GLOBAL A
I
R
C
A
R
G
O
W
E
E
K
MANAGEMENT
A
I
R
C
A
R
G
O
W
E
E
K
WORLD AIRPORTS Sponsored.COM by FREIGHTERS.COM
FREIGH
FR
Shrivelled?
Never with us. If you’re worried about your perishable cargo’s freshness being compromised, don’t be. We’ve got it covered. Shipment integrity is top-of-mind with our range of innovative Emirates SkyFresh solutions for temperaturesensitive cargo. Coupled with state-of-the-art transit and cool-chain facilities in Dubai, super quick transfers and our network of over 150 destinations across 6 continents, all professionally powered by our dedicated team of experts - would you want it any other way?
skycargo.com/skyfresh
The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals Volume: 20
Issue: 16
24 April 2017
Hong Kong still the busiest cargo hub in the world
H
ong Kong International Airport retained its position as the world’s busiest cargo hub with volumes growing 3.5 per cent to 4.61 million tonnes, according to figures published last week by the Airports Council International (ACI) in its 2016 World Airport Traffic rankings report. Memphis International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport were second and third busiest, respectively in 2016, with the former growing by 0.7 per cent to 4.32 million tonnes and the latter by five per cent to 3.44 million tonnes. Incheon International Airport took fourth spot handling 2.71 million tonnes, a 4.6 per cent rise on 2015, while Dubai International Airport sneaked into the top five processing 2.59 million tonnes, a 3.5 per cent increase. ACI says the world’s top 20 cargo airports grew 3.3 per cent in 2016 as air cargo markets experienced a revival in the second half of 2016. The top 20 handled 47.4 million tonnes between them, representing 44 per cent of global volumes between them. Total cargo volumes including mail were up 3.3 per cent and international freight grew by 4.3 per cent. ACI explains that air cargo markets experienced a revival in the second half of 2016, which came despite what it says is the “looming uncertainty regarding trade policies in the face of protectionist sentiments, heightened busi-
how will industry improve technology reorganiseD swiss looks to the future sharing of information the biggest problem
6
11
12
14
Atlas dispatchers ratify contract changes
ness confidence through inventory build-ups and increased export orders remained apparent for the short-term”. Of the top 20 hubs, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport was the only one to see a decline, with volumes down 3.4 per cent to
2.54 million tonnes, falling from fourth busiest in 2015 to sixth in 2016. Paris and Frankfurt are Europe’s busiest while Hamad International Airport in Doha was the fastest growing hub with 20.8 per cent growth to 1.7 million tonnes, moving it from 20th busiest in 2015 to 16th.
pharmaceuticals shippers marks a significant milestone to the organisation as we will be able to collaborate closely with the pharmaceutical shippers on projects to achieve a reliable endto-end air transport for pharmaceutical cargo. “Together with the air cargo stakeholders,
we will develop global pharmaceutical trade lanes, implement best practices and share market knowledge and expertise. “Pharma.Aero welcomes other IATA CEIV airport communities, shippers, airline carriers, logistics companies, and other pharmaceutical stakeholders with like-minded goals to become members.” Pharma-Aero was launched last year by Brussels Airport and Miami International Airport, to create pharma trade lanes with standardised processes. Every member has to be CEIV Pharma certified. Other members include Changi Airport, Mumbai International Airport and Sharjah International Airport.
Pharma.Aero doubles its membership to 16 as eight sign up Pharma.Aero has welcomed an additional eight companies into the organisation to take its membership to 16. Among them are pharmaceutical shippers Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Merck Sharp & Dohme, as well as other air cargo stakeholders - DHL Temperature Management Solutions, Expeditors, EuroAirport Basel, 4Advice and e-CARGOWARE. Pharma.Aero chairman, Nathan De Valck says: “Within a short span of six months, Pharma.Aero has achieved our top priority of expanding the membership base to other stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain. “The recent addition of the three global
1,000 critical shipments for iag cargo
INTERNATIONAL Brotherhood of Teamsters flight dispatchers at Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo have voted to ratify changes to their existing contracts, extending it for four years. The provision of the new agreement, which becomes amendable on 12 November 2021, include a 30 per cent wage increase over the life of the contract as well as provisions for members affected by moving flight dispatch operations to Cincinnati. All flight dispatchers voted with 74 per cent in favour of ratification. Teamster Local 210 principal officer, George Miranda says the agreement is “amenable” to everyone involved and Teamsters Airline Division director, Captain David Bourne adds it recognises the relocation needs of the company and will help it continue its growth. Atlas Air pilot and APA Teamsters Local 1224 executive chairman, Robert Kirchner says it recognises the “vital role” dispatchers play. “In that same spirit, we call on Atlas Air executives to address the serious challenges that face our operations. “As our pilots continue to leave due to substandard pay and working conditions, the attrition and retention issues at our airline should be a top concern and one that underscores the need to work with pilots on fair, honest solutions to these issues.”
