Air

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

     Days after it rejected an acquisition bid from UPS, the Dutch document and package carrier TNT Express said it had a loss of 174 million euros ($230 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to a profit of 4 million euros in the same 2010 period.    Revenues were 1.87 billion euros in the fourth quarter, 2.3 percent more than the same period a year earlier.    For the full-year 2011, the company lost 272 million euros, compared to a profit of 69 m...

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

     Dachser Transport of America (Dachser USA) has appointed Mickey Diaz as director of U.S. air freight.    "This new position will better serve our customers, as Mickey is great asset for our shippers to meet the demands of logistics challenges faced in the U.S. market," said Frank Guenzerodt, president and chief executive officer of Dachser USA, in a statement.    Diaz will continue her responsibilities with Dachser’s Latin America development. She has been in the ...

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

     AirNet Systems, an express air cargo airline based in Ohio, has changed its name to AirNet Cargo Charter Services alongside launching new services around chartered cargo.    The company said its goal is to enhance its express cargo charter airline operations in North America.    “This rebranding sharpens our focus around key market segments that require the services of our high performance airline in the life sciences, banking, security-sensiti...

Monday, February 20, 2012

     Shares in the Dutch document and small package delivery company TNT Express rose sharply on Friday, after it rejected an unsolicited acquisition bid from UPS on Friday.    Atlanta-based UPS offered 9 euros per share, TNT said, or a total of about 4.99 billion euros ($6.4 billion).    On Monday, the stock rose by more than 50 percent, trading in a range of 9.721 euro to 9.949 euro on Monday, up from its Friday close of 6.343 euro.    TNT said its supervis...

Monday, February 20, 2012

     A new initiative to reduce tarmac congestion at Newark Liberty International Airport could improve air cargo reliability for carriers and their customers.    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said last week that it will construct two high-speed taxiways that are more gently angled to allow planes faster exits from the runway upon landing.    The $42 million project is scheduled to start in March on Runway 4R-22L, which is 10,000 feet long and handles a...

Monday, February 20, 2012

     IAG Cargo, which combines British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo, has launched a free iPhone and Android phone application that allows customers to track air freight documented on both carriers' air waybills.    The app gives real-time tracking information on shipments via  waybill numbers and barcodes, while also allowing companies to plan their next shipments. Customers can select their origin and destination, and the app will display a wide choice of...

Friday, February 17, 2012

     The Netherlands-based document and small package delivery company TNT Express said Friday it received and rejected an unsolicited acquisition bid from UPS.     Atlanta-based UPS offered 9 euros per share, TNT said, or a total of about 4.99 billion euros ($6.4 billion).    TNT said its supervisory and executive boards "carefully considered the indicative proposal and explored its rationale, merits and risks for shareholders and all other stakeholders...

Thursday, February 16, 2012

     Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) said it plans to grow its aircraft and aviation services company ASL Aviation Group.    Antwerp-based CMB entered the passenger and cargo aviation business in 1998, and it’s been one of the fastest emerging operations in the company’s transport assets portfolio. CMB is known in the maritime industry for its fleet of post-Panamax-, cape- and handy-size bulk vessels.    ASL is a joint venture between CMB (51 percent) and 3P Air Freight...

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

     President Obama signed into law Tuesday legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration for $63 billion over four years and paving the way for accelerated development of the NextGen air traffic control system.    The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 sets the direction and spending priorities of the agency for the first time in a decade. The previous multi-year blueprint expired more than four years ago, requiring almost two dozen short-term extens...

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

   French freight company Flash Europe has continued its expansion by taking over the British express logistics provider v-one.     Flash said this acquisition is important because of v-one’s success with automotive markets. Flash also said v-one will round out its time-sensitive freight offerings for both air and road freight.    James Griffiths of v-one will be head the company in the United Kingdom.    Flash's operations now cover 78 countri...

Monday, February 13, 2012

   Swiss WorldCargo over the weekend started daily direct service between Beijing and Zurich.    The service uses an Airbus 340-400, providing a third direct link to Zurich from China, along with Hong Kong and Shanghai.    “In the past decade, the annual average growth rate of China’s export to Switzerland stood at 19 percent, while that of Switzerland’s export to China was as high as 29 percent,” the airline said.

Friday, February 10, 2012

     OHL Solutions Inc., a large logistics services provider based in Brentwood, Tenn., has agreed to pay a $1 million civil fine and take other remedial steps for failing to properly screen cargo for explosives as a designated agent of the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana announced Wednesday.    The violations were committed by ActivAir, OHL's air freight forwarding division previously acquired from a British firm, a...

