the second largest handler of international air freight last year.

MK Airlines has suspended all flying after the struggling cargo carrier failed to secure sufficient funding to continue its operations. The struggling UK-headquartered B747-200 freighter airline only exited administration last June with the promise of new investment. However, this appears to have failed to materialise and the future is now in extreme doubt.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) of Malaysia has ordered two Airbus A330-200 freighters - and taken options for another two - to join a previously announced order for up to 25 A330-300 passenger widebodies. "The new freighters will enable us to better serve the intra-Asia route, and offer direct services to Europe from India and Bangladesh," said MAS managing director and CEO Azmil Zahruddin.

Maximus Air Cargo, the UAE’s largest dedicated cargo aircraft operator, is putting its full weight behind the General Civil Aviation Authority’s drive for safety. The Abu Dhabi based cargo solutions provider, which is part of Abu Dhabi Aviation Group, is hosting and sponsoring a number of safety-orientated events in the UAE. This will include hosting a meeting of the Gulf Flight Safety Committee (GFSC) at Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi and being a main sponsor at the World Food Programme’s two-day global safety conference at Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

MAC Holdings – a member of the EGSAC cargo GSSA network - has been appointed to represent airBaltic Cargo offline in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This is the first time that the airline has been represented in Sri Lanka, and cargo is already beginning to flow on this new route. The agreement followed assistance from fellow EGSAC member Air Proxy, based in the Baltic States, which introduced MAC Holdings to its national carrier.airBaltic is the main Baltic carrier, serving over 60 destinations in Scandinavia, Russia and CIS countries, and Western Europe. It offers nonstop flights from three Baltic capital cities – Riga, Vilnius, and Tallinn. MAC Holdings is using interline agreements with Kuwait Airways and Jet Airways to connect to the airline’s Riga (Latvia) hub.

Malaysian Airlines Cargo (MASkargo) is to invest  RM100 million to upgrade its warehouse materials-handling cargo system, starting mid year and to be completed in four years. Managing director Shahari Sulaiman said the project would sustain its system capabilities for another 10 years and increase annual handling capabilities from the current 650,000 tonnes to a million tonnes. Shahari said the Malaysian airline's air cargo demand was expected to grow by 7 per cent this year to 37.7 million tonnes.

Maximus Air Cargo made significant progress throughout 2009, despite what was for many a turbulent year. The year ahead will promise further inroads into the ACMI sector together with continued humanitarian work and the positioning of Maximus as a leader in safety standards. Growth continued with sales increasing nearly ten fold to nearly 100 million US dollars since the company’s inception just five years ago. Furthermore, staff levels in this period increased from 16 in 2004 to 184 in 2009. In particular, 2009 saw an increase in the number of airbus pilots to meet wet leasing requirements. In addition, the management of crew and operations were further improved by investment in an AIMS (Airline Information Management System).

Martinair will offer scheduled service from Viracopus,  Brazil (VCP) to Ecuador (Quito and Guayaquil) and Colombia (Bogota) on its 4 weekly MD11 freighter flights.  Martinair was able to obtain the traffic  rights from Sao Paulo to Ecuador and Colombia from the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency - Agência Nacional de Aviacão Civil (ANAC) in cooperation with Grupo BETA (Brazilian Express Transportes Aéreos), a Brazilian cargo and logistics company. Martinair experienced tremendous growth in Brazil last year, launching twice weekly service in March 2009, growing to four frequencies by October and looking to expand further this year.  “We are very pleased with our results in Brazil and expect 2010 to be even better now that we have obtained 5 th Freedom Traffic Rights,” said Meta Ullings, SVP Martinair Cargo.

Maximus Air Cargo, the UAE’s largest dedicated cargo aircraft operator, made significant progress throughout 2009, despite what was for many a turbulent year. The year ahead will promise further inroads into the ACMI sector together with continued humanitarian work and the positioning of Maximus as a leader in safety standards. Growth continued with sales increasing nearly ten fold to nearly 100 million US dollars since the company’s inception just five years ago. Furthermore, staff levels in this period increased from 16 in 2004 to 184 in 2009. In particular, 2009 saw an increase in the number of airbus pilots to meet wet leasing requirements. In addition, the management of crew and operations were further improved by investment in an AIMS (Airline Information Management System)

Mercator has recently successfully gone live with its product SkyChain in Latin America. SkyChain is a specialised IT solution aimed at airline cargo companies and is designed to maximize customers' performance, help them raise their service quality and optimize their resources. A highly automated system, which removes many of the time-consuming paper processes in the business, SkyChain is compliant with the latest industry developments, including IATA’s e-freight initiative.  TACA now joins a growing family of users including Swiss World Cargo, Sri Lankan Airways and Emirates SkyCargo.

Maximus Air Cargo, the UAE’s dedicated cargo aircraft operator, will open its UK office at London Stansted early 2010 and says its operation will incorporate an Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA) and Royal Jet representative office – all operating from Endeavour House. Maximus is the largest all-cargo airline in the UAE, while Royal Jet is a Middle East private jet operator and claims to be the world’s largest Boeing business jets operator.Abu Dhabi Aviation is described as the region’s largest commercial helicopter and fixed wing aircraft operator working principally on offshore oil contracts.

Martinair Cargo recently carried out a very special transport when flying four White Rhino’s from Prague to Nairobi with a Boeing 747 BCF. A successful breeding program of the Czech Zoo Dvur Králové enables them to bring these special animals who are threatened by extinction, into the wild. After arrival in Kenya they continued their journey by truck to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, where they were released in a special boma. There they will stay to get used to living in the wild.

McCarran International Airport is set to begin a  project to construct a $29 million air cargo center at Las Vegas’ Las Vegas-based Marnell Properties plans to conduct a groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 16 for the 201,000-square-foot airfreight logistics center at the airport's new Terminal 3. The project is set for completion in one year. The Marnell Air Cargo Center is being designed to host freight and mail-sorting operations for companies including FedEx Corp., Southwest Airlines, Worldwide Flight Services, Allegiant Air and UPS.