aircargoweek.com
United and Lufthansa sign joint venture
NEWS WEEK
U
nited Cargo and Lufthansa Cargo have signed a joint venture agreement to share routes between the US and Europe, with business day 1 due later this year. The signing initiates the implementation phase of the joint venture during which the carriers will align their cargo IT systems and business processes. Customers will be able to use capacity on both carriers with access from each partner’s booking platform, providing greater flexibility and time savings with thousands of new weekly route combinations and more than 600 direct connections per week between the US and Europe. Customers will also benefit from coordinated handling processes and transfers at numerous stations. Lufthansa Cargo chief executive officer, Peter Gerber says: “The Lufthansa-United cargo joint venture will generate numerous benefits for our customers because our continental and transatlantic networks, our hubs and our fleet complement each other effectively.” United Cargo president, Jan Krems says: “We are excited about the benefits that will be generated by our teams’ cooperation and our combined capacities. Cargo customers will appreciate the opportunities for quicker and easier shipping between key loca-
tions in the US and Europe.” United Cargo operates 4,500 flights a day to 337 airports across five continents operated by United Airlines and United Express utilising a fleet of 743 aircraft, including over 170 widebody aircraft, and carried over 2.8 billion cargo ton miles in 2016. Lufthansa Cargo handled 1.6 million tonnes of freight and mail last year and sold 8.4 billion revenue tonne kilometres and serves around 300 destinations in approximately 100 countries with its fleet of freighters, and passenger aircraft.
AEI selects new P2F centre
AERONAUTICAL Engineers (AEI) has selected Jacksonville-based Flightstar Aircraft Services as an Authorized Conversion Center. AEI says demand for its passenger-to-freighter conversion products including the Boeing 737-400SF, MD80SF, CRJ200SF and soon the B737-800SF require that additional capacity is added. Flightstar was chosen for its experience in passenger-to-freighter modifications, in addition to maintenance services, and will set up one line of conversions with work starting on a 737-400SF for Vx Capital Partners. AEI has four authorised centres, Commercial Jet in Miami, Commercial Jet Services in Dothan, Alabama, KF Aerospace in Kelowna, British Columbia and Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services in Shanghai, offering 11 to 13 conversion lines at any one time.
Qatar ups Brussels services
QATAR Airways Cargo has further expanded its Brussels Airport services with the addition of a Boeing B777 Freighter to its schedule in early April. The carrier already operates seven Airbus A330 Freighter freighter flights a week into Brussels, in addition to eight passenger flights with its new Boeing B787 and Airbus A350 aircraft. By replacing one of its A330F with a larger B777F, the cargo carrier has again increased its capacity, confirming its steady growth at Brussels Airport. The route of the new aircraft will be Halifax to Brussels and onwards to Doha. Brussels Airport Company head of cargo, Steven Polmans says Qatar Airways has grown to become one of the biggest cargo players at the airport, which have contributed tremendously to growth in sectors like perishables. Two years ago, Qatar Airways was the first airline to operate ‘pharma express’ flights, dedicated to shipping pharmaceuticals between Brussels and Doha. Polmans says: “Pharma is our key commodity and strategic focus, so these flights very much supported us getting the position we have today as the preferred pharma gateway in Europe and we are pleased to see they are very successful.” In May, Qatar Airways will introduce its eighth weekly service to Brussels by adding another Airbus A330F. It will operate from Doha to Brussels and return. Qatar Airways chief officer for cargo Ulrich Ogiermann says it will connect Brussels with the world’s major trade markets via Doha and uphold the growing needs of perishable and pharma shipments in the these markets.
aircargoweek.com
ACW 24 april 2017
3
NEWSWEEK Antonov AN-2-100 takes to the skies 1,000 Critical shipments for IAG Cargo
A
ntonov has completed a test flight for its AN-2-100, an up-to-date modification of the AN-2 bi-plane at its Kiev test base on 11 April. The AN-2-100, which has a payload of 1500kg, lifted 3,202kg, a record for such an aircraft to an altitude of 2,700 metres, piloted by Sergii Tarasiuk with Valerii Yepanchintsev as co-pilot. The AN-2-100 is intended for passenger, cargo and mixed journeys on local routes, and can be operated autonomously at small airfields in a wide altitude range, under good and adverse climatic and weather conditions. The new aircraft uses an MC-14 turboprop engine, designed and produced by the Motor Sich Public Joint Stock Company, which substitutes aviation gasoline with aviation kerosene, which Antonov says increases profitability.
It is equipped with the AV-17 reversible propeller instead of the AV-2, and the AN-2-100’s operational empty weight is 200kg less than the AN-2. The AN-2-100 is named Henrih Ongirskii in honour of the deputy general designer of Antonov company, H.H. Ongirskii, who made great contributions to the AN-2 and AN-3 development programme.