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

   Transact International, a New York-based logistics services provider also known as Transact Intermediaries, has begun its first non-military cargo charter service into the Shindand Air Base in Afghanistan.    The service is part of Transact’s overall Middle East focus and follows similar operations into Afghanistan at the Bagram and Kandahar air bases.    Transact's President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Anderson said the...

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

   Cargo growth in 2011 at two of the world’s largest air freight airports largely showed stagnation in the industry.    Volume rose 0.8 percent in 2011 at Amsterdam’s Schipol International Airport, with the airport handling 1.5 million tons of freight during the year. The airport is the third largest cargo-handling airport in Europe.    Volume from North America rose markedly in 2011, by 13.3 percent, to 136,065 tons, but volume from Asia dropped noticeably in both dir...

Monday, February 06, 2012

     Global Aviation Holdings Inc., the parent company of all-cargo airline World Airways, filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. federal court, citing the need to reduce its cost structure in line with the rest of the industry.    The Peachtree City, Ga.-based company said Chapter 11 reorganization offers the best option for restructuring the company with the least impact on the business.    World Airways operates 13 MD-11 and four 747-400 freighters on an outso...

Thursday, February 02, 2012

   Virgin Atlantic Cargo has promoted Marie Epstein to regional vice president of sales for the Americas.    She will be based in New York and succeeds James Williams who moved back to Australia for family reasons.    Epstein, a 28-year industry veteran, was formerly the airline’s regional sales manager in the Americas, having joined the carrier in 2010 from Delta Air Lines/Northwest Airlines Cargo where she was director of strategic accounts. She started her career with Net...

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

     To boost its South American sales, Casio Computers set up Casio Latin America in Montevideo, Uruguay, as a logistics management company, and has recently started operating its regional distribution center in the country.    Before the change, which started in August, Casio shipped most of its products from China directly to each of its Central and South American country markets. With a centralized logistics operation in South America, the company said deliveries in the...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

     UPS announced Tuesday record full-year earnings per share and a 17 percent increase in adjusted operating profit to $2 billion during the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.    The world's largest package delivery company said it also set fourth-quarter records for volume and revenues.    During the quarter, it delivered 1.13 billion packages, including 480 million during the peak holiday season, an increase of 3.6 percent from the same 2010 period. Revenues were u...

Monday, January 30, 2012

     TNT Express said Monday it has started a service that will simplify and secure the international movements of pharmaceutical products requiring strict temperature control, such as such as vaccines and insulin.    The express carrier said its PharmaSafe service is "designed to tackle the main challenge facing pharmaceutical supply chains: the lack of control and visibility inherent in the involvement of too many parties (typically more than 20 for an air shipm...

Monday, January 30, 2012

     Delta Air Lines has entered a marketing agreement with OnAsset Intelligence, a provider of wireless asset tracking, that will allow its cargo customers to view location information on deltacargo.com .    The agreement offers customers the ability to track and trace cargo in transit on a customized Web page. The service will be offered on all cargo shipments across the Delta and Delta Connection fleets. Together these operate more than 5,000 daily flights across 61...

Friday, January 27, 2012

     Boeing said it has delivered the first of five new 747-8 freighters to AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), part of Russia's Volga-Dnepr Group.    The 747-8 freighter is about 250 feet long, or 18 feet longer than its predecessor, the 747-400 all-cargo plane. The stretch provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume, which translates to four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets, Boeing said.    Two more ...

Friday, January 27, 2012

     South America’s largest airline, AviancaTaca, on Thursday signed an agreement to buy 33 Airbus A320neo planes, as well as 18 other A320 aircraft.    The plane order, the largest from a single airline in the region in terms of number, follows a memorandum of understanding signed during the Le Bourget Air Show in Paris in June.    “With this order AviancaTaca and our subsidiaries will continue the modernization process that includes fleet renewal as its pr...

Friday, January 27, 2012

   Budapest Airport in Hungary said it achieved a record cargo throughput in 2011, handling more than 100,000 tons for the first time.    Flown cargo volumes grew by 6.4 percent to almost 70,000 tons, despite the flat volumes worldwide last year, while trucked volumes more than doubled to nearly 37,000 tons, taking total throughput to 106,595 tons. The airport said it also had substantial increases in 2010, when flown cargo grew by 20 percent and trucked volumes once ag...

Monday, January 23, 2012

     Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich played to the local audience in Thursday’s televised primary debate leading up to the South Carolina primary by talking about infrastructure upgrades at the Port of Charleston as an example of how the government could help create jobs.    Gingrich won on the South Carolina primary on Saturday.    The former speaker of the House said he would push for increased off-shore drilling for natural gas and use the royalties to...

