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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,050

23 September 2019

Three years of smiles in Thailand

Wilkommen in Europa SF Airlines touches down in Germany for first time

F Airlines has added intercontinental services with the first Boeing 747400ERF flight touching down in Frankfurt-Hahn on 15 September. The service took off from Wuxi at 00.30h, and after a stop-off at Chongqing, the flight continued to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in Germany. The route is the longest one operated by SF Airlines, covering 9,540 kilometres and has a payload of 110 tonnes. It can consolidate and ship cargo between East China, West China and Frankfurt-Hahn through air-air and air-land transit under support from local customs in Wuxi and Chongqing.

The flight features simplified flight approval procedures, an optimised transit regulation process and a more efficient customs clearance service. It promotes cross-border trading and value realisation through cargo circulation and facilities implementing the Belt and Road Initiative. The route will be able to transport

more than 600 tonnes of shipments from China to Europe, and is expected to build a stable air logistics channel

for manufacturing and business trading enterprises, and promote local foreign trade businesses.

net income was down from $835 million to $745 million. Results were down due to weakening global economic conditions, increased costs due to expanded service options and a shift to lower-yielding services. Frederick Smith, chairman and

chief executive officer of FedEx Corp says: “Our performance continues to be negatively impacted by a weakening global macro-environment driven by increasing trade tensions and policy uncertainty. Despite these challenges, we are positioning FedEx to leverage future growth opportunities as we continue the integration of TNT Express, enhance FedEx Ground residential delivery capabilities and modernise the FedEx Express air fleet and hub operations.” Speaking on the first quarter fiscal year earnings conference call, Smith revealed plans to streamline the aircraft fleet. He says: “We will retire 20 MD-10

aircraft over the current and next fiscal year, which will eliminate that fleet type from our air operations. We are also highly likely to retire our A310 aircraft this year, which will also lead to the elimination of that fleet type.” Smith adds that FedEx will also park seven MD-11s during the fiscal year. During the call, Smith says that three main challenges were identified for the fiscal year. These were the global trade disputes hitting manufacturing and demand, the integration of TNT’s European ground operations by the end of the fiscal year, and the growth of e-commerce, saying that in the USA, the number of parcels is expected to grow to 100 million a day by 2026.

INSIDE GARCIA JOINS FREIGHTOS

CAMILO Garcia has left IAG Cargo to take up the role of global vice president business development at Freightos Group ... PAGE 2

FREIGHTER FLEET TO GROW 50%

FedEx to retire MD-10s, A310s could also go

FEDEX will retire its MD-10s as it looks to modernise its fleet, the company announced as it released its quarterly earnings. In the first quarter of the 2020 fiscal year ending on 31 August, revenue remained stable at $17 billion while

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AIRBUS is predicting that the global freighter aircraft fleet will grow over 50% in the next 20 years, the manufacturer forecasts in its ... PAGE 3 SWEDAVIA SELLS HOLDINGS

SWEDAVIA has sold its 50% holding in Landvetter Logistik Center making a capital gain of around 100 million krona ($10.3 million) ... PAGE 6

HERMES DRIVES DIGITALISATION

ACCORDING to Jacek Lechocki, head of products and service, Hermes Logistics Technologies the gap between “digital and paper” in air cargo handling ... PAGE 8

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Garcia leaves IAG for new role at Freightos Group

amilo Garcia has left IAG Cargo to take up the role of global vice president business development at Freightos Group. In his role, Garcia will be heading up airline relationships at WebCargo by Freightos, the business unit for digitising logistics service providers. Writing on the WebCargo by Freightos website, Garcia explained why he left IAG Cargo, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Level. He says that despite people’s reliance on the internet, the logistics industry remains largely offline, and while things are improving, it is not quick enough. Commenting on 20 years in the air cargo industry, Garcia says: “While I was booking flights online for personal and business travel, I was part of an industry that to a large extent was still booking air cargo manually. At IAG Cargo, we were amongst the very few airlines to pioneer digital cargo.” He also comments: “I feel the best way to truly digitise global freight is for logistics industry experts to crossover into the technology world. Knowledge transfer is critical.”

Garcia says cargo and technology have been operating on parallel tracks, and despite good intentions to bring global shipping online, the approach has had limited success. He says: “I’m excited to contribute my industry expertise to bridge this knowledge gap, helping tech companies like Freightos continue to support cargo innovation, but doing so increasingly as an industry insider, not an external force.”

Cargologic is ready for commercial operations

CARGOLOGIC Germany has received its Air Operator Certificate from the German civil aviation authority, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, and is ready for commercial operations. The airline, based at Leipzig-Halle Airport will focus on providing short-term capacity to customers across Europe and aims to offer express air cargo services to integrators and e-commerce providers. Cargologic says it has generated considerable commercial interest since receiving its

non-commercial permit in June 2019. It operates two Boeing 737-400SFs and plans to increase its fleet to 10 737s by 2022.

CEBU Pacific Cargo has renewed its contract with QuantumID Technologies for cloud-based real-time management using SmartKargo. The Filipino carrier has utilised the Software as a Service to give customers real-time shipment information and advanced tools such as mobile apps. The mobile app allows customers to manage shipments end-to-end, from booking to destination. SmartKargo has helped Cebu manage and integrate new dedicated cargo capacity into its fleet. Alex Reyes, vice president for commercial of Cebu Pacific says: “We are very pleased to

continue the partnership, and look forward to sustained growth that SmartKargo has enabled.” Enhanced capabilities allow Cebu to provide electronic air waybills, and make booking easier with single-screen data entries. The service provides simplified pricing and rate-making capabilities, real-time capacity management, user-configurable business intelligence and integrated cargo revenue accounting. Jay Shelat, executive vice president of QuantumID Technologies says: “We at SmartKargo look forward to continue providing CEB Cargo with solutions and tools to grow their business.”