MNG Airlines, the largest Turkish all-cargo operator, has placed a follow-on order with Airbus for two more A330-200Fs to support its expanding cargo operations. These aircraft are in addition to the two firm orders for the which the carrier placed in 2007, bringing its total orders for the type now to four aircraft and reaffirming its confidence in the type to expand its network as the freighter market gradually rebounds.

MIDEX, United Arab Emirates national cargo carrier has selected Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance for Total Care Support on its B747 freighter. In addition to Engineering Services, Component Support and Engine Maintenance, AFI KLM E&M began a D-check on the B747-200. Being responsible for maintaining the fleets of its parent airlines, AFI KLM E&M has built up considerable expertise in all types of checks, from daily inspections to comprehensive heavy maintenance tasks. The D-check on the is expected to take six weeks to complete.

Market Air has won a three-year contract to provide cargo GSA services in Spain for airlines of the SAS Group.The contract was won through a competitive tender and took effect on September 1st 2009. It awards Market Air responsibility to market cargo capacity to freight forwarders in Spain for Scandinavian Airlines, Spanair and Blue 1. The SAS Group airlines operate more than 50 flights a day from Spain serving destinations in the Canary and Balearic Islands, mainland Spain, Europe, the United Sates and Far East. Its fleet of MD80 and Airbus A321/320 can carry between 1,500-3,000 kilos of airfreight per flight.

Martinair has extended its agreement with Pratt & Whitney (P&W) to continue its 'EcoPower' engine wash service for its PW4000 engines. "To date, we have reduced our CO2 emissions as a direct benefit of EcoPower engine washes," said Peter van der Horst, VP of maintenance and engineering at the Dutch airline.

Maximus Air Cargo has successfully delivered British Household Cavalry horses to Abu Dhabi. The horses will perform in the International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) and it is the first time they have travelled beyond Europe.

Maximus Air Cargo, the award-winning and largest UAE based air cargo solutions provider, has carried the UAE Urban Search and Rescue Team to Padang in Sumatra in response to the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Maximus Air Cargo operated one of the first relief flights into earthquake stricken Padang, Indonesia over the weekend. The UAE’s Urban Search and Rescue team responded to the disaster by dispatching one of Maximus’s Ilyushin IL-76TD aircraft to Padang, shortly after the earthquake struck.

Maximus Air Cargo announced the appointment of Zed Commu-nications to handle its local and international public relations business. The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi and took effect on 1st September 2009. Thomas Bommer, Marketing Manager of Maximus Air Cargo said: "Our relationship with Zed is very good indeed and we have been particularly impressed by their high level of professionalism and ability to deliver against tight deadlines.”

Martinair Cargo has successfully integrated a customised version of the Official Airline Guide's (OAG's) next generation Airfreight Rates (AFRA) product. The AFRA product, a global internal rates management system, should bring efficiency and allow flexibility in publishing the latest tariffs and quotations electronically. Rob Veltman, VP of cargo sales and marketing Europe, Martinair Cargo, said: “The customisation of AFRA gives us complete control in managing our entire rates management process."

Market Air has won a three-year contract to provide cargo GSA services in Spain for airlines of the SAS Group. The contract was won through a competitive tender and took effect on September 1st 2009. It awards Market Air responsibility to market cargo capacity to freight forwarders in Spain for Scandinavian Airlines, Spanair and Blue 1.

Malaysia Airlines Cargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo) has announced the introduction of a new freighter destination as part of its efforts in spreading its wings and exploring new areas of business.

MASkargo would fly the B747-400F once weekly from Kuala Lumpur every Saturday on MH6190 and from Narita every Sunday on MH6191. Among the cargo transported are electronic equipment and gadgets, garments as well as perishable items such as flowers and tuna fish.

Maximus Air Cargo is looking to expand its fleet of specialist freighters as demand from the Middle East for outsize cargo shipments and aircraft wet-leases continues to perform strongly.

MNG Airlines, Turkish carrier is now connected to forwarders via the Traxon network in all countries where they operate. The airline’s principal destinations are Luton, UK, Cologne, Germany, Paris CDG and Milan (Malpensa) Italy. After fully testing and streamlining the operation, the considerable operational and economic benefits can be quantified.

Mercator’s end to end cargo solution, SkyChain, has recently gone live with the Sri Lankan national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines. The Dubai-based business technology provider was selected after a rigorous evaluation process to provide Sri Lankan Airlines with an integrated airline and ground handling solution. Mercator’s SkyChain was the clear winner, as the solution fulfils Sri Lankan’s cargo IT vision for the future and guarantees reducing costs and increasing revenue.

Martinair Cargo organizes its network in Asia Pacific to include Chennai, India. Martinair operates a Boeing 747-400 ERF on routing Hong Kong, Chennai, Sharjah, Amsterdam. The new service will be performing twice-weekly on every Thursday and Saturday, leaving Amsterdam for Hong Kong via Sharjah on Wednesday and Friday.

Malaysia Airlines has signed a long term contract with IBS, a leading supplier of IT solutions for the travel, transportation and logistics industry, for its crew management system, AvientCrew. This single integrated solution will replace the two different crew management systems that are currently being used by the airline to manage their Technical Crew and Cabin Crew rosters.

Mercator, has recently held its first ever cargo event to showcase their latest cargo industry product innovation SkyChain. Organisers were delighted to welcome over ninety delegates to Dubai, representing more than thirty airlines from across all continents.

McCarran USA airport in Las Vegas is to build a new air cargo centre, a 200,900-square-foot complex that will replace three old cargo buildings that were demolished to make room for the airport’s Terminal 3. Plans call for a 79,000-square-foot FedEx building and a 121,900-square-foot multi-tenant structure serving 15 air carriers, including United Parcel Service, DHL, and Delta.