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

   NEO Air Charter – the recently formed cargo charter broker which said it will only deal with freight forwarders – has appointed Stefan Kohlmann to joint managing partner.    Kohlmann now jointly heads the company alongside Adnan Duran, who launched NEO in October 2011.    Kohlmann has spent 23 years in air freight, initially working for MSAS (now DHL), then moving over to broker Chapman Freeborn, where he was most recently managing director of the company’s German operati...

Monday, January 16, 2012

     The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday reported that U.S. exports of goods and services in November 2011 fell 0.9 percent from the previous month to $177.8 billion.     However, the department noted that November’s exports of consumer goods ($15.7 billion) were the highest on record.    U.S. imports of goods and services increased 1.3 percent to reach $225.6 billion, causing the U.S. trade deficit to increase 10.4 percent to reach $47.8 billion in November. P...

Monday, January 16, 2012

     AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) said last week it has started scheduled all-cargo services to Chengdu International Airport.    The service, operated with a Boeing 747-400 freighter, adds Chengdu - the capital of Sichuan province in Western China - to ABC’s existing route between Zhengzhou, Moscow, and Amsterdam.    Chengdu is not a new destination for AirBridgeCargo or its parent company Volga-Dnepr Group.    “Many charter flights with unique cargoes have...

Friday, January 13, 2012

   Air Canada said it will stop transporting monkeys destined to laboratories.     The airline filed an amended tariff with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) that would enable it to discontinue the transportation of primates bound for research. CTA announced this week that it was suspending Air Canada's amended tariff pending a hearing on this proposed new policy.     According to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), last...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

     The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said FedEx Express has agreed to pay a $370,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it committed six violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) relating to FedEx’s provision of freight forwarding services to exporters.     BIS alleged that on two occasions in 2006, FedEx “caused, aided and abetted” acts prohibited by the regulations when it facilitated the attempted unlicensed export of ...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

   Blue Skies has chosen a time and temperature management system from TempTRIP to preserve its fresh fruit shipments from Africa to the United Kingdom in as little as 48 hours.    Blue Skies, also based in the United Kingdom, has more than 2,000 employees in Ghana, Egypt, South Africa and Brazil and sources and supplies fruit from fields, delivering them to supermarkets in the United Kingdom, Europe and South Africa. The company said it uses air transport to ...

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

     India’s financially-stricken national carrier Air India has put its fleet of six Boeing 737-200 freighters up for sale in a bid to cut its losses on a dedicated cargo unit.    The 30-year-old planes were converted to freighters in 2007 as part of the merger between Air India and the country’s state-owned domestic carrier Indian Airlines. The plan was to operate the freighters out of a new cargo hub in Nagpur, near central India. But the Nagpur hub was shelved...

Monday, January 09, 2012

Manuel    Coral Gables, Fla.-based real estate firm Flagler has appointed Manuel A. Fernandez to executive vice president of logistics operations.    In this position, Fernandez will head development of Flagler’s South Florida Logistics Center - a 400-acre intermodal logistics complex adjacent to the Miami International Airport - as well as a newly launched logistics practice.    Fernandez brings to Flagler more than three decades of experience in supply chain and global lo...

Friday, January 06, 2012

   Illinois-based third-party logistics provider Superior Logistics has opened an airside facility at cargo-dedicated Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio.    Superior is leasing 20,000 square feet of office and warehouse space from the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which operates Rickenbacker International Airport and develops surrounding property.    The company specializes in import deconsolidation - the process of breaking down bulk internatio...

Friday, January 06, 2012

     Texas-based OnAsset Intelligence said United Cargo is installing its wireless asset-tracking devices on the airline's mainline jet fleet.     This will allow United Cargo’s customers to track the location, temperature, and environmental setting of items being shipped via that fleet.    OnAsset said its SENTRY FlightSafe technology also provides virtual "security-fencing" and suppresses radios during flight to comply with Federal Aviation&n...

Thursday, January 05, 2012

IL-76TD-90VD    Russian all-cargo carrier Volga-Dnepr Airlines has added a fourth modernized IL-76TD-90VD freighter to its fleet.     The plane completed its first commercial flight on Dec. 31 from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport to Bahrain before returning to Moscow.    The IL-76TD-90VD freighter was built to order at the Tashkent Chkalov Aviation factory under contract between UAC - Transport Aircraft and Volga-Dnepr-Leasing.     “The aircraft pe...

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

   The aviation services group Swissport International has appointed Joe Phelan, a veteran of American Airlines and Deutsche Post DHL, as its new senior vice president cargo for the Americas.    Phelan spent 25 years with American Airlines in various capacities, including vice president for cargo operations, and managing director of customer service for Europe.    He was recruited by Deutsche Post DHL Global Mail from American Airlines as senior vice president of marketing,...