GENEROUS members of the United Kingdom Air Cargo Club (UKACC) tee’d off for a great day on the greens as 34 players played in a charity event at Mill Ride Golf Club near London Heathrow airport. Their efforts, as well as being

greatly enjoyed by participants, worked to raise £265 for leading charity Asthma UK. The winners were Frank Nuttall Cup, James Wells from Aramex and the UKACC Trophy, Darren Bossier, also from from Aramex.

Cebu Pacific Cargo and SmartKargo continue digital transformation

Hole in one for UKACC charity effort

ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

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Freighter fleet to grow 50% by 2038

irbus is predicting that the global freighter aircraft fleet will grow over 50% in the next 20 years, the manufacturer forecasts in its Global Market Forecast 2019-2038. In its report, Airbus says international trade is expected to grow 3.3% per annum over the next 20 years, doubling from today’s level of $45 trillion, with Asia Pacific becoming the largest region, with its share growing from 36% to 43%. Airbus forecasts that air cargo will grow 3.6% per annum to 2038, meaning it will have doubled. Belly cargo will grow at a faster rate than main deck freight, at 4.3% compared to 2.8% per annum. As a result of the growth, Airbus says the dedicated freighter fleet will grow over 50% from 1,800 today to 2,800. North America will have the largest fleet with 40%, and Asia Pacific will have almost 30%, up from 20% today. A combination of 2,500 new build and converted freighters will be needed with 60% for replacements and 40% for growth. Of these, 850 are expected to be new builds. About 500 are forecast to be mid-sized freighters with 40-80 tonne payloads, and 360 will have payloads above 80 tonnes.

Christian Scherer, chief commercial officer of Airbus and head of Airbus International says: “People and goods want to connect. Globally, commercial aviation stimulates GDP growth and supports 65 million livelihoods, demonstrating the immense benefits our business brings to all societies and global trade.”

DHL Freight has opened a hub at the Airport Business Park in Langenhagen, handling all-in-one groupage “Euroconnect” and “Eurapid” day-definite services. The terminal at Hanover airport employs 290 people and DHL is also trialling technologies at the transhipment facility.

It houses 86 loading bays and the team of employees includes experts to assist national and international customers with customised solutions and transport management for the “Euronet” full truck load service. New technologies being tested include an electric manoeuvring assistant using augmented reality and automated steering to independently manoeuvre and swap bodies. Automated weight, volume and shipment data recording devices are being tested so data can be transferred to the transport management system within seconds. Uwe Brinks, CEO of DHL Freight says: “The opening of the new Hanover-Langenhagen freight terminal adds another important hub in European overland transport. The combination of a convenient location and innovative technologies makes this new future-oriented freight transhipment centre an important growth driver within our network.”

TELAIR International has launched the world’s first cargo loading system, allowing the lower deck of a narrow-body aircraft to be quickly converted for different cargo requirements. The system has been developed as a post-delivery modification or retrofit conversion for the Airbus A320 family, and Lufthansa Group has ordered more than 100 to be installed in A320/A321neos over six years from the second quarter of 2020.

DHL Freight opens Hanover Langenhagen all in one hub

Venter to succeed de Bok

HENDRIK Venter will take up the role of CEO of DHL Supply Chain for Mainland Europe, Middle East and Africa from 1 October. Succeeding Oscar de Bok, who will take over the board department DHL Supply Chain as member of the board of management at Deutsche Post DHL Group, Venter will be responsible for 25 different country markets. The 50-year-old says: “I am looking forward to this new challenge, and I am convinced that we will continue to forge DHL Supply Chain’s successful path in the region. Together with this outstanding team, we at DHL Supply Chain will continue to optimally support our customers with outstanding logistic services.”

ACWBITES

Rugby touches down in Japan

DHL Express has delivered 67 tonnes of gear, training equipment and commodities to Japan for all 20 participating nations for the Rugby World Cup. The world cup started on 20 September and continues until 2 November, and DHL has delivered the 67 tonnes in addition to over 432,000 tickets to more than 140 countries. John Pearson, chief executive officer of DHL Express says: “We are proud to be delivering logistics requirements for the third consecutive time for rugby’s pinnacle event - Rugby World Cup 2019 - a tournament we have been involved with since 2011 as an Official Logistics Partner.”

AIR cargo at Frankfurt Airport was down 5.2% to 173,100 tonnes in August as world trade experienced the biggest decline since the end of 2012. Airfreight was down 5.5% to 166,500 tonnes and airmail up 2.5% to 6,700 tonnes with an additional Saturday having a slightly positive impact on results. The trade conflict between the USA and China has hit air cargo volumes, as has the decline in manufacturing in the Euro zone, and German industry is suffering due to falling demand for automobiles and other industrial products. OLIVIER Casanova has been appointed group deputy chief financial officer of CMA CGM Group, and will also serve as chief financial officer of CEVA Logistics. He started his career in 1991 as an investment banker at SG Warburg/UBS before holding roles at Thomson, PSA Peugeot Citroen and sugar producer Tereos. A Viking DHC6-400 Twin Otter has gone missing in Indonesia, with search operations underway at the time of Air Cargo Week going to press. The aircraft, operated by Rimbun Air was flying between Timika-Moses Kilangin Airport to Ilaga Airport in Papua province when it was reported missing at around 11.30 on Wednesday 18 September. It was carrying three crew, one passenger and 1.7 tonnes of rice. CARGO throughput was down more than 10% in August, falling 11.5% to 382,000 tonnes. Transhipments were down 19% and imports by 15%, with Southeast Asia and Mainland China decreasing most significantly. PEGASUS Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo as part of a 100 Airbus order signed in 2012. The aircraft, TC-RBA joined the fleet on 11 September and was named Asem Zumra, continuing the airline’s tradition of naming them after newborn daughters of airline employees. QATAR Airways will open its third route to Japan with flights to Osaka from 6 April. The Airbus A350900 service will initially operate five times a week, then become daily from 23 June when Tuesday and Thursday flights are added.

