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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,069

24 February 2020

Delta’s billion-dollar thank you

More Cuba Libre for Virgin Cargo in 2020

Page 8

INSIDE BLOOMIN’ GOOD WORK

FOR St Valentine’s day, AFKLMP Cargo shipped almost 3,000 tonnes of flowers to Europe from leading production and export countries ... PAGE 2

THREE DECADES

EMIRATES SkyCargo is marking the 30th anniversary of its operations to the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since February ...

irgin Atlantic Cargo will reinforce its position as the only airline flying directly to Havana from London Heathrow by adding another weekly service to the city. Flights will depart Heathrow every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday on a 787-9 aircraft. The airline will also launch a new daily Heathrow-Cape Town service from October 2020. As Virgin Atlantic celebrates 24 years of services to South Africa, the introduction of Cape Town flights from Heathrow for the winter season will offer new export and import opportunities for customers already supporting Virgin Atlantic’s existing double daily services from Heathrow to Johannesburg. The 787-9 service will commence on 25th October. South Africa is one of Virgin Atlantic’s most popular cargo routes, attracting regular shipments of pre-packed fruit salads, vegetables, stone fruits and fish as well as car parts, computer and electrical components, mining equipment, pharmaceuticals,

“We are pleased to be offering more capacity for customers moving goods to and from Havana.” Kennedy

books and magazines. In March, Johannesburg will also be the first non-US route to begin services with the airline’s new Airbus A350-1000. The VS478 will operate as a night flight departing Heathrow at 16:20 arriving into Cape Town at 05:55 whereas the inbound, the VS479, will depart at 08:00 landing later that day at 18:00. The winter flying enhancements are in addition to Virgin Atlantic’s new daily services from Heathrow to Sao Paulo, second daily Delhi flights and increased Heathrow-San Francisco flights, which all take-off at the end of March. Virgin Atlantic Cargo

PAGE 3 WFS PARIS CDG IATA CEIV

is also marketing the cargo capacity of Virgin Australia’s new daily Brisbane- Tokyo Haneda flights, which start on 29 March. Dominic Kennedy, managing director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said: “This year, with the growth of our flying programme and our new expanded joint venture with Air France-KLM and Delta, we’re giving our cargo customers unprecedented access to new markets, new gateways in existing markets and extra frequencies. “South Africa is a great cargo market and the addition of Cape Town to our network, alongside the launch of A350 flights to Johannesburg, will increase the choice we can offer our customers in the UK and South Africa as well as those in the US who trade with South Africa via our London hub. “We are also pleased to be offering more capacity for customers moving goods to and from Havana. 2020 is an exciting year for Virgin and our customers.”

WESTERN Sydney International Airport will have the potential to handle 1.8 million freight tonnes a year in the 2050s, after entering ... PAGE 4

ECS’S FORWARD THINKING

ADRIEN Thominet, Chief Executive Officer of ECS Group, talks to ACW’s Yasmin Turner about the GSSA and their plans for the future ... PAGE 6

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NEWSWEEK

Cargolux awarded ‘Best Developing Freight Operator 2019’ by Budapest

argolux has received the “Best Developing Freighter Operator 2019” award at the annual Budapest airport award ceremony. After 18 years of co-operation between BUD airport and Europe’s leading all-cargo carrier, 2019 cemented the two entities’ long-standing collaboration. Cargolux doubled its weekly frequencies from three to six scheduled services and introduced a new direct route from Zhengzhou Airport, the carrier’s second hub in China. “Cargolux is honoured to have received this award, a reflection of our years of successful collaboration with Budapest airport. We continue to build on our common achievements and look forward to more interesting developments in the future”, says Domenico Ceci, EVP sales and marketing Cargolux Airlines. “2019 was a significant year for us in terms of cargo operations and the opening of BUD Cargo City in November was a milestone. With Cargolux we can count on an excellent partnership since 2002 that keeps growing and opening up to new opportunities”, says René Droese, chief property and cargo officer at Budapest Airport. In 2002, Cargolux was the first cargo carrier to offer flights into Budapest.