IAG Cargo has shipped over 1,000 shipments using its ‘Critical’ product since its launch in October 2016 for goods that ‘must-fly’. The product has primarily been used for just-in-time production for manufacturers or to fix a costly fault at speed, but has also been used for unexpected shipments including tuna from Mauritius to Los Angeles and tyres to the US for the Grand Prix last year.
IAG Cargo commercial director, David Shepherd (pictured) says: “Critical has performed exceptionally well since launch. Week on week we are seeing new orders and repeat business coming in from customers who need to ensure they can get their goods to where they’re needed, when they’re needed.” Demand for Critical has come from across IAG Cargo’s global network, proving particularly popular for shipments of low-weight goods. Key goods include automotive parts from Europe to assembly lines in the Americas, high tech goods from North American cities including Seattle and Los Angeles to technology hubs including Dublin, Tel Aviv and London, while Aerospace is another strong market, particularly for goods including engine parts and in-cabin technology.
Emirates flies NZ Aotearao race boat
Emirates SkyCargo has transported ‘New Zealand Aotearoa’ – Emirates Team New Zealand’s race boat – from Auckland to Bermuda in advance of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup sailing competition starting in late May 2017. Emirates SkyCargo transported Emirates Team New Zealand’s race boat and all associated support equipment including the team’s chase boat. In order to facilitate the loading and air transportation process, the high-tech sailing boat had to be disassembled into smaller parts – two hulls, two
wings, beams, rudders and other equipment. It took over four hours for the team to complete the loading process. Emirates SkyCargo staff worked closely with the technical staff from Emirates Team New Zealand making sure that the loading went smoothly. Emirates Team New Zealand’s complete shipment weighed slightly over 44 tonnes. At over eight tonnes, the team’s chase boat was the heaviest individual component in the shipment. The largest items in the shipment were the ship’s two hulls which measured over 15 metres each in length. Three ground crew from Emirates Team New Zealand travelled with the equipment onboard the Emirates SkyCargo freighter for the flight which lasted 18 hours and 50 minutes. The flight included a 90 minute stopover in Los Angeles for the aircraft to refuel and change flight crew before continuing its journey to Bermuda.
UPS expands dangerous goods program UPS has expanded its dangerous goods shipping program adding more than 400 new commodities that can be accepted in its global air network and more than 300 products across its Europe ground network. It says there is growing demand from companies to ship products classified as dangerous goods including healthcare companies transporting chemicals to clean laboratory equipment, industrial manufacturers transporting paint, compressed gases, adhesives and batteries, among other items. UPS has also increased the quantity of select dangerous goods accepted for shipment.
6
ACW 24 april 2017
aircargoweek.com
UPS Europe president, Nando Cesarone says: “UPS helps companies meet strict and often complex requirements when shipping dangerous goods. Now we can meet our customers’ expanded needs for a one-stop solution to ship both conventional and dangerous goods.”
NEWSWEEK Ban on direct cargo flights from Bangladesh could soon be lifted
H
opes are rising a ban on direct cargo flights from Bangladesh could be lifted soon, a senior official with Biman Bangladesh has told Air Cargo Week (ACW). Airport regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), is near to completing the installation of dual view scanning machines, something their overseas counterparts wanted, Biman managing director and chief executive officer, A.M Mosaddique Ahmed explains in an interview. Management at CAAB have also confirmed to ACW it was replacing single view scanners with double view scanners and was increasing the number of security staff as well as the amount of training they have. Three countries, Germany, Great Britain and Australia banned cargo imports from Bangladesh last year, citing safety. The ban required air cargo going from the Bangladesh, which is seeing continued strong growth, to go via a third country. “They have done what I believe could be done,” Mosaddique Ahmed explains. “We have reached the situation where this can be resolved now,” he adds. To underscore the point Biman is to contact the CAAB urging them to keep up their pressure in the overseas authorities by
8
ACW 24 april 2017
writing to the British, he adds. No British or German official responded to ACW’s request for confirmation. Whilst Bangladesh’s economy is rolling along at a good clip growing by seven per cent annually such a move would help the air cargo industry which has been impacted by the ban and a recent spate of bombings, one close to the airport. “There have been some issues over the past few days,” Mosaddique Ahmed acknowledges whilst stressing the basic soundness of facilities in the South Asian country. “I think the airport has been adequately guarded.” Also sound is the business model Biman who is expecting a good year on top of several others. “It has been increasing steadily over the years both in terms of incoming and outgoing,” says Mosaddique Ahmed. Last year, Biman moved some 40,991 tonnes of cargo. Inbound is largely garment accessories such as raw cloth and buttons as well as telecommunications equipment and heavy machinery. Outgoing its nearly all garments.