Airway Bill’s Page 3 ACL Airshop Chief Encouragement Office Steve Townes took family members to the first home US football game at US military school West Point recently. One special guest was Paladin, the smallest of the three mules sponsored by Townes for the academy in recognition of his time with the US Rangers. Paladin and Ranger “III” will be on stadium mascot duty for the Academy. “The brass asked me to do a photo op at the sidelines. “The Mule Rider cadets themselves urged me to mount up and lead a cheer with the whole WHEN Townes was a Plebe Corps.....”maybe,” we shall see..,” noted Townes on (first year cadet), his first duty the night. West Point graduate and former infantry airwith the mules was to follow behind them in the stadium borne officer, Townes has agreed to sponsor the with a shovel and this bucket. army’s mules in perpetuity.

CARGO volumes at Brussels Airport fell by 8.7% in August to 52,269 tonnes. Total flown cargo volumes were down 6.3% to 40,126 tonnes with only belly cargo growing, up 2.7% to 13,646 tonnes. Full freighter volumes were down 17.1% to 9,962 tonnes and integrators by 5.7% to 16,519 tonnes. Trucked cargo was also down 15.8% to 12,143 tonnes.

THOMAS Ogilvie has had his contract on the supervisory board of Deutsche Post extended for five years until August 2025. Previously head of corporate development, Ogilvie has been labour director and board member of personnel since September 2017. Since 2018 he has also been member of the management board for corporate incubations. THE British Airlines Pilot Association has called off planned strikes scheduled for Friday 27 September in the dispute between British Airways and its pilots. They went on strike on 9 and 10 September, and have warned that if BA “refuse meaningful new negotiations”, further strikes may happen.

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ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

Extravagant opening ceremony for cargo-partner’s iLogistics Center CARGO-PARTNER has celebrated the opening of its iLogistics Center near Ljubljana Airport with a gala dinner on 12 September. The logistics centre started operating in August, and after one month of successful operations, the opening celebration was hosted with more than 300 guests. The evening kicked off with speeches by CEO Stefan Krauter and managing director in Slovenia Viktor Kastelic, as well as Austrian ambassador to Slovenia Sigrid Berka and Slovenia’s deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure, Alenka Bratušek. The iLogistics Center project team was invited on stage to thank them for their work, before a gala dinner accompanied by a light show, live music by jazz band Perpetuum Jazzile and a dance show with parcels led by choreographer Miha Krušič. Krauter says: “With its favourable geostrategic position, Slovenia is a natural connection between Central and Southeast Europe. In addition, the ports of Koper and Trieste provide an important connecting point to Asia and the Mediterranean. This major investment will further solidify our strong network and long-standing expertise in Central and Eastern Europe and pro-

vide the ideal basis for our continuing growth.” The centre has 25,000 sq m of warehouse space with 44 truck loading docks and more than 20,000 pallet slots. It offers a 6,000 sq m small parts store and handling area as well as 5,000 sq m of cross-dock and block storage space, with an additional 8,000 sq m storage building to be added at a later stage. The centre has 4,000 sq m of office space, and Kastelic says: “With its open and modern design, our office environment offers various informal break-out areas where colleagues can get together for spontaneous collaboration. In addition, a cafeteria,

terrace and balconies provide further spaces for relaxation and creative communication. Our staff has greeted the new working environment with great enthusiasm, which I am especially pleased with.”

U-Freight screens cargo away from airport U-FREIGHT Group has become one of the first freight forwarders in Hong Kong to be allowed to screen air cargo away from the airport. The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has certified U-Freight’s hub as a Regulated Air Cargo Screening Facility, as part of a scheme to ease pressure at Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo terminals. RACSF was launched in October 2018 to screen air cargo at off-airport sites in order to meet industry security checks for all airfreight shipments by 30 June 2021. Over two years ago, U-Freight installed an X-ray machine at its Golden Bear Industrial Centre, giving staff time to gain experience in scanning and identify prohibited or suspicious products in e-commerce parcels.

A second enhanced X-ray machine was installed in July 2019, capable of scanning consignments up to pallet size. U-Freight modified its export operations warehouse to accommodate the existing X-ray machine as well as the new one. Simon Wong, chief executive officer of U-Freight Group says: “The establishment of off-airport screening facilities in Hong Kong will enable air cargoes to be screened at the existing warehouses or similar premises of the air cargo industry before such cargoes are transported to the airport for loading onto aircraft. We were very keen to capitalise on this opportunity, so it is great news that we have become one of the first freight forwarders and logistics companies to have been accredited by CAD.”

PAUL Carmody has been appointed managing director – UK cargo at Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), taking responsibility for all cargo operations in the UK. Previously the head of UK operations, Carmody has extensive cargo handling industry experience having worked at Menzies Aviation

in Canada and the USA before joining WFS in 2009. Carmody will report directly to executive vice president cargo – Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, John Batten and look after 600,000 tonnes per annum for 40 airline customers at facilities in London, Manchester, Glasgow and regional airports. Saying that Carmody deserves his promotion, Batten says: “Led by WFS’ core values and our number one priority of delivering the highest standards of safety, security and service, Paul will be responsible for building on our long-term success in the UK cargo handling market by ensuring we consistently meet the expectations of our growing airline customer portfolio.”