Motorola, Inc and partners Avery Dennison RFID and Print-O-Tape, Inc, have been awarded a multi-year contract to supply Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) with up to 70 million radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled IATA standard 21" RFID baggage tracking tags.

Midex, following on the heels of several successful charter operations, in the first quarter of 2009, has just completed a charter from Athens to Doha, Qatar. The B747-200F moved a shipment of 117 separate pieces of steel structures, manufactured in Greece, used in mobile phone masts. The weight was around 104.000 kilos in total. The shipment was handled by Goldair Handling. The outstanding feature of the cargo operation at Athens since the new airport was opened has been the cargo community’s willingness and “get it done” attitude. The combined efforts of everyone involved, including Customs, certainly contributed to the 2008 increased tonnage of 122,100 tonnes A modest 2,7% % increase but in the current economic climate a very encouraging performance. The charter business will certainly make a positive contribution during 2009.

Mondial Airline Services GMBH becomes GSA for Kalitta Air in Germany. The airline operates B 747 Freighters from Amsterdam to New York, Newark, from where it serves the USA and Canada by truck. Aytekin Saray, Managing Director of Mondial Germany launches his sales team into action immediately.

Mercury Air Los Angeles-based Group Inc. has launched MAC Cargo Handling, LLC, a joint venture between its wholly owned subsidiary, Mercury Air Cargo Inc., and three veteran ground handling executives.Mercury Air Cargo, the largest third-party cargo handler at Los Angeles Airport, will merge its expertise with the know-how of Anthony Bonino, Steve Ballard and Philip Scherer, to help airlines improve their bottom line and service levels, said a statement about the venture. The three men were formerly associated with Aeroground, Inc., a provider of aircargo handling services at airports in the U.S. and Canada that was sold to Menzies Aviation in May of 2006.MAC Cargo Handling also plans to explore potential acquisitions and other strategic opportunities, according to the company’s statement.

Maximus Air Cargo customers can now take advantage of new interactive features on its website www.maximus.aero which enable users to calculate cargo logistics, including maximum payload, flight distances, aircraft range, and currency conversions. The site gives technical specifications for the eight aircraft in its all-cargo fleet the largest in the Middle East comprising Antonov An-124-100, Airbus A300- 600RF, Ilyushin IL-76TD, and Lockheed Hercules L382G. Customers can identify the most suitable aircraft for their needs, estimate payload, routing, and flight distances, and then obtain an online quote.

MAC Holdings, the Sri Lanka member of the EGSAC independent GSSA network, is celebrating breaking the billion Rupee barrier in its most recent year of trading. Most of the 50% increase in turnover results from growth in revenue generated for client airlines Continental, bmi, Vietnam Cargo and Thai Cargo.With the recent appointment of MAC as cargo and passenger GSSA for Shenzhen Airlines, the company is predicting further dramatic growth throughout 2009. MAC will feed Shenzhen Airlines' services from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, using Sri Lankan Airlines as the first sector carrier; a codeshare agreement is now being considered, which would bring benefit to both carriers.

Maximus Air Cargo has reported a four-fold increase in freight-ton kilometres (FTKs) to 278 million in the nine months to September 30, 2008.

Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA), head office in Narita-shi, Chiba; President: Tadamasa Ishida) has signed a global lease agreement with Envirotainer for active temperature-controlled air cargo containers. The agreement is in support of the airline’s new NCA Pharmacare product for the transportation of high value, highly sensitive pharmaceutical products. Japan in the world’s second largest pharma market worth an estimated US$80 billion per annum and this is the first time an airline in Japan has developed a specific product based on the use of Envirotainer containers. NCA has been trialling the service for 12 months using Envirotainer’s RKN e1, RKN t2, RAP t2 and CLD t2 containers and has received extremely positive feedback from its customers.

NIGERIA is now requiring freight forwarders to register to operate within the country, allegedly to target foreign companies in particular. At a meeting to announce the move to local forwarder associations, a spokesman for the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN), Olayiwola Shittu (right), said the industry needs to be “sanitised”.

National Air Cargo is investing resources to expand the company’s presence in Asia as part of its strategic plan to enhance growth and develop new business opportunities in the Asian marketplace.  The company recently formed a dedicated sales team for Asia and added toll free phone numbers that will be maintained for extended hours through a dedicated call center based in Kuala Lumpur. “This investment is based on our significant growth in the Asian marketplace which has grown by approximately 50% in just the last year alone,” Alan White, regional director, Pacific Rim, National Air Cargo said.  “We are confident that this allocation of corporate resources will provide us with a significant return on our investment in this emerging global marketplace.

National Air Cargo is investing resources to expand the company's presence in Asia as part of its strategic plan to enhance growth and develop new business opportunities in the Asian marketplace.  The company recently formed a dedicated sales team for Asia and added toll free phone numbers that will be maintained for extended hours through a dedicated call center based in Kuala Lumpur. "This investment is based on our significant growth in the Asian marketplace which has grown by approximately 50% in just the last year alone," Alan White, regional director, Pacific Rim, National Air Cargo said.  "We are confident that this allocation of corporate resources will provide us with a significant return on our investment in this emerging global marketplace."

Network Cargo Systems Intl. Inc. has been named General Sales & Service Agent (GSSA) for AirBridgeCargo Airlines for USA and Canada.”As a result of the cooperation agreement with AirBridgeCargo, we are able to offer our customers reliable services to the Russian market with its strong economic growth. We can provide an excellent product using the non-stop cargo flights operated by AirBridgeCargo to Moscow Sheremetyevo and services in domestic Russia as well as excellent timings to Central Asia,” says Howard Jones, President of NCS. He added: “We look forward to a smooth transition and launch of the AirBridgeCargo product in North America. The emphasis will be placed on offering an excellent product at a competitive price with superior Customer Service. Making the freight forwarding industry feel at ease in dealing with AirBridgeCargo will be our focus as they need fast response times to quotes, updated information on bookings, uplift information, post flights and accurate information on what is happening in regards to rules and regulations in the Russian market. We know we have a big job ahead in 2010 and beyond but we are very confident that we will succeed and surpass all expectations set out.”