No freighter future
But one thing that Mosaddique Ahmed is clear, very clear, about is that Biman will not acquire freighters. He acknowledges it has been pondered “for a long time” but it is not going to happen any time soon he explains. Biman has two problems with freighters. One is it sees itself as very much a passenger airline, one serving the Bangladesh diaspora. The other is the “directional imbalances” it has with flights having full loads on some legs only and empty returns on other.
aircargoweek.com
“It’s not very viable,” says Mosaddique Ahmed. That said the carrier does not calculate cargo’s profit separately but sees them as supporting the company’s solid bottom line. “We made profits for the last two years,” says Mosaddique Ahmed. This is expected to further improve with a new roster of destinations. Later this year it hopes to open Colombo, Sri Lanka, Male in the Maldives and Kunming, China. Further down the line the hope is, if aircraft can be found, to bring open routes to New Delhi, Hong Kong and Tokyo with Guangzhou also being on the list. This will plug a gap in the Biman flight plan which till now has only had one destination in India, Kolkata, and none in China. Longer term still are plans to open services to Rome, Manchester, New York and Riyadh.
Infrastructure
Underpinning this are plans to overhaul much of the country’s airport infrastructure. Both short and long term goals are impressive and will give cargo capabilities a significant boost. Currently the CAAB is planning on a major overhaul of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport which would see the construction of additional facilities to help cargo effectively double its daily capacity to 1,400 tonnes per day from the current 700 tonnes. This is scheduled to complete by 2021 after a soft opening in 2019. Nor does it stop there. CAAB is also “thinking of developing a completely new airport in the vicinity of Dhaka” CAAB air commodore and member of operations and planning, M Mostafizur Rahman explains to ACW. Current thinking is this should reflect where Bangladesh well might be in 20 to 30 years time - some sort of Asian hub with an airport of four parallel runways supporting a large and multi-faceted export trade. Bangladesh has big plans driven by exports and is one Asian air cargo market to look out for once concerns are overcome.
NEWS WEEK
Profit dip at K+N
Profits for Kuehne + Nagel dipped 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 despite revenue increasing by 7.2 per cent. The company made a profit of 165 million Swiss francs ($165.4 million) in 2017 compared to CHF169 million during the same period of 2016. Net turnover was up from CHF4 billion in the first quarter of 2016 to CHF4.3 billion in 2017. Kuehne + Nagel chief executive officer, Dr Detlef Trefzger says: “The good result in the first quarter 2017 supports our optimistic outlook for a continued successful business development this year. In seafreight and airfreight we are experiencing strong growth and have gained significant market shares.” “This increase in volume and productivity as well as cost control mitigated the ongoing pressure on margins. Our strategic approach for overland and contract logistics led to a further improvement of results. We have established a good basis for the second half of 2017.” Airfreight turnover was CHF1.3 billion in the 2017 compared to CHF1.3 billion in 2016, and segment profit measured as earnings before interest and tax was slightly down to CHF72 million compared to CHF73 million in 2016. Kuehne + Nagel airfreight volumes increased 15.5 per cent to 350,000 tonnes with strong growth from sectors including pharma, perishables and e-commerce.
Hong Kong flying in March
SATS eCommerce Airhub unveiled
S
ATS has unveiled its $21 million eCommerce AirHub, enhancing Changi Airport’s e-commerce mail sorting capability in a ceremony officiated by minister for Trade and industry, S Iswaran. The 6,000 square metre facility, co-funded by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) features innovations to improve productivity and enable airport workers to acquire new skills. SATS says it has multiplied mailbag processing capacity by more than three times to more than 1,800 per hour from 500, and streamline mail sorting deliver quicker international e-commerce mail turnaround times, and processing times is reduced by 50 per cent to three hours. CAAS director general, Kevin Shum says: “We are delighted that this initiative has enabled SATS staff to benefit from an enlarged job scope, higher pay, and a more comfortable and conducive workplace.”
Interface integration with SingPost’s airmail operations and the facility’s locations within the free trade zone on airside, mail operations are streamlined to eliminate the need for mailbags to be transported to and from the hub. Traceability has also improved as customers such as SingPost can track and trace their mail via the data interface. SingPost Postal Services chief executive officer, Woo Keng Leong says: “The improved efficiency and tracking from our collaboration with SATS will enhance SingPost’s international mail operations amid Singapore’s growing importance as an eCommerce logistics hub.” SATS has designed the facility to be expanded, with Hungate explaining: “With ever- increasing eCommerce mail volumes, SATS has deliberately designed this eCommerce AirHub to be modular so that we can increase throughput even further with only incremental investment.”