Carmody to lead WFS’s UK operations

ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

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Jettainer gets lucky with one year without damage

Bob Rogers, vice president of ULD Care says: “We are very pleased to see that this test run with Jettainer turned out so positively. It becomes evident that our rules actually have a very positive impact on the handling of ULDs and consequently on the reduction of repair costs.” Jettainer has been training ULD-X-Perts, with a focus on ground staff handling and storing ULDs properly. The ULD management company has also entered into a co-operation with Airport College International, offering training courses for airline employees, ground handling agents and freight forwarders to use ULDs correctly and reduce damage. Pertti Mero, Airport College International CEO says: “We believe that this co-operation provides us a unique possibility to work closely with Jettainer to promote and sell our online unit load device operations training courses.”

ne year after being presented on the ULD Care Conference last year, Jettainer’s “Lucky ULD” has completed 86 flights passing though 18 countries without being damaged. Lucky’s global tour was to highlight the need to handle ULDs with care, as improper handling causes millions of dollars of avoidable damage a year. During the journey, Lucky was cordially received at all destinations and served as a photo motif, drawing attention to the golden rules of ULD handling. Frank Mühlenkamp, director of global operations at Jettainer and ULD Care board member says: “Putting huge emphasis on the proper handling of ULDs as well as training and qualifying the staff adequately is the key influencing factor to prevent damage from happening. In this way, it is possible to save repair costs and keep the assets in service.”

Bigger office for ACS in Madrid

Find your perfect match with skypooling SKYPOOLING has introduced 2.0 to enable users to quickly share containers and pallets used to prevent over or understocking of ULDs. The upgrade was introduced at the ULD Care Annual Conference in Montreal, Canada which took place 17 – 19 September, and offers a more user-friendly interface to simplify usage. New features include an auto-matching function to automatically match airlines with similar over and understock for more than 50 airlines. The communication area in the system has been expanded so that in addition to inquiries and coordination, bookings can be made directly on the platform, with all functions available on smartphones and tablets.

Christine Klemmer, general manager of skypooling says: “In the future, there will be many more solutions to find on the platform that will make ULD sharing even more easy and comfortable. skypooling therefore will become an essential work tool for many ULD controllers and will help them to save time, effort and costs. Due to the avoidance of empty runs, the CO2 balance of the airlines will improve as well.” Martin Kraemer, head of marketing and PR for skypooling says: “skypooling’s new design and additional features are just the first step among many more to improve the platform and its services to become the leading place for ULD sharing.”

AIR Charter Service is doubling its presence in Madrid with a larger office in the Spanish capital city. The new office is in the same building but a few floors below, and managing director of the office, James Fitzgerald says business in Spain has grown every year since it opened in 2008. He says: “This is an exciting step for ACS Spain – this year we have added several new faces to our team, to help us to build on last year’s impressive growth. We had our most successful year ever in 2018, our tenth anniversary, and we are currently surpassing that this year in terms of charter numbers, revenue and margin.”

Air New Zealand keeps track of ULDs

Aid keeps flying into the Bahamas

AIR New Zealand is keeping track of its ULD fleet through the use of the Descartes Core Unit Load Device Tracking solution. The next-generation Bluetooth-enabled solution helps carriers automate freight tracking, increase operating efficiencies and improve asset management by providing real-time visibility. Using mobile technology, carriers scan Bluetooth tags fixed to ULDs prior to loading, with the Descartes Core Bluetooth Low Energy network providing accurate location information and other data such as temperature, move-

LATAM Cargo has provided an aircraft to transport 35 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian. The chartered Boeing 767-300BCF was flown to Nassau and carried medicines, medical instruments, sanitary and edible items from Miami. The aid was collected by the UPS Foundation, and was distributed among hospitals and foundations on the islands. Andres Bianchi, CEO of LATAM Cargo says: “The Humanitarian Relief Plane is a true reflection of the LATAM Group’s desire to contribute to our community through concrete actions,

ment, humidity, light and fire. Jonathon Dale, manager commercial – cargo commercial and ventures at Air New Zealand says that with the growth of e-commerce, traditional manual practices are no longer sufficient. He says: “With the Descartes system, we now have a digital solution to identify the exact location of an air freight container and the status of its load at any given moment. The ability to continuously and automatically track air freight is a powerful boost to customer service and helps to significantly reduce the costs of air cargo operations.” Ian Craig, vice president – product management at Descartes Systems Group says: “With the broadest reach and network coverage in the industry, and the ability to tag and track ULDs in real-time, air carriers have the means to provide customers with the accurate and real-time cargo updates they are demanding in an era where the ability to report on the movement of goods has never been more critical to supply chain operations.”

acting when we’re needed the most. As we have done before in other countries in Latin America, we continue to be available for collaboration in mitigating the suffering of those most affected by natural disasters.” British Airways has assisted with the clear up by flying in aid workers and logistics experts from humanitarian organisations including the British Red Cross, Team Rubicon and Rescue Global. IAG Cargo has partnered with humanitarian organisation Airlink and aid organisation Mercy Corps to fly large shipments of lifesaving supplies including shelter repair materials, clean water supplies and other essential items. The airline has also made a financial contribution to the British Red Cross Disaster Fund to support the response. Luis Sfeir-Younis, global response manager at the British Red Cross says: “It is critical that we move fast when responding to disasters like Hurricane Dorian, and British Airways has helped ensure we can do just that.”