National Air Cargo and its sister company National Airlines announced both companies completed the first phase of “Operation Blanket Delivery”, a collection and donation program started in early October 2009 to benefit orphaned children in Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul.  Employees from both companies’ worldwide offices collected over 1,000 blankets which were recently transported by a National Airlines DC-8 cargo plane to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.  The blankets were then distributed by National Air Cargo employees and officials from the Afghanistan Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which oversees the orphanages, to the children of the two largest orphanages in the city that care for boys and girls aged 2 – 18 years old and are home to more than 600 children.  Most of the children are separated from their families due to the ongoing conflict.

National Air Cargo provided charitable land transport to deliver more than 3,000 pounds of various donated personal affects on behalf of Jammies for GI’s to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas to ensure that recovering injured U.S. troops have personal clothing items while at the hospital. Wounded troops often must leave their personal items such as clothes, under garments and personal hygiene products behind when they are evacuated because of an injury from a war zone. The supplies were picked up by an express truck contracted by National Air Cargo at the Jammies for GI’s warehouse in Kenmore, N.Y. with a scheduled delivery date to Brooke Army Medical Center. Jammies for GI’s, based in Tonawanda, NY, is a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting and supplying wounded U.S. troops with clothes and personal items. The organization is entirely volunteer based and collects donated items from across the country.

National Air Cargo announced that it will extend its weekly DC 8 cargo aircraft from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E), to Hahn, Germany before returning back to the United States. The flight will specialize in space available, preferred and priority cargo destined for Europe and the US, from the Middle East. Operated by National Airlines, the DC 8 flight will depart Sharjah, U.A.E. weekly on route to Hahn, Germany and Ypsilanti, Michigan. National has been operating this weekly frequency from Sharjah to Ypsilanti (Michigan, United States) since March 2009

National Air Cargo announced that it has received TSA approval to operate a Certified Cargo Screening Facility at the Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, MI. The newly designated facility will help relieve congestion of the screening for domestic and international air cargo shipments at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and other airports in southeastern Michigan.

Nippon Express has reported lower profits and sales for the fiscal 2008 year. Operating profit was down 30.9 per cent to US$337 million and net profit was down 58.4 per cent to US$153 million. Group sales totalled about US$18.4 billion, down 3.8 per cent from fiscal 2007.

Norbert Dentressangle Transport and logistics group, said it has won a new five-year warehousing and two-year distribution contract with Groupe SEB, a worldwide manufacturer of small domestic appliances. The contract is based out of Dentressangle's 200,000 sq.ft multi-user site, in Telford, in the UK. The operations manage substantial throughputs each day, with value added services to multiple channels; including major retailers, business to business customers and direct to consumer. The site also handles consumer replacements and end of line goods, the company added.

Nippon Cargo Airlines of Japan, a subsidiary of NYK Line, announced that it is in talks with Japan Airlines to launch code-sharing cargo flights on the Japan-United States route at the end of March. An agreement would link JAL, Asia's largest air carrier, and NCA, Japan's only all-freighter airline, in the busy U.S. market. NCA parent NYK is Japan's largest shipping company by sales.The tie-up is part of the airlines' efforts to increase operational efficiency and cut costs as demand for airfreight slumps amid the global economic slowdown.

OAG Cargo announced the launch of the OAG Cargo airfreight portal for forwarders and airlines in Thailand through an expansion of its partnership with Trade & Logistics Siam Ltd. The launch of the new portal within the Thai market brings the full range of OAG Cargo’s global services to the local Thai air cargo community and represents an increase in activities in the Asia Pacific region for OAG Cargo.

OAG Cargo announced the launch of the OAG Cargo airfreight portal for forwarders and airlines in Thailand through an expansion of its partnership with Trade & Logistics Siam Ltd. The launch of the new portal within the Thai market brings the full range of OAG Cargo’s global services to the local Thai air cargo community and represents an increase in activities in the Asia Pacific region for OAG Cargo. To access the portal, log on to www.oagcargo.com.

Olympic Air, the newly-launched, privately-owned Greek airline, has awarded cargo GSA contracts to European Cargo services (ECS) companies in France, Italy, the UK, Romania and Bulgaria. Aero Cargo will represent Olympic Air in France while Globe Air Cargo – another wholly-owned business in the ECS group – will market the airline’s capacity in the other four countries.

Overseas Courier Service (OCS) and All Express (ALLEX) have signed a merger which will officially commence as from August 1, 2009. ALLEX, the express parcel delivery service, which was created by ANA in partnership with Japanese forwarders Nippon Express and Kintetsu World Express in April 2008, will merge with OCS, a Tokyo-based international parcel delivery and forwarding company.

Opal Asia Logistics, a fast growing logistics company, in its endeavour to expand its India network, has opened new offices in Jaipur, Nashik and Rajkot. “The addition of our branches will facilitate even better level of services to our customers with most competitive, comprehensive and professional global logistics services,” company sources said. Opal, which already has 13 branch offices across India, is planning to expand to Chennai, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam and Vadodara.

OAG Cargo Solutions has signed an agreement with IBS Software Services to develop its next generation Air Freight Rates application, AFRA-2. IBS will deliver a completely new application that will significantly enhance the way airlines, GSA’s and freight forwarders interact on the distribution, management and selection of real-time airfreight rates.

Opal Asia Logistics, a fast growing logistics company, in its endeavour to expand its India network, has opened new offices in Jaipur, Nashik and Rajkot. “The addition of our branches will facilitate even better level of services to our customers with most competitive, comprehensive and professional global logistics services,” company sources said. Opal, which already has 13 branch offices across India, is planning to expand to Chennai, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam and Vadodara.