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

   An all-cargo airline joint venture between Air China and Lufthansa has halted service due to a lack of air cargo demand out of China.    Jade Cargo International Co. said on its Website Saturday that it had temporarily grounded its fleet of six Boeing 747 freighters due to weak demand amid uncertainty over the global economy.    Jade said the move would provide an opportunity to "continue with the restructuring of the company's financial structure.”    The compa...

Thursday, December 29, 2011

     Israeli flag carrier El Al became the 16th airline to settle a class-action suit on behalf of freight forwarders who claim they were harmed by paying inflated prices for transportation because of collusion by carriers on surcharges, the elimination or prevention of discounts and commissions.    El Al agreed to pay $15.8 million to the plaintiffs. The airline's decision brings the total amount recovered so far to $478.3 million, according to a statement from H...

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

     Unions representing pilots flying cargo planes for FedEx and UPS are challenging the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to exclude cargo operations from the final flight and duty time rule issued last week.    The Independent Pilots Association (IPA) said it filed last week a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to challenge the FAA.      "The IPA seeks to have cargo operations included within the scope of the rule bec...

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

   A new transportation management Website has popped up, promising to help shippers, distribution centers, manufacturers, and other companies get better rates from a list of more than 28,000 available carriers.    The RateMyShipment.com site comes from TranZcenter, a logistics and supply chain management services provider, and its head of operations Milton Collier. The network of multimodal carriers covers North America and includes modes like less-than-truckload (LTL), truckloa...

Thursday, December 22, 2011

     Test transmissions and processing of electronic sea and rail manifests for the new Automated Commercial Environment are going well, putting U.S. Customs and Border Protection on track to soon transition transportation providers to the new system, the agency announced Friday.    A sea/rail manifest pilot program involving one rail carrier and one ocean began in November. On Monday, OOCL identified itself as the first liner carrier to migrate to the new system. The ...

Monday, December 19, 2011

By Eric Kulisch    If you don’t watch Fareed Zakharia’s “GPS” program Sunday mornings on CNN , you should. The journalist and foreign affairs analyst gets past the surface noise to provide provocative analysis about what’s really going on at the intersection of global economics and politics.   GPS stands for Global Public Square. It’s a forum for exchanging ideas about the critical issues of the day.    The show offers important lessons for freight executives at the domestic and ...

Monday, December 19, 2011

   The European Shippers Council (ESC) said it's becoming increasingly concerned about the impact on supply chains from European Commission regulation 185/2010 which will amend the air cargo security regime after April 29, 2013.    On that date, known consignors will need their security procedures and measures validated by an officially approved inspector. Otherwise the air freight must be made secure by a regulated agent or a carrier by scanning.   &nbs...

Monday, December 19, 2011

     Freight forwarder Dachser said it has been accredited by Envirotainer to handle pharmaceuticals via air freight in compliance with good distribution practice (GDP) guidelines.    The accreditation initially applies to Dachser's facilities in Germany, including Frankfurt, Munich, Münster-Osnabrück and Stuttgart. The company intends to expand its partnership with Envirotainer on a global level, offering dedicated life sciences logistics services.    Sweden-based Env...

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

     The United States and St. Christopher and Nevis signed an open skies aviation agreement that will liberalize air services for the carriers of both countries.    “This agreement means the travelers, airlines and economies of both the United States and St. Christopher and Nevis will benefit from competitive pricing and more convenient service,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in a statement.    Previously, aviation relations between the two countries ...

Friday, December 09, 2011

   Airlines for America, the trade association formerly known as the Air Transport Association, has named Elizabeth Shaver as director of cargo services, effective in January. Shaver joins the organization from Delta Air Lines, where she recently served as manager of customs, facilitation and corporate security. She's also had management positions directing cargo revenue, cargo operations, compliance, flight control and operations control center support.    “Liz brings a strong backg...

Thursday, December 08, 2011

   U.S. Customs is on track to begin receiving simplified entries by the end of January from nine brokerage firms participating in a new pilot program to streamline the types of documentation required to import merchandise, Steve Hilsen, director of trade policy and agreements, said Monday.    The agency announced Nov. 9 that it will run a demonstration program in the air cargo environment to reduce the number of transmissions of redundant data and give importers advance notice ...

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Babbitt    A drunk-driving mistake during the weekend cost Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt his job Tuesday. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood accepted Babbitt's resignation following Monday's disclosure that Babbitt had been arrested Saturday by police in a local Virginia jurisdiction.    In a statement issued by the FAA, Babbitt said he stepped down so that focus on his transgression wouldn't overshadow "the outstanding work done 24 hours a day, seven days a we...