Nothing fishy about transparency in seafood shipments ON Friday 6 September, a batch of Scottish salmon arrived in Dubai transported for Seafood Souq, a start-up working on transparent sourcing of seafood. The shipment flew on flight EK28 from Glasgow for the Dubai based start-up, which has created an online B2B marketplace helping seafood buyers procure products from across the world. The application allows improved quality and traceability of the produce being transported, with better information sharing facilitated by fewer instances of mis-labelling and expiry of

seafood. Seafood Souq entered the partnership with Emirates SkyCargo to transport seafood, initially focusing on markets such as Norway, Cyprus, Chile, USA and Scotland to customers in the UAE and the Middle East. Sean Dennis, CEO of co-founder Seafood Souq says: “The core aim of Seafood Souq is to provide access to fresh products in the quickest possible time by connecting customers to suppliers and allowing produce to be dispatched on the day that the order is received. Working with Emirates SkyCargo was the naturally obvious choice

for us because of the network and frequency of flights offered by them.” Dennis Lister, vice president of cargo commercial development at Emirates says: “Our Emirates Fresh product is designed for the rapid and efficient transport of seafood and other perishables. With our modern aircraft and other equipment including dedicated Emirates Fresh Cool Dollies, Emirates White Covers and a state of the art hub in Dubai with extensive cool chain facilities, we are well positioned to support Seafood Souq as they continue to grow.”

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ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

NEWS Swedavia sells holding in Landvetter Logistik Center SWEDAVIA has sold its 50% holding in Landvetter Logistik Center, making a capital gain of around 100 million krona ($10.3 million). Bockasjö, which already owns half of the shares has bought the Swedish airport operator’s share, with the transfer happening on 13 September. Landvetter Logistik Center was formed in 2015 by Swedavia and Bockasjö to develop logistics properties at Gothenburg Landvetter Airport as part of Swedavia’s investment in Airport City Göteborg. Three logistics properties have been built and all the premises with about 90,000 sq m of floor space leased to tenants including PostNord, Dawa Däck and Rajapack. Jonas Abrahamsson, president and CEO of Swedavia says: “The first logistics park at Gothenburg Landvetter Airport has now been completed, which is an important milestone that confirms the potential of our investment in Airport City Göteborg. The sale is another example of our successful strategy to create value through property development in order to reinvest in the com-

petitiveness of our airports.” One of the three logistics properties was sold to Bockasjö in August, with the capital gain from selling Swedavia’s holding in the joint venture worth 80 million krona and another 20 million krona from selling the logistics property.

Joakim Hedin, CEO of Bockasjö and CEO of Landvetter Logistik Center says: “The location at Gothenburg Landvetter Airport is optimal. We are situated in the middle of a logistics hub, close to air transport, to Gothenburg, to the harbour and also to major road networks.”

Swissport dreams of electric future SWISSPORT aims to increase the share of electric vehicles in its fleet to at least 50% to reduce its carbon footprint and improve the working environment for its employees. The handling agent is investing in electrically powered vehicles, with the number in its fleet growing from 925 to 2,420 between 2016 and 2018, including electrical cargo lifters and battery-powered aircraft pushback tractors. Part of the investment in ground support equipment is the introduction of telematic systems to optimise utilisation and reduce fuel consumption. Investing in electric vehicles can reduce fossil fuel consumption and the carbon footprint by 40% at some airports, eliminate harmful exhaust emissions and noise pollution.

Eric Born, president and CEO of Swissport International says: “Sustainable business contributes to positive results and to value creation, increasing our flexibility to invest in environmentally friendly equipment and in social matters. With our ambitious multi-year fleet modernisation program, Swissport will further raise the share of electrically powered vehicles to at least 50% by 2025 and continue to reduce its carbon footprint.”

AMAZON is expanding in Texas with the opening of its regional air hub at Fort Worth Alliance Airport in October. The regional air hub is the first build-to-suit airport project in the Amazon Air network and is designed to support larger scale regional needs including sorting and infrastructure for multiple daily flights. The online giant expects to create 300 new

full-time jobs as operations reach full capacity. Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air says: “We are excited to start flying to and from our new facility at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport very soon – this facility will allow us to offer even more selection and faster delivery to our customers. This is our latest investment in Texas and we look forward to hiring top talent from the local community.”

Amazon to open Fort Worth regional hub

ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

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FTA: Expand Heathrow for the sake of post-Brexit trading

ith the conclusion of the public consultation on Heathrow Airport’s third runway, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is pushing for expansion for the sake of post-Brexit trade. The consultation was closed on 13 September, and Heathrow is analysing the feedback to shape final plans for expansion. They will be submitted as part of its application to the Planning Inspectorate in 2020, with the decision to grant a Development Consent Order being made by the Secretary of State for Transport following public examination. Alex Veitch, head of multimodal policy at FTA says the association was thrilled when the government backed the third runway because it gave airfreight the opportunity to grow, and is essential to achieve post-Brexit global trading aspirations. He says: “The Airport Expansion Consultation lays out a comprehensive airport growth strategy which supports and expands the nation’s trading opportunities: FTA is urging the Department for Transport (DfT) to support Heathrow Limited’s ambition so it

can press ahead with construction.” Under the proposals, a Heathrow Ultra-Low Emission Zone will be introduced by 2022 to fine passenger or private hire vehicles

No need to resort to perishable flights

THE British government is committed to keeping ferry freight moving between the UK and Continent after Brexit and there should be no need for retailers to resort to airfreight to maintain supplies of fresh food. However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has included air gateways in its port-by-port assessment of capacity and necessary resources will be put in place if needed, said a spokesman in an off-the-record briefing. The comments came after a major UK retailer was reported in the press as saying that it could resort to airfreight if chaotic ports made it impossible to deliver perishable commodities from the continent in time. Steve Murrells, chief executive of supermarket Co-op told The Guardian newspaper that the company would use airfreight to import

fresh fruit if need be. His comments came as the Government published the latest issue of its ‘Yellowhammer’ report detailing the possible effects of a no deal Brexit that suggested that trucks could face delays of over two days to cross the Channel. According to sources, HMRC has identified a small number of airports that would have capacity to handle extra flights should they be required. However, Transitional Simplified Procedures will be put in place to enable customs clearances to take place away from key ports and airports in the majority of cases and efforts are ongoing to encourage businesses to put the necessary procedures in place, including appointing customs clearance agents in some cases.