OAG Cargo Solutions has signed an agreement with IBS Software Services to develop its next generation Air Freight Rates application, AFRA-2. IBS will deliver a completely new application that will significantly enhance the way airlines, GSA’s and freight forwarders interact on the distribution, management and selection of real-time airfreight rates.

OMAN Air's chief executive officer, Peter Hill, has said that the carrier will boost its freight division over the next five years.At present it accounts for only two per cent compared to for example Emirates which 19 per cent. Hill says that Oman Air will aim for 12 per cent by 2014.

PANYNJ region also showed a positive growth for the region as a whole in freight traffic during the corresponding period recording a positive growth of 11.6%. The total freight traffic including domestic and international freight showed a positive growth of 16.2% as compared to that in the same month in 2009. However mail traffic showed a negative growth of 3.8%.at JFK and 3.4% at the NYNJ region. The transatlantic sector accounted for the maximum freight for the period after the domestic sector with 35.53% whereas at the JFK International Airport, the transatlantic sector accounted for 44% of the total traffic.

PanAir Cargo has appointed European Cargo Services  as its cargo general sales agent in 20 countries in Europe, Scandinavia and Singapore. In Europe, the Panamanian cargo airline is now represented by ECS in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, UK and Ukraine.PanAir Cargo, a trademark of Cargo Three, Inc, commenced operations in 1991. In addition to its main operational base strategically located at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, PanAir Cargo has offices in the major cities of Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved a $6.3 billion budget for 2010 that controls spending by providing for zero growth in operating expenses for the second consecutive year and reducing agency headcount to its lowest levels in 40 years.  The budget also calls for $3.1 billion in capital spending to keep its priority projects moving forward, but also defers certain major capital expenditures in response to the economic downturn, which has significantly impacted the agency.

Panalpina has gained Accreditation as a Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP) after meeting the strict requirements of Envirotainer’s Training and Quality Program for Good Distribution Practices of temperature sensitive healthcare products. Envirotainer, pioneers of ‘active’ temperature-controlled air cargo containers, launched its QEP program at the request of shippers of healthcare products and in response to industry guidance. The program acknowledges those service providers that are capable of properly managing shipments using Envirotainer containers. It confirms providers meet their obligations as defined in the current Good Distribution Practices guidance documents, including the requirements of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Project cargo forwarding has been on a roll in the last few years, but for those forwarders that rely on air freight movements, there are a number of challenges on the horizon that may very well impact on their business model within the next decade.

Purolator Courier Ltd., Canada’s largest courier company, opts for LoadControl, Lufthansa Systems’ weight & balance solution. LoadControl enables airlines to improve their efficiency in aircraft handling and reduces fuel consumption by up to 0.5% per flight. “We were looking for a powerful weight & balance solution to optimize load planning in compliance with governmental regulations. LoadControl fully meets our requirements and the system will automate and accelerate our aircraft handling process,” comments George Travassos, Director Air Operations at Purolator.

Prism Lighting Services, LLC introduces the Prism Inflatable Light (PIL) to the Air Cargo Industry. The PIL1000 was designed so that one person in total darkness can illuminate 12,000 square yards in 3 to 4 minutes. With a 1000 watt Metal Halide bulb and weighing only 47 pounds, it is ideal for staging operations at night.

Panalpina, Swiss logistics group has reported a 78 per cent drop in first-half net profit to EUR16.9 million and says it does not expect to see any improvement in the second half of this year.

Pet Airways, which is now flying domestic pets in cages in the main cabin of the plane, rather than in the cargo hold. The carrier does not transport human passengers other than crew and attendants to care for the animals during flights. Pet owners have to fly separately. One-way fares start at US$149 and the carrier reports many flights on the airline's initial schedule are booked out with a waiting list on some flights, depending on the animal's size.

Polet Airlines is to start scheduled cargo services using the newly launched IL-96-400T freighter. This new aircraft, which is said to burn 25-30 per cent less fuel than the 747-200F, can accommodate up to 34 PMC pallets in a 25 upper-deck and nine lower-deck configuration. Polet have appointed Unitpool to supply and manage their ULD requirements. This enables Polet to be flexible regarding when and where they operate the three new aircraft being delivered in 2009.

Progress Software Corp has entered into a partnership with autoID systems GmbH to develop and deliver an airline logistics and catering system based on the integration of the Progress Apama Complex Event Processing (CEP) platform and RFID technology.

Polet Airlines being an important player in the heavy and outsize cargo niche is entering international regular cargo transportation market. To achieve this goal Polet Airlines has leased three IL-96-400 aircraft from Ilyushin Finance Co. to bring them into commercial operation by autumn 2009. Furthermore, the aircraft fleet will be extended by acquisition of three additional IL-96-400 aircraft in 2010-2011. The wide body IL-96-400T is the first cargo aircraft of this type, manufactured in Russia. Its launch into operation means a lot to the industry. The declared characteristics such as fuel efficiency, payload factor, cargo compartment volume make it an attractive product in most market segments. In particular, fuel consumption by IL-96-400T is some 30% lower than by Boeing-747-400F. Cargo hold volume is over 770 cbm. Bringing the first three aircraft into commercial operation from 2009, with present market activity, the company is expecting to reach positive results by 2011.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Air cargo volumes fell almost 30% in the first quarter while port traffic was down over 17% at the airports and maritime terminals owned by The authority operates John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, La Guardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports, and is the port authority for a range of marine terminals located across the two states. Exact volumes were not released but a statement from the authority admitted the 17.4% quarterly decline in maritime traffic was the biggest quarterly contraction in more than 15 years. "The port authority isn’t recession proof and that’s becoming more and more clear as our facilities report their activity levels,” said executive director, Chris Ward.