Cargolux: ‘Best Developing Freighter Operator 2019’ by Budapest airpor

Everything came up roses for AFKLMP

or St Valentine’s day, AFKLMP Cargo shipped about 3,000 tonnes of flowers to Europe from leading production and export countries over a two-week period in January and February. The majority of the flowers shipped mainly concern the famous roses from Kenya, Ecuador and Colombia. Using Boeing 747-400 full-freighters and combi-aircraft, the carrier was able to generate ample main deck capacity to and from three main flower starting points of Nairobi, Quito, and Bogotá. What’s more, the bellies of long-haul passenger aircraft and interline partners are well suited to carrying flowers to Europe. The greatest share of AFKLMP Cargo capacity is mainly intended to supply the European – primarily Dutch, English, Italian, French and Russian – and Asian, most nota-

bly Japanese, markets. Transporting flowers is a delicate process. The quicker they are handled throughout the chain, the longer they will maintain their beauty. During the flight, the airline respects their delicate nature by constantly maintaining them within optimal temperature range. To move flowers and plants seamlessly from grower to wholesaler, Royal FloraHolland, Schiphol Cargo, and Air France KLM Martinair Cargo have initiated the Holland Flower Alliance, an ambitious group of floricultural logistics professionals dedicated to the pursuit of innovation and sustainability in the floral supply chain. Amsterdam remains Europe’s logistics centre for the flower market, with Schiphol Airport as the world’s preferred Flower Hub, connecting all key production and consumer markets.

FROM January 29 to February 13, demand for Valentine’s Day flowers marks one of the busiest seasons for American Airlines Cargo, and team members around the world rose to the occasion this year. On average, the airline ships more than one million lbs of flowers during this time each year. And the floral love keeps on growing, especially in Amsterdam. This year American moved 417 tonnes of cut flowers from the Dutch capital, or 920,000 lbs. – a 15% increase over the 358 tonnes (790,000 lbs.) of flowers moved in 2019.

From the farm to the famous Aalsmeer flower auction, exporters buy the blooms to send off around the world. From there, American either flies them directly to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) or trucks them to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to be flown to destinations such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. While Amsterdam and London are both top exporters for the Valentine’s rush, Miami also plays a large role in flower traffic during this time of year.

American Airlines cargo delivers over a million pounds of love

Pelican BioThermal opens Toronto network station PELICAN BioThermal, a key player in temperature-controlled packaging, has opened a network station in Toronto to service its Crēdo on Demand rental programme. “Canada has become one of the leaders in clinical trials in recent years and Toronto is one of its top logistics hubs,” said Dominic Hyde, vice president of Crēdo on Demand at Pelican BioThermal.

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“Canadian clinical trial and life sciences companies now have access to a high performance, flexible rental option for temperature-controlled containers in close proximity to where they develop and innovate.” The Toronto network station joins Pelican BioThermal’s growing system of more than 100 network stations and drop points around the world.

Emirates SkyCargo marks 30 years of service between Riyadh and the world

mirates SkyCargo is marking the 30th anniversary of its operations to the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since February 1990, the air cargo carrier has played an important role in facilitating exports and imports of cargo between Riyadh and the rest of the world through Dubai, says the airline.

Emirates SkyCargo currently offers just over 1,000 tonnes of combined export and import cargo capacity into Riyadh through its 27 weekly flights. Over the last five years, the carrier has helped transport more than 138,000 tonnes of cargo to and from Riyadh. Some of the major commodities that Emirates SkyCargo has helped transport include chilled meat, electronic

equipment, pharma and other types of general cargo. The air cargo carrier also operates flights to three other destinations in Saudi Arabia – Dammam, Jeddah and Medina – in addition to Riyadh. Overall, Emirates SkyCargo has facilitated movement of more than 365,000 tonnes of cargo into and out of the Kingdom since January 2015. In order to respond to customer demands and provide additional capacity options for businesses overseas wanting to send cargo to Riyadh, Emirates SkyCargo has also introduced two bonded trucking corridors in Saudi Arabia connecting Dammam and Medina with Riyadh. The trucking service is operated by Eastern Allied Transport, an affiliate of Allied Transport Company, who operate Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet of 49 trucks 24/7 between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC). Emirates SkyCargo worked closely with the government and customs authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia along with the ground handling and trucking partner to implement this service. With the introduction of the new bonded lanes, cargo bound for Riyadh can also be moved on flights to Dammam and Medina from Dubai and then trucked to Riyadh where they will go through import customs clearance. Emirates SkyCargo will offer same day delivery at Riyadh for cargo that is trucked from Dammam and Medina.

Volga-Dnepr Group operates ‘sterilised’ charter flights to China

olga-Dnepr Group continues to operate charter flights into China despite the current disruption to the air freight market. Flown commodities include that of essential items in response to the Coronavirus outbreak such as masks, sanitiser gels, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. In addition to this, the fleet is depended upon to keep global supply chains moving by supporting some of the largest Chinese companies. On average, three to five charter flights are being operated by Volga-Dnepr Group daily, with preventive measures being taken to ensure safety of personnel, cargo and aircraft. The unforeseen impact of the coronavirus on air freight has necessitated operational changes at AirBridgeCargo (part of Volga-Dnepr Group) in order to properly address dynamic market conditions. This has resulted in reformulated capacity from scheduled to charter operations from 4th February. With an interim reduced schedule, some of AirBridgeCargo’s operational

teams have been transferred to shift