European airports down 2.3% in July FREIGHT volumes were down 2.3% in July across European airports, with the decline in the European Union cancelling out growth outside, Airports Council International (ACI) Europe reports. EU airports were down 3.1% while non-EU airports were up 1.4%. Amongst the top 10 airports, Madrid was the best performer, growing 8.4%, followed by Frankfurt at 1.3%. Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe says: “Passenger traffic is no longer de-

fying economic gravity and the performance gap with freight traffic is narrowing. Beyond economic and geopolitical factors, this reflects airlines being much more cautious about capacity growth and new route openings.” Among the top airports, Frankfurt Airport was up 1.3% to 168,773 tonnes, while Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport was down 4.1% to 156,448 tonnes. London Heathrow Airport was down 6.9% to 130,589 tonnes and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol by 10.5% to 129,143 tonnes.

not meeting emission standards. Natalie Chapman, head of urban policy at the FTA says while supporting the need to improve air quality, it is right to exclude freight vehicles from the scheme. She says: “Environmentally friendly HGVs and vans are already flooding the market and HGVs will be subject to a tightening of the London-wide Low Emission Zone from next year. As such, including freight vehicles within the HULEZ would present no long-term benefit to air quality.” Heathrow says polling by Populus shows that more local residents support expanding the airport than oppose growth in 16 out of 18 Parliamentary constituencies including Uxbridge and South Ruislip, which is represented by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is well-known for being opposed to expansion. Emma Gilthorpe, executive director of Heathrow Expansion says: “It is great to see that local support for expansion continues to remain high. Thousands of local people recognise the benefits this project will bring, including new jobs, apprenticeships, improved green space, better transport networks and enhanced environmental mitigation programmes.”

Amazon helps rock cargo in Chicago CHICAGO’s Rockford airport led the way for growth in 2018 among larger airports, with volumes increasing more than 50%. Figures from Airports Council International say Rockford was the fastest growing airport handling over 250,000 tonnes per year, with an increase of 56.6% to 306,332 tonnes. The growth was driven by making itself an e-commerce hub for online retail giant Amazon. The other airports experiencing large growth spurts were Nairobi Airport in Kenya growing 25.2% to 342,579 tonnes, Liege Airport in Belgium up 21.6% to 871,596 tonnes, Xi’an Airport in China up 20.3% to 312,639 tonnes and Philadelphia Airport in the USA up 20% to 503,766 tonnes. Hong Kong International Airport remained

the world’s busiest air cargo hub with 1.5% to 5.1 million tonnes, followed by Memphis International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

myMALLORY provides transparency MALLORY Alexander International Logistics has launched a supply chain management application, myMALLORY for tracking and tracing across all modes of transport. The app provides real-time, 24/7 updates and notifications to authorised users for shipments being managed by Mallory Alexander Operations Team. It also provides the latest industry news updates, as well as contact details for branch offices. Terry Maready, chief information officer of

Mallory Alexander says: “Customers are more tech-savvy and tech-demanding, and myMALLORY brings together the latest technology with our longstanding logistics expertise to meet their requirements in a mobile environment.” Future updates to the app will include order management capabilities as well as access to shipment documentation, providing users with digital versions of documents such as bills of lading, commercial invoices and packing lists on their mobile devices.

AIS users work with CCS-UK for automatic updates TWO users of the Advance Information System (AIS) module are working with CCS-UK and CCS-UK User Group to provide forwarders and hauliers with automatic status updates. Handling agents dnata and ASC can provide agents and hauliers at Heathrow Airport delivering or collecting cargo with regular updates direct into their system or via the AIS portal. Processing within the transit shed system triggers the update, which are sent when the truck driver reports to the handling agent’s reception, when the vehicle is positioned on the dock, when off-loading or loading commences and finishes, and when the vehicle departs. Occasional users can access updates via the AIS portal and regular users are encouraged to integrate the AIS module into their own management system. Haulier Wallenborn makes frequent deliveries

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to Heathrow transit sheds, and commercial director Jason Breakwell says: “The automatic updates provided by AIS are immensely helpful in planning our complex operations. They are yet another reason why all transit shed operators at Heathrow, and all agents and hauliers sending trucks to the terminal, should start using AIS. It speeds up the whole process of collections and deliveries, and benefits the whole community.” Steve Parker (pictured), chairman of CCS-UK User Group says: “AIS is already making a significant difference to airport delivery and collection operations, enabling agents and hauliers to recover their vehicles much more quickly. We would urge more shed operators to adopt AIS: it’s a smarter way of working that will help reduce peak-time congestion. AIS can be a service differentiator: eventually, choice of carrier for a forwarder could be dictated by whether their handler uses AIS or not.”

ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

CARGO HANDLING TRENDS

Hermes drives digitalisation at Bratislava

Digitalisation, data-mining and greening the apron

are trends that many in the cargo handling

sector are encountering.

ccording to Jacek Lechocki, head of products and service, Hermes Logistics Technologies (HLT) the gap between “digital and paper” in air cargo handling has been

bridged. “We improved the data input process and enabled printing of House Air Waybills (HAWB) for sharing with agents, bridging the

gap between digital and paper,” said Lechocki. HLT has helped Slovakia-based ground handler, CHS Trade to digitalise its cargo processes at Bratislava Airport with its Hermes 5 (H5) Cloud Cargo Management System (CMS). CHS Trade is using H5 to digitise its Air Waybills and digitalise planning and data sharing processes with partners. “Our customers have been asking us to use an advanced cargo management system that can handle complex tasks like sending multiple event messages across the handling process,” said Ctirad Emody, CEO, CHS Trade. “We switched to Hermes 5 because the system can handle both context-based data and event reporting, and the Hermes team are very open-minded and flexible to the customisation needs we have as a small operation.” H5 is offered as Software as a Service (SaaS),

and is hosted via Amazon Web Services (AWS), and accessed online through a virtual private network (VPN), which removes the need for on-site infrastructure expenditure. “CHS Trade’s version of H5 was customised to enable the digitalisation of their current process,” said Lechocki. The implementation was completed in under six months due to the flexibility of Hermes team who worked weekends to fit CHS Trade staff schedules. H5’s features offer multiple configuration options to suit small, medium and large cargo handling organisations. Following H5’s global rollout last year, the cargo management system has been adopted by airports and ground handlers across the globe, including Hanoi Airport, RSA National and LuxairCARGO.

H5 went live at CHS Trade’s facility in Bratislava, Slovakia

How green is my airfreight? SWEDISH freight forwarder Scanlog has for several years been keen on the concept of “responsible logistics” says the Malmö-based operation. “For several years, we have been working on the concept of Responsible Logistics with a focus on reducing the environmental impact of transportation,” notes Mattias Ljungberg, CEO. “We optimise routing, capacity utilisation and, not at, least transport modes. Thanks to this we have become a major rail freight operator. We are also one of the major airfreight forwarders in Sweden and now we want to take a step towards reducing the climate impact of aviation.” The aviation sector’s CO2 emissions are small in relation to other sectors’ emissions, but CO2

emissions per transported unit are considerably higher than for other modes of transport. Scanlog always offsets the CO2 emissions from airfreight handled for customers since July by investing in projects certified according to the international standards Gold Standard and CCBS (Climate & Community Biodiversity Standard). The carbon offsetting also contributes to sustainable ecological and social development in the regions where the projects are and contributes to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. “We are the first logistics company in Sweden, and probably in the world, who now always carbon offsets all airfreight we handle without cost to our customers,” says Ljungberg.

Labonne to share digital insights ALEX Labonne, Hermes’ chief technology officer (CTO) will be sharing insights and expertise into data and digitalisation at ACHL in Paris, on September 25 this week. Data, digitalisation, and efficiency are the heart of Hermes cargo management systems (CMS) and these topics will be topping the agenda at the Air Cargo Handling Logistics (ACHL) event in Paris, from September 24 to 26. Labonne, will be giving a presentation on how events, instead of data, can “give you a crystal ball insight at every point of your cargo handling process.” ‘Events over data’, and ‘how to make your own crystal ball’ will take place on Wednesday, 25 September at 11:50. Alex will also be speaking on a panel to discuss the pace of digitalisation, the financial

ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

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repercussions of companies who have not embraced it and whether the logistics industry is too resistant to innovation.

ONE RECORD

A TALE OF TWO STANDARDS Henk Mulder, Head, Digital Cargo, IATA

he air cargo industry has been driving the adoption of the e-AWB for more than a decade and although a penetration of 60% on feasible trade lanes is not a wholehearted victory, it is a fairly accurate measure of the state of digitisation of airlines and forwarders.

e can all agree that more is needed but let us not belittle this progress either. Since the end of 2017, IATA has now been working on the next generation of digital cargo: ONE Record, a standard for direct data sharing between air cargo stakeholders. This uses modern web standards for data exchange as well as a smart approach to data modeling. Before we look at the ins and outs of ONE Record, let’s get one question out of the way: why should the industry pursue a new digital cargo standard when e-AWB has not reached 100% usage yet? The answer lies in the way that technologies are developed. When e-freight was introduced as an industry objective at the start of 2006, there was the hope that the industry could achieve full e-freight capability within half a decade. We now know that for e-AWB it will have taken about 15 years to be deployed. This is a trend that underpins every new technology: there is a significant lag between the emergence and the full usage of the new technology and this lag is measured in decades... This means that if we want to

ensure that air cargo continues to pursue digital innovation then we must have developed tomorrow’s standards today to ensure that the transport industry can use them fully at the latest by 2030! This also means that whilst the e-laggards in e-AWB are still dithering on ditching paper processes, the digital leaders will be transacting their business using modern data sharing standards like ONE Record within a few years. Our industry will always run different generations of technologies in parallel. ONE Record is a standard for exchanging data directly between air cargo stakeholders. In that sense it adds to the democratisation of information since there is no need for thirdparty service providers to act as information brokers. In a way ONE Record takes a page out of the World Wide Web playbook where anyone can create a website and share information with anyone else. The result will be that instead of the EDI hub and spoke model, ONE Record creates networks where information flows directly between stakeholders.

you only need one browser. That is because every website uses exactly the same API known as the HTTP and HTML. ONE Record also specifies a single API for every system that wants to connect to any other system and access data. Which brings us to URLs. ONE Record uses URLs for accessing data anywhere. In fact, every relevant piece of information in air cargo has its own unique URL, whether that is an air waybill for a specific shipment or just the address of the consignee or even the contents of the box we’re shipping. All data is accessible through a URL. That’s really neat because it means that instead of communicating electronic documents to our transport partners, we just need to give them a URL and they can then pick up the data whenever they wish. Data stays where it is created. To make sure that the data we wish to share is understandable, ONE Record uses smart data models that are based on an ontology. Think of an ontology as “the language of cargo”. This means that data model will tell its own story. Even if you don’t know what a specific data element means or represents, the data itself includes all the context that will explain it to you. This is crucial in a world where we are increasingly connecting

Whilst the e-laggards in e-AWB are still dithering on ditching paper processes, the digital leaders will be transacting their business using modern data sharing standards

Single API for every system

Another page from the web’s playbook is the specification of a standard API. When you want to browse any of two billion websites in the world,

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many business domains that each “speak” their own and often different language.