Paramount Airways officially announced the launch of its cargo operations with Chennai as its hub. The airline has optimised the belly space of all its five aircraft and will operate with inbound and outbound flights to destinations like Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Kochi, Vizag, Tiruchirapalli, Ahmedabad, Goa and Pune.

Procter and Gamble (P&G), the world's leading consumer goods company, has awarded Agility Pakistan its QA Pinnacle Award after an extensive audit of the company's distribution centers by its Worldwide Quality Assurance team. The QA Pinnacle Award recognizes Agility Pakistan as a business partner of P&G that has demonstrated its ability to deliver quality products and services to meet the high standards it sets through systemic quality improvements. "This is a great achievement for the Pakistan team who have been working tirelessly to raise quality standards and to receive the QA Pinnacle Award from one of the world's leading companies is well deserved recognition," said Wolfgang Hollermann, CEO, Agility Asia Pacific.

Qatar Airways Cargo has announced it will begin scheduled freighter services to Chicago, Illinois - its first dedicated freighter operation to the United States - from August 18. The new twice-weekly services will be operated with Qatar Airways’ new Boeing 777 freighters and will fly from the airline’s hub in Doha via Amsterdam. Payloads on the new services will be up to 100 tonnes per flight and are expected to include freight items such as machinery, textiles, auto parts, fruit and vegetables and general cargo.

Qatar Airways has told Airbus to decide its A330 cargo conversion strategy or risk losing its business to Boeing.  Airbus is thought to prefer to push its new-build A330-200 freighter instead of converting older metal. Qatar says the converted A330s would either join Qatar Airways' cargo arm or be placed with its newly-created leasing division.

Qatar Airways has begun cargo operations using its brand new Boeing B777 Freighter, with the plane’s first flight departing from Doha for Amsterdam recently. The new cargo freighter was delivered to the airline’s hub at Doha International Airport over the weekend following a non-stop flight from Boeing Everett factory in Seattle, Washington. The B777F is the latest addition to the Qatar Airways fleet, now numbering 83 aircraft, and adds significant capacity to the airline’s burgeoning freighter network. The new aircraft has a payload capacity of 102 metric tons, almost double the capability of the airline’s Airbus A300-600 freighters

Qatar Airways is considering whether or not to convert its A330-200 passenger aircraft into freighters.The Middle Eastern carrier met with Airbus to discuss the proposal. Qatar’s chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said that if the company goes ahead then it will create a conversion centre at the carrier's Doha base.

Qantas Freight announced that it would join Cargo 2000, the air freight industry’s premier quality management program as an associate member. Qantas Freight Head of Commercial, Mr Theo Triantafillides, said membership of Cargo 2000 would help Qantas to continue to differentiate itself through the provision of outstanding customer service and bring together many of the process improvements the business had made over the past 12 months.

Qatar Airways Cargo has boosted dedicated freighter services to Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The new twice-weekly schedule provides improved access to Johor Bahru, a thriving centre in the south of the Malaysian peninsula, which also offers an alternative entry point for shipments into South East Asia.  The new freighter schedule has been combined with the carrier's road haulage operations to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to offer convenient timings for shipping beyond Johor Bahru.

Qantas Freight added a fourth US city – Dallas, Texas – to its freighter network. Providing air freight services between the southern US city, China and Australia. Qantas Freight executive manager, Stephen Cleary, said the addition of Dallas to the business’ US network, which also includes Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, was part of a long term plan to strengthen Qantas Freight’s presence in key markets.

Qantas Freight has appointed Aero Cargo International its general sales agent in France. The contract involves marketing cargo capacity on the carrier's daily B 747-400 passenger flights from Frankfurt, Germany as well as its twice-weekly B747 freighter operations ex Liege and Frankfurt, which operate via Singapore. Aero Cargo will be marketing all destinations in the Qantas network to freight forwarders across France.

Qantas Freight has commenced a direct weekly Boeing 747-400 freighter service between Australia, Vietnam, China and the United States. Executive Manager Qantas Freight, Mr Stephen Cleary said the new route confirmed Qantas Freight’s commitment to seeking new opportunities to service the needs of its global customers against the background of a worldwide decline in demand.

Qantas Freight has officially opened its new Freight Terminal at Melbourne International Airport. Completed in four stages, the redevelopment included construction of a new administration building, extensions to the main terminal building, installation of automated materials handling equipment, new loading docks, a dedicated mail handling area and a custom-designed perishable freight facility. The state-of-the-art terminal, designed to incorporate as much green design, automation and technology as possible, can now handle almost triple the number of aircraft containers. The terminal features a fully-automated temperature-controlled perishables facility able to store up to 20 AKE type containers at a constant temperature of 13C. The area also features a scalable SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) computer system.

Qatar Airways Cargo gains Cargo 2000’s certificate to improve the quality of air cargo increasing its coverage of the Middle East. Qatar Airways Cargo has decided to become Regional Associate Member of Cargo 2000. The Doha-based airline says membership of Cargo 2000 will allow Qatar Airways Cargo to monitor its quality and delivery standards on the basis of the most highly-regarded industry standard.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the arm of leading five-star airline Qatar Airways, is testing a new initiative to increase the protection of temperature sensitive shipments. The introduction of heavy-duty thermal blankets will help combat the temperature conditions throughout the journey by keeping any perishable cargo at a constant temperature. The thermal pallet cover protects pallets of perishable and pharmaceutical cargo during transportation by stabilising the cargo temperature and shielding it from weather and temperature fluctuation, including rain and sunlight damage. The product is designed to provide cold chain integrity, and can be custom manufactured to be used with a variety of pallet sizes.

Ripley, one of Chile’s top retailers of apparel, accessories and home products, has chosen Kuehne + Nagel as provider for their global order management. Under the agreement, Kuehne + Nagel will be responsible for the global order management of Ripley’s international sourcing. The contract includes freight management and value-added consolidation services from the export regions Europe, Middle East, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Kuehne + Nagel will integrate Ripley’s suppliers across its international supply chain and provide web-based visibility and reporting, including IT interfaces to a number of third-party service providers. The company will utilise its award-winning KN Login application, which drives efficiencies through a single platform and enables standardisation of the retailer’s logistics operations worldwide.