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) recorded significant year-on-year (YOY) growth of 17.8 per cent in cargo volume in March 2017. The gateway handled 433,000 tonnes with the strong growth in cargo throughput was largely driven by exports, which recorded a robust 24 per cent YOY increase. Imports and transshipments also experienced double-digit growth and amongst the key trading regions, Europe and North America showed the most significant increases. During the first three months of 2017, cargo volume at HKIA registered 11.5 per cent YOY growth to 1.1 million tonnes. Cathay Pacific Airways posted impressive numbers for March and in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017 as tonnage grew strongly and other figures were up. Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon combined carried 181,189 tonnes of cargo and mail in March, a year-on-year (YOY) increase of 15.4 per cent compared to the corresponding month in 2016. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 7.3 percentage points to 70.3 per cent. In Q1, the tonnage rose YOY by 11.4 per cent to 469,995 tonnes on Q1 in 2016. The load factor for the first three months was 65.6 per cent, up 4.5 percentage points. Cathay Pacific general manager for cargo sales and marketing, Mark Sutch says: “Our cargo business continued its positive momentum into March. Tonnage grew well ahead of our capacity growth.”
aircargoweek.com
ACW 24 april 2017
9
AIR CARGO EUROPE PREVIEW
Munich gets set to welcome air cargo Industry excellence to be celebrated
THE world’s largest exhibition and conference for the air cargo industry - air cargo europe will be taking place for the 8th time from 9-12 May at the Munich Trade Fair Centre as part of the wider transport logistic trade show. Organiser Messe Muenchen revealed as far back as December the biennial show was fully booked up in terms of exhibitors for the first time at transport logistic, while this year sees a wider conference programme (see page 11). The focal points will include sessions on ’The Age of the Digital and the Connected - The End of Traditional LSPs (Logistic Service Providers)?’ and ‘Reorganizing Sales and Customer Service to Match Today’s New Customers’. Exhibitors from across the globe will include forwarding agents, airlines, airports, cargo handlers, charter brokers, express services, general sales agents, and others sectors of the air cargo supply chain. Air cargo europe will take place at the trade fair’s Hall B1 where over 200 exhibitors from
10
ACW 24 APRIL 2017
36 countries will present their products and services. Airlines will include the likes of heavyweight airfreight carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo, Skyteam Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo, Saudia Cargo, Turkish Cargo, IAG Cargo and Virgin Atlantic Cargo. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Brussels Airport, Changi Airport, Incheon International Airport, Heathrow Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport, Miami International Airport and Dallas International Airport will be represented in the airports section. Other important players in the industry including ECS Group, ATC Aviation, Air Logistics Group, Air Charter Service, Swissport, Unilode Aviation Services, ACL Airshop and Jettainer will be exhibiting along with TIACA, IATA, Boeing and Airbus. When last held in 2015, transport logistic saw 2,050 exhibitors from 62 countries and welcomed 55,438 visitors.
THE most prestigious event of the year for the air cargo industry will take place during air cargo europe when the glittering Air Cargo Week World Air Cargo Awards 2017 are held. Tickets are still up for grabs for the event at The Westin Grand Hotel in Munich on Wednesday, 10 May, which will be attended by key decision-makers from across the supply chain. Guests will network with fellow industry players and enjoy a champagne reception, a sumptuous meal with fine wines, live music, entertainment acts and the main event – presentation of the awards. The Air Cargo Week World Air Cargo Awards 2017 will be presented in 10 categories at the event, known in the air cargo community as the ‘Oscars’ and the ‘one’s to win’ and celebrating air cargo excellence. Awards will include: • Airfreight Forwarder of the Year
aircargoweek.com
• Air Cargo Handling Agent of the Year • Air Cargo Charter Broker of the Year • Airport of the Year • Air Cargo General Sales Agent of the Year • Air Cargo Industry Customer Care Award • Air Cargo Industry Achievement Award • Information Technology for the Air Cargo Industry Award • Air Cargo Industry Promotional Campaign Award • Cargo Airline of the Year Visit http://www.worldaircargoawards. com/tables.cfm or contact sales@azurainternational.com to reserve your seat or a table or www.worldaircargoawards.com – the official website for the event. Pictured above is the winners in 2016 holding their trophies aloft in 2016 in Shanghai. They included Brussels Airport, Saudia Cargo, Kales Group, Air Asia and Hactl.
AIR CARGO EUROPE PREVIEW
How will industry improve technology and sales?
H
ow the industry embraces new technologies and improving sales and customer service will be two major talking points for air cargo professionals at air cargo europe in Munich next month. The first of the two sessions, ‘The age of the digital and the connected – the end of traditional LSPs (Logistic Service Providers)?’ will take place at 10.00h on Wednesday 10 May in Hall B2 Forum IV (West), where industry decision-makers can learn about the existing applications of the ‘internet of things’, how they change the way of doing business and how to deal with technology-driven competition. Cargo iQ executive director, Ariaen Zimmerman (left); FedEx Express Europe senior vice president – network and hub operations, David Canavan; Brussels Airport cargo development manager, Sara Van Gelder and Panalpina CIO, Ralf Morawietz will give their views from different sections of the air cargo industry. Development managers at shippers,
Pharma and new business models
forwarders, airlines equipment manufacturers, consultants and technology providers are set to find it useful to attend this discussion, to learn how to respond to technology driven competition and even get ahead.