Data security

Data security is critical to every system these days. ONE Record has a security model that allows you to identify with certainty who you are sharing data with and whether or not want to provide that data or just part of it, or not. It is worth underlining that ONE Record is not a global platform for data sharing. ONE Record is a specification for making any system, including your system, compatible with any other system. It specifies universal connectivity and compatibility for an “internet of logistics”. We are sometimes asked by the e-laggards: why shouldn’t we skip e-AWB and wait for ONE Record instead? Well, if you don’t implement e-AWB and therefore haven’t introduced electronic processes and systems yet, the power of digital technologies in your business is likely to trip you up. It’s like buying roller skates before you can walk. Don’t skip e-AWB, our industry must reach 100% e-AWB, and soon! As the old Nike ad said: Just do it… The ONE Record data sharing standard is at the start of a very exciting journey and the 50 companies from across the supply chain that are developing this are highly engaged. In 2019, the air cargo industry will see some 20 companies implementing ONE Record on their systems and creating the start of a new data network, that will grow into a global Internet of Logistics that will spark an era of innovation in air cargo digitalisation.

ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

THAILAND

Three years of smiles for AVS GSA

aving joined the ECS Group network in 2016, managing director of AVS GSA Thailand, Chirasak Chandratat is delighted with the partnership. The subsidiary of ECS Group for Thailand is the GSA for 12 online airlines, one offline and in charge of total cargo management for two airlines, Nok Air and NokScoot Airlines. Two more airlines are managed under ECS Group’s Total Cargo Management (TCM) contract, TUI Group and Thomas Cook Airlines in and out of Phuket. Expressing his delight in joining the ECS family, Chandratat tells Air Cargo Week: “We have been able to contribute and render a high quality of services to all airline customers with our great sales and operations teams. The partnership has been highlighted by seamless service products through the successful and efficient linking of networks under ECS Group.” As an ECS Group subsidiary, AVS GSA Thailand offers all the services and digital tools developed in-house, with the Thai team offering capacity sales. Chandratat says: “They are able to offer 24 hours of operational services at both Don Muang International Airport and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport with compliance to all airline’s procedures.” The team also offer customs formalities, road feeder links between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi airports. TCM expertise gives customers customised services covering an airline’s every need.

products requiring special care such as durian, live tropical fish, mangoes, fresh vegetables and diplomatic goods. Adding that this includes shipments from interline partners, Chandratat says: “The ECS Group network is a real asset. The

One airline that has been enjoying the ECS treatment is NokScoot, the low-cost medium and long-haul joint venture between Nok Air and Scoot, which started doing business with the GSA in January. Chandratat says both ECS Group and NokScoot have supported each other to meet revenue, tonnage and service quality targets. He says: “There were some unavoidable circumstances such as the economic down turn in our region, over capacities, fierce rate competition and trade conflict between China and USA that great impact to air transportation but ECS Group has worked very hard to compete. Despite having to overcome these obstacles we are highly satisfied with our team’s performance.” AVS GSA has co-ordinated with the NokScoot team to receive

NokScoot may be a budget carrier, but from a cargo perspective, there is no difference in terms of service it receives. Chandratat says: “The market rate is the main criteria for customers to choose their carrier and that competitive rates may changes with demand, supply and quality of services during a particular period.” He adds: “Our main challenge has been how to convince customers to change the airport of loading to Don Muang instead of Suvarnabhumi. More than that, it is linking their network which has limited abilities with our existing network to increase the potential of NokScoot to compete with competing airlines.” The air cargo market in Thailand has been impacted by the China-US trade tensions, with Thai exports dependent on China’s

The ECS treatment for NokScoot

ACW 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

supply chain seeing a decline. Long holidays in Japan have also affected Thailand’s exports, as it is one of the largest markets for agricultural, electronic and automotive parts. Rates are also low due to overcapacity and the strength of the Thai baht have hit exports. Chandratat says the decline appears to be slowing and exports are doing well compared to Thailand’s neighbours, and there are still opportunities to expand to markets in the Middle East, Europe and the USA. He says: “These circumstances have an impact on our business in Thailand. Nonetheless, ECS Group is performing better overall than the trends seen in our industry. Like any other subsidiaries of ECS Group, we pay a great deal of attention to ensuring that we are working on managing costs, in particular cost savings, and optimising revenue.”

US-China trade tension hitting Thailand

principal is very happy with our quick development and progress. Eventually, the revenue and transportation weight reveal bigger than recent periods prior to ECS Group joining this Total Cargo Management with NokScoot.”

High quality of service

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With the global economy slowing and no end in sight for the China-US trade conflict, Chandratat does not see growth picking up this year. The stronger baht is also stifling economic expansion. The second half of the year is the high season for tourism, so airlines are planning to add capacity on routes primarily to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. He says: “This typically causes more space for export from Thailand and an oversupply and hard to develop yield as per the aforementioned reason.” If the issues are resolved, Chandratat foresees the market picking up, but if not, then exports from Thailand will grow slowly or remain static. There is good news, he says: “The Thai government is working very hard to encourage export from Thailand for all modes of transportation and all kinds of products either industrial or agriculture goods. This is being done through proposed tax-cuts for companies willing to relocate their production to Thailand.” For GSSAs, Chandratat says the best opportunities come from new airlines with smaller fleets operating fewer frequencies. He says: “They may decide not to invest in human resources or other necessities but will consider good representation in a quality GSSA to run their business in Thailand. In this regard, we may conclude that the GSSA business still has good opportunities in the Thailand market environment.”

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