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

   Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbitt was placed on administrative leave after being charged with drunk driving Saturday night by police in Fairfax City, Va., according to the Department of Transportation.    Babbitt, 65, was arrested after an officer observed him driving on the wrong side of the road, Fairfax City Police said in a news release. He was taken to the adult detention center and released on his personal recognizance.   &n...

Thursday, December 01, 2011

   The Air Transport Association on Wednesday changed its name to Airlines for America, along with a new logo and tagline of "We Connect the World."    The 75-year-old trade association represents the mainline passenger carriers and cargo airlines such as FedEx, UPS, Evergreen International, Atlas Air and ASTAR Air Cargo.    The changes, along with a redesigned web site, reflect the organization's renewed focus on international markets that have become the primary area...

Thursday, December 01, 2011

   Developing an airport information webpage, increasing participation of smaller airports in strategic planning teleconferences, and better coordinating air traffic control equipment outages were among the recommendations made by aviation sector representatives at a workshop Wednesday convened to improve decision-making about flights diverted because of bad weather.    The meeting at Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington was prompted by a surprise snowstorm in late...

Thursday, December 01, 2011

     The U.S. Justice Department said a former executive of a Peruvian airline pleaded guilty Wednesday for his role in a conspiracy to fix surcharges on air cargo shipments from the United States to South and Central America following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.    George Gonzalez, former chief commercial officer of Cielos Airlines, a Peruvian air cargo carrier, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to a one count charge of price fixing. On Oct. 28, 2010, Gonzalez...

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

   AMR Corp. the parent of American Airlines, said it filed on Tuesday voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.    The company said its board of directors determined "a Chapter 11 reorganization is in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders." American will continue to conduct business normally, flying normal schedules and paying suppliers for goods and services received during the reorganiz...

Monday, November 28, 2011

   During the next four years, Swiss WorldCargo will introduce new “lightweight” containers to its fleet.     The company said the unit load devices (ULD) will significantly reduce weight and, by extension, lower fuel consumption, costs and CO2 emissions.     Starting in December, the cargo division of Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. will start deploying the containers in its ULD fleet by replacing 150 of its LD3 – AKE devices. By 2014, the whole AKE ...

Monday, November 28, 2011

   A drop in business confidence amidst worsening economic conditions led to a 4.7 percent drop in freight-ton kilometers flown in October versus the same month in 2010, the International Air Transport Association reported Monday.    Since June, air cargo volumes have slumped almost 5 percent even though world trade overall is only off by 1 percent. IATA attributed the difference to purchasing managers cutting air freight and switching to cheaper, slower transport modes in antic...

Thursday, November 17, 2011

   DB Schenker Logistics said this week it is introducing new airfreight routes between Europe and North America.    The new flights, operated with Boeing 777 freighters, will connect Luxembourg with Chicago and Toronto, while another flight will connect Luxembourg with Atlanta and Houston.    "Our new flights enable us to offer shippers secure capacity on interesting routes," said Thomas Mack, senior vice president, global air freight, at Schenker AG. "We implement the com...

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

   The Middle East aviation market will require 39 new freighters worth $11.1 billion and 1,882 passenger aircraft between now and 2030 to meet demand, Airbus said last Monday in its Global Market Forecast.     The European aircraft maker said the need stems from continuing fleet expansion and replacement by Middle East carriers, greater urbanization, an increasing number of mega-cities and the region's growth as a business hub and tourist destinati...

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

   Southern Air Holdings, a provider of ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) aircraft, on Tuesday signed a multiyear Boeing 747-400SF agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.     Ethiopian is Southern Air’s first customer for its recently acquired fleet of B747-400 freighter aircraft with operations scheduled to begin in early January.     “Our future fleet will be comprised of Southern Air wet leased B747-400 freighter aircraft and B777F freighter ...

Monday, November 14, 2011

   U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbit will convene a forum on Nov. 30 at DOT headquarters to discuss ways to better deal with aircraft that have to be diverted to alternate airports due to bad weather.    The announcement comes in the wake of the surprise snow storm Oct. 29 that forced 23 flights to be routed to Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Conn. Six of the flights were flown by JetBlue and, in at least...

Friday, November 11, 2011

   Swissport International, a provider of ground services to the aviation sector, has started cargo handling at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, securing its first contract there with Virgin Atlantic Cargo.     The Zurich-based provider has been operating passenger ground handling and ramp services at Narita for several years.     Swissport’s handling warehouse in Narita South has ramp access and is capable of handling all kinds of products, including bonded cargo...