How to cater for the new generation of customers will be the discussion point in the second session, ‘Reorganizing sales and customer service to match today’s new customers’ at 10.00h on Thursday 11 May in Hall B2 Forum IV (West). The International Air Cargo Association secretary general, Vladimir Zubkov (pictured below), Swiss WorldCargo cargo head of area and contribution management, Alexander Arafa, and CEVA Logistics vice president business development, Christian Stingl will discuss how to bring new requirements into existing sales and service organisations, improve profitability and reduce unnecessary direct and indirect costs. Senior sales executives at forwarders, airlines, sales agencies, heads of customer facing processes, sales consultants, and developers and students are likely to take much from the session. Both will be moderated by the Swiss dream team of Bernd Maresch, owner of public relations firm Maresch, and Dr Joachim Ehrenthal, founder of software company joe.systems.
If the two air cargo europe sessions above were not enough, there will also be discussions focusing on pharmaceuticals and new business models. Pharma has been a hot growth sector for the air cargo industry in recent years, and with it significant drives to improve quality and an increasing number of companies undergoing International Air Transport Association (IATA) CEIV Pharma certification. The industry will get to talk about it in the session ‘Pharma logistics in the airfreight industry’ at 12.00h on 10 May. The session will see Seabury Consulting commercial director, Dirk de Rooij providing a keynote address while IAG Cargo global head of pharmaceuticals and life sciences, Alan Dorling will explain current and future supply chains from an airline perspective. Research by logistics consultancy firm, Miebach says pharmaceutical manufacturers are placing more importance on supply chain management and logistics, with end-to-end supply chain visibility and optimising distribution networks are the top trends. A panel consisting of Turkish Airlines chief cargo officer, Turhan Ozen, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol head of cargo, Jonas van Stekelenburg, Panalpina global head of healthcare, Andreas Sahli and dnata senior vice president UAE, Bernd Struck will discuss what the industry can and is doing to tackle challenges including the increasing number of refrigerated and frozen products and serialisation of product codes. IATA will also be hosting a discussion in Hall B2 Forum IV (West), ‘Innovation in the air cargo industry: making cargo talk!’ at 12.00h on 11 May. The keynote speech will be delivered by IATA head of transformation, Celine Horcade, who will also be moderating the session, discussing how to embrace technology including track & track at piece level, sensors & data loggers, RFID, Li-fi and other wireless technologies. Jettainer senior IT manager & ISO, Dr Gert Pfeifer will deliver a presentation on ‘Big Data and ULD Management’, followed by CHAMP Core cargo director, Shahzad Aslam talking about ‘Smart Machines’, followed by IBS Software Services vice president and global head of cargo business, Ashok Rajan talking about ‘Internet of Things Applied to Air Cargo’. IATA says it is time for air cargo and air mail to embrace the internet of things to remain competitive and address customer expectations.
aircargoweek.com
ACW 24 april 2017
11
SWITZERLAND
Reorganised Swiss WorldCargo looks to the future
S
wiss WorldCargo has restructured its departments as it looks to tackle the new norms for now and in the future of the air cargo industry and has put the customer at the forefront of their strategy. The airfreight division of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has rolled out a fresh organisational structure, which it says will further develop its brand presence and meet the challenges of the global logistics industry. The reorganisation was the brainchild of head of cargo, Ashwin Bhat (below) who took over in September 2015. He explains it is based on three pillars – business development and customer experience, area and contribution management and quality and services. Bhat says: “It is designed to make it (the company) more agile and to put our customers in the centre of all our activities. It is our purpose to enable our organisation to provide the right solutions and services to new logistic needs. “In a people business like air cargo,
it is extremely important that these services are supported by a well-structured organisation and delivered by skilled professionals who can play to their individual strengths bringing diverse and varied experience.” Bhat’s focus since he took over has been effectiveness within
the organisation and concentrating on the carrier’s strengths and weaknesses and how it can be improved. “I decided to reorganise Swiss WorldCargo not because I was just the new boss and didn’t know what to do, but we wanted to focus predominantly on the customer and not just the sales people, but the rest of the organisation. “Secondly, it was to find a balance between the long term strategy and day-to-day business as when the going gets tough invariably everybody starts looking at day-to-day numbers and trying to achieve targets and they forgot that tomorrow becomes today very fast. “We then decided to go for the three pillars of the organisation. The first one business development and customer experience, which is developing the strategy and creating the future. “The second is area and contribution management, everything that is done in out-stations and in the same team as revenue management – because the cycle has become very short as customers want fast reactions and there is always tension between sales and revenue management. But I put them together on the same table as one should not take over each other as they need to work together to better meet customer needs and can then take faster decisions. “The third is my bread and butter because that is what SWISS is known for - quality and services – whatever we design and sell and promise the team has to deliver.”