Ryanair announced that it will incentivise all of its passengers to travel light during the peak summer months by increasing checked-in baggage fees for July and August to €20 per bag. Checked-in bag fees remain at €15 for passengers travelling outside of the two peak summer months of July and August.

Routes celebrated the first regional heat of this year’s Airport Marketing Awards and announced the winners for the Americas region. The trophies were presented at the prestigious gala dinner of the 3rd Routes Americas – the only network planning event for all the Americas – where up to 300 delegates enjoyed the celebrations at the beautiful Museo Pedro De Osma in Lima.Winners were chosen from three categories: North America, Central America/Caribbean and South America. While Edmonton International Airport picked up an award for best airport in North America, Aruba – Queen Beatrix International Airport scooped in the Central America/Caribbean category. Quito International Airport was crowned best of its kind in South America. The overall winner for the entire Americas region is Edmonton International Airport.

Roche Chile has chosen Kuehne + Nagel to  manage its national distribution centre, involving warehousing and distribution services for medical, promotional and raw material product ranges. Kuehne + Nagel has been awarded an exclusive logistics contract to manage the warehousing and distribution activities for Roche Chile. Under the terms of the agreement, Kuehne + Nagel will handle endproducts and raw materials. The services also cover the handling of sensitive cargo such as temperature-controlled biotechnological products and psychotropic medicines.

RNCOS according to a new industry research report, China’s logistics industry is likely to recover from the after effects of the economic slowdown in the next couple of years. Industry will witness marginal downturn in 2009 and will start recovering from 2010 onwards. The report titled “Chinese Logistics Market Forecast to 2012” finds that the logistics industry in China is undergoing transformation phase due to increasing investment and several other factors that have been thoroughly discussed in the report. RNCOS have analyzed the performance of the logistics industry of China in accordance with the ongoing market trends. RNCOS have found the economic value generated by logistics industry in China during the last six years (2003-2008) has witnessed phenomenal 25% CAGR to reach Yuan 89.9 Billion in 2008.

Rutges Cargo, has become the first trucking company to publish performance data measured against Cargo 2000’s service level agreement for road feeder services. Rutges Cargo, recently acquired by Wallenborn Transports S.A., provides scheduled cargo deliveries for airline and freight forwarder customers to 100 airports throughout Europe and was the first trucker to join Cargo 2000. In compliance with the Cargo 2000 standard, the company is measuring and reporting its performance for four key milestones in the road transport journey; booking processed, on-time departure, on-time arrival and Freight Status Update (FSU) message sent to the client airline within 60 minutes of these events.

Rutges Cargo, recently acquired by Wallenborn Transports S.A., provides scheduled cargo deliveries for airline and freight forwarder customers to 100 airports throughout Europe and was the first trucker to join Cargo 2000. In compliance with the Cargo 2000 standard, the company is measuring and reporting its performance for four key milestones in the road transport journey; booking processed, on-time departure, on-time arrival and Freight Status Update (FSU) message sent to the client airline within 60 minutes of these events. Dick Foote, EDI Manager for Rutges, said: “We are capturing data to report to Cargo 2000 by using onboard computer systems that have been fitted to our transport fleet. We are also developing the use of SMS messages from mobile phones as a means of transmitting FSU data. The first three months of data have been used to enhance our performance in all areas of our operation.“The Booked Message contains both estimated and actual delivery times against which our on-time performance is measured and distributed to Cargo 2000 members. We will use this data to discuss our performance at regular meetings with individual Cargo 2000 members that are customers of Rutges Cargo in Europe and share our commitment to both quality of service and cost efficiency of operations. Many of our airline customers have told us their customers place a high value on the knowledge their shipments have a confirmed and specific onward truck connection with a recognised flight number so we consider the Booked Message milestone to be a useful development.”

Routes Airport Marketing Awards winners of the 2009 World, run in association with OAG (Official Airline Guide) have been announced.  The awards were formally presented at the gala dinner of the 15th World Routes in Beijing in China’s prestigious Great Hall of the People. There were four regional categories:  Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Africa. Athens triumphed in Europe. Dallas Fort Worth was crowned winner of the Americas category. The Asia Pacific category was awarded to Christchurch, and Jomo Kenyatta collected the award in the final category for Africa. The winners of two special awards were also announced: The Orbis Social Responsibility Award, which was presented to Air France, and the Routes Outstanding Achievement Award, which was presented to this year’s host Capital Airports Holding Company. Award winners have succeeded in a series of heats throughout the year at regional Routes events to be shortlisted for the World Routes Airport Marketing Awards.

Russia’s first ever sports cars were showcased at the 63rd International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt after being delivered to Germany onboard one of AirBridgeCargo Airlines’ (ABC) Boeing 747 scheduled cargo flights from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.

Ryanair has increased its baggage fees by an additional 50 per cent. However, passengers will from the same date be allowed to carry up to two bags, each at 15kg, before incurring excess baggage charges of GBP15 a kilogram, double the current allowance. Ryanair's Stephen McNamara defended the increased charges by saying it will persuade passengers to travel with only minimal luggage, thus bringing down costs.

Rhenus B.V. (Rhenus) has signed a contract to install OAG Cargo’s Airfreight Rates (AFRA) application as its single platform for rates management in 10 European countries. This will enable Rhenus operations across the region to seamlessly capture all contract, promotional and general airfreight rates from its airline partners and GSAs, speeding up its existing market information and buying processes so that the company can buy airline capacity in the most efficient way. Dirk de Rooij, Director Business Development at OAG Cargo, commented: “Rhenus has been a valued customer of AFRA in The Netherlands and Belgium since the product launched in 2003. With this new agreement, Rhenus is extending its use of the application to include the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Russia.  This next step clearly demonstrates the benefits that Rhenus is deriving from using AFRA as a single source of rate information in terms of making management decisions and increasing the productivity of its staff.”

Rutges Cargo has launched ‘Urgent’, a new secure express delivery service for customers needing to move valuable, time and temperature-sensitive shipments in Europe. The European truck operator, which serves customers in the air cargo, hi-tech, pharmaceutical and perishable sectors, has invested in a fleet of small vans capable of carrying up to 1,400 kilos of product. Prime customers for Urgent have been identified in the aerospace, pharmaceutical, high tech and luxury goods sectors. The new service is being rolled out in phases, starting around the company's home territory in Amsterdam, followed by the whole of the Netherlands and ultimately across Europe. Rutges Cargo currently operates scheduled truck services to some 100 airports throughout the continent.

Ryder System said it has been certified as a third-party logistics provider in the Custom-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, an initiative that seeks to promote supply chain security and reduce border vulnerabilities.

Rutges Cargo, the European truck operator serving customers in the air cargo, hi-tech, pharmaceutical and perishable sectors has upgraded its quality certification to ISO 9001:2008 following a successful audit by independent assessor, SGS.The accreditation is in line with the standards achieved by Rutges Cargo’s parent company in the Netherlands, the Wim Bosman Group.

Route Development Group (RDG) concluded its annual series of regional route development networking forums. For the first time the event incorporated the Middle East. It brought together airlines, airports and tourism authorities from more than 30 countries in the region. RDG is now gearing up for the world’s largest route development forum, the 15th World Routes to be held in Beijing on 13-15th September 2009, where delegates will once again be able to continue the discussions and relationships forged at Routes’ regional events - with the emphasis steered towards global route development. Co-hosted by ONDA and ACI Africa, the forum mirrored the positive spirit many airports and airlines maintain.

Rhenus Freight Logistics GmbH & Co. KG has signed a cooperation contract with Lufthansa Cargo. Rhenus will therefore be a preferred partner of the cargo carrier by strengthening the transatlantic competence. Rhenus has decided to team up with Lufthansa Cargo, because both companies stand for quality services. Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world’s biggest air cargo carriers with core competencies in the airport-to-airport business.

Rutges Cargo has combined its security transport, control and visibility systems, temperature-controlled vehicle fleet and European network to launch a new product for pharmaceutical distribution. The ‘controlled’ product has been developed around the specific requirements of the world’s leading healthcare companies, according to Jason Breakwell, Rutges Cargo’s commercial manager. “The transportation market for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals continues to grow even in these challenging times, driven by regulatory and product demands such as the increase in the number of biotech products that need temperature control,” he says.

Route Development Group (RDG) concluded its annual series of regional route development networking forums. For the first time the event incorporated the Middle East. It brought together airlines, airports and tourism authorities from more than 30 countries in the region. RDG is now gearing up for the world’s largest route development forum, the 15th World Routes to be held in Beijing on 13-15th September 2009.

Royal Jordanian started implementing the new cargo IT platform of CHAMP Cargosystems- Cargospot .Thus the airline completed the second phase of the system's cut-over, with the first phase being the cargo handling mode at the cargo terminal, which has been operational since early January 2009 for all carriers that RJ handles at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA). The second phase includes the replacement of the previously used in-house solution "CHARMS" with the best-in-class IT solution- Cargospot- that covers all aspects of air cargo sales, reservations, pricing, management information and cargo handling

Saudi Airlines Cargo company appoints  active airline representatives as general sales agent for netherlands .Active Airline Representatives – the exclusive Dutch member of the EGSAC Cargo GSSA network – has been appointed to represent Saudi Airlines Cargo Company in the Netherlands with effect from August 16th. The airline previously handled its own sales in Holland.Saudi Airlines Cargo Company  operates up to eighteen B747-400F flights per week from Brussels to Saudi Arabia. Active will connect to these using express road feeders to Brussels. Active will have online access to capacity, and will be able to block space for regular customers and secure ad hoc space.In addition to Jeddah, Riyadh and Damman, which Active estimates will account for some 70% of traffic from the Netherlands, it is keen to promote other destinations beyond Saudi Arabia. Says Active MD Ton Smulders (also President of EGSAC): “Saudi’s transhipment services to Khartoum, Lagos, Bombay, Delhi and many other destinations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia will all be attractive to our market. We expect significant support from the computer component and offshore equipment sectors, as well as general cargo.”

Sharjah Aviation Services are the second largest airfreight handling company in the Middle East in terms of cargo tonnage, according to official 2009 statistics from Airports Council International, handling 421,398 tonnes in 2009 - a massive 16.1% increase year on year.

Swissport International, the world's leading provider of ground services to the aviation sector, and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) have extended their highly successful collaboration. The new contract for 2010-2015 covers all ground handling at SWISS's three Swiss airports, with a total annual volume of some 64 000 flights.

Swiss WorldCargo, airfreight business registered a substantial improvement in its cargo load factor (by volume) for the first six months of 2010. The 81.8% recorded was a 16.4-percentage-point increase on the 65.4% of January-to-June last year.

Stockholm Arlanda Airport's new perishables handling facility, APH Logistics, and the new BIP in the same building will open new business opportunities. For lack of facilities, Stockholm Arlanda Airport has so far had only a tiny fragment of the air import shipments of perishables into the Swedish market. This is certainly going to change now, says Karsten Bjarbo, Stockholm Arlanda cargo manager.

SAS Cargo is happy with the airline's decision to increase its intercontinental flight program from the coming winter season. SAS will operate daily services between Copenhagen and New York Newark, Chicago and Bangkok, and frequency will increase from five to six on the route between Stockholm and New York, and from three to four weekly flights from Copenhagen to Dubai.