Quality and services
Quality and services is a key area for SwissWorld Cargo as Bhat explains and Christian Wyss (pictured above right) has been apppointed as new head of cargo quality and services. His remit is to work to ensure the transportation chain works seamlessly to fulfil its promise to customers and ensure operational excellence across operations, which Wyss says it is to “make it into a reality and make it happen”. Bhat says the small things are now being solved since the reorganisation and now it has a team that is working together. “For me it is having a team that is creating the future. We are in the early stages, but what we have also done is try to design the processes as how the teams work between themselves.” As part of this, Bhat says a new service centre has been created that falls under the eye of Wyss, and is not in the mould of a traditional call service centre, but Bhat notes it is about creating a knowledge organisation to support internal colleagues. “We sometimes forget we are celebrated in Europe, not in Asia and they have questions and we need to be their to support, but to also look at our quality in a different aspect,” Bhat explains. Wyss says the service centre is looking at adding advantages for shippers, adding capacity in day-to-day activities or better structure processes to make it easier and faster and more customer friendly. “We have no fixed plan yet but we are already developing solutions and we take it as it comes – listening to customers and our internal colleagues and then start to develop,” he adds. He says the centre will be able to respond whenever there is a problem with shipments at the beginning or during transportation or after and will improve efficiency under one roof and it seems geared to better meet the needs of customers.
Pharma focus
12
ACW 24 april 2017
aircargoweek.com
As for service changes and focuses for SWISS, Bhat says the pharmaceutical sector is high on the agenda: “One of the areas we are good, but we need to get better is pharma and we have started a project called ‘pharma house’ – where we want to build a new house for pharma and it is looking at how we can get better.” Other moves have seen SWISS sign a deal with cool chain cotainer specialist va-Q-tec, which sees it offer more passive solutions and at the end of the last year it started offering the service of tracking devices to customers, while it has also launched a new website this year. And Bhat says SWISS is also looking to gain International Air Transport Association CEIV Pharma as an airline by the end of 2017, which will standardise processes and operations and further boost its pharma capabilities. As SWISS also gets set to receive new aircraft to upgrade its fleet further boosting its capacity and also adds new routes – the future is certainly looking bright.
SWITZERLAND
Extra capacity gets Zurich off to a flying start
C
argo is off to a strong start in 2017 at Zurich Airport (pictured) helped by SWISS International Airlines increasing capacity with Boeing 777s. After 5.3 per cent growth in 2016 to 433,577 tonnes, with a 7.2 per cent increase in air volumes making up for a weaker rise of 0.7 per cent in road volumes, the first three months of 2017 have been strong. Each month has been strong; January was up 10.1 per cent and February by 8.9 per cent before a surge of 21.3 per cent in March to 43,372 tonnes, with exports picking up this year. Zurich Airport’s operator, Flughafen Zurich tells Air Cargo Week: “One of the main reasons for this pleasing development is the capacity increase by our hub carrier SWISS International Airlines: Zurich Airport benefits from higher cargo capacity resulting from the integration of the Boeing 777 into the SWISS fleet.” Publicly quoted Flughafen Zurich does not give out detailed forecasts for the future but describing the year ahead it says: “We are confident about the further development in the cargo business.” Air cargo remains very important for Switzerland, by value with one third of all exports leave the country on this mode of
transport. Zurich says: “Pharmaceutical products as well as exports from the machinery industry play a large part in this. In addition, there is also an above-average share in consignment of valuables at Zurich Airport.” Zurich does not have any major plans for infrastructure apart from optimising what is already there. Switzerland is an
expensive country and Zurich says providing customers with infrastructure that is both optimal and affordable at the same time can be a challenge. Flughafen Zurich says: “Zurich Airport concentrates on being in line with the market and competitive with its air cargo infrastructure.”
Zurich to operate Brazilian hub Flughafen Zurich has been awarded the concession to operate and expand Hercilio Luz International Airport in Florianopolis for 30 years. Zurich Airport’s operator will own 100 per cent of the airport and operate it under a concession until 2047 following the signing of the concession agreement, expected in July 2017. Flughafen Zurich says it will expand and improve infrastructure to maximise growth potential by utilising best practices from Switzerland while preserving Brazilian values. Flughafen Zurich has been active in Brazil since 2013 when it acquired a 25 per cent stake in Tancredo Neves International Airport in Belo Horizonte when it was privatised. It also has stakes in other South American airports. Through Santiago de Chile based A-Port Chile it has indirect stakes in Iquique and Antofagasta, with the concessions running until 2018 and 2022 respectively. A-Port Operaciones is the airport operating arm of Flughafen Zurich in Latin American and the Caribbean. Zurich has a 49 per cent stake in A-Port Chile and 62 per cent in A-Port Operaciones. Flughafen Zurich is also a minority shareholder in Curacao Airport Partners, the concessionaire of Curacao Airport. Through A-Port Operaciones it holds an operations and management agreement for the operation of the airport and provide expertise including operations, commercial and infrastructure development. Zurich’s affiliate, A-Port Operaciones Colombia has a technical services agreement with OPAIN, the concessionaire of El Dorado Airport, supporting OPAIN on all operational and commercial matters.
Volumes rise 6.6% at Geneva Geneva Airport made a profit of 80.8 million Swiss francs ($80.5 million) in 2016, with turnover and airfreight rising. Turnover increased by 5.1 per cent to CHF445.3 million with 56 per cent of revenue coming from aeronautical revenue, and it has made investments of CHF162 million. Half of the CHF80.8 million profit was paid to the State of Geneva and airfreight was up 6.6 per cent to 69,296 tonnes. Despite the growth, aircraft movements were only up 0.5 per cent to 189,840, which the airport says means larger aircrafts are being filled. It also says the new generation aircraft have a lower impact on the environment due to less noise and using less fuel. Geneva Airport will be welcoming new services including Qatar Airways using the Airbus A350 XWB from 1 May. Outbound flights to Doha will leave at 21.40h and arrive at 04.40h the next day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and depart 17.40h on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, landing at 00.40h. Flights from Doha will leave at 07.55h and arrive in Geneva at 13.20h on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and depart at 14.55h on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, landing at 20.20h.
aircargoweek.com
ACW 24 april 2017
13
CARGO TECHNOLOGY Sharing of information is the biggest problem in the chain
D
igital transformation and adoption of new technologies within the air cargo industry is gaining traction and evolving. However, there is still much work to do and the need for less resistance to change to technology, and more sharing of information to improve transparency become ever more important. CHAMP Cargosystems chief executive officer, Arnaud Lambert (pictured above) believes although the industry has changed in the last five years in embracing more technology, more needs to done and it “doesn’t have a choice”. “The market is still there and the numbers are there and it will continue to be interesting market for many people, but there are many people now and especially between competition in the traditional air cargo space, which is most of the focus today. “The integrators are playing a big role in that market and the disruptions in my view comes from the new entrants that are shaking the whole thing like Amazon. We know Amazon from the IT side and when they go into something they are pretty sure on what they are going to do and they have the critical mass do this,” Lambert says. He feels the advantage Amazon has is in air cargo is its “super customer experience” and is something the rest of the supply chain needs to learn from and improve. “That is what is at this stage in this fragmented industry from shipper to consignee what is missing - as the shipper is craving traceability of their cargo and they will offer that,” Lambert says. He adds: “We have a logistics chain that goes for five to seven days door-to-door in the world, but they have two to three days so in terms of business value proposition we need to combine
14
ACW 24 april 2017
speed, reliability of the service and customer experience and is something where we as an industry in this fragmented part need to wake up. “It starts by full digitisation and it is about interoperability and about being part of the same value chain and the end customer needs to see the same value.” There has been some resistance to adopt new technology and Lambert feels adoption is slow within air cargo, explaining: “It is slow and clearly it is not an industry with high margins and the distribution is not balanced, and we have clearly different actors, but I think the technology adoption is not something you cannot do alone, as if you can have high technology adoption in one part of the chain - if you don’t have the rest of the chain at the same level your investment will give you only a certain position, but it does not help. I can see more people sharing technology as that is the direction it is going.
The automotive sector
“But technology is not the issue anymore. For many years this industry has not exactly been at the forefront of technology and we are a technology service provider. We know now that when we come with certain technologies we have more openness, but it is now about moving from openness to action.” Lambert feels air cargo could take a leaf out of the book of other industries such as the automotive sector as he notes it is highly integrated on the logistics side despite the fact it also has a lot of different actors. He says: “This industry is not doing it, and there is still something to correct, which is not obvious but we do not have a choice anymore in my view anymore because it is at a critical stage with Amazon starting hub to hub in the US and that is being extended
aircargoweek.com
and maybe internationally.” But he believes technology alone will not solve the challenges air cargo faces and he feels the most important area is the quality of information exchange. Lambert explains: “The quality of information exchange is the biggest part of the problem. We can see the amount of rejections because of structure as we process around 12 million air waybills on behalf of our customers and we proves the same amount in terms of messaging and then there is six million customs declarations. “For us it is about ease of doing business for them and we are trying to ease their experience so they can focus on doing what they do, but we all need to play together.” And he notes: “The end customer is the shipper and we all work for the same customer and need to all put our hands together not one putting his hand around the information and releasing it at the last minute so others cannot plan on his/her side – and this starts with the shipper.” Lambert points out: “On the e-freight side it is not about removing the paper - the key thing is about availability of information for everybody from the same logistics chain for that shipment who should have access to the information real-time from the beginning from the shippers side. Even if you are at the end of the chain it should be there.”
TRADEFINDER Freight Forwarders
Airlines Turkey
India
Freight Forwarders Hong Kong
United Arab Emirates
USA
Industry Events
aircargoweek.com
ACW 24 AprIL 2017
15
Tabloid page bled.indd 1
10/03/2017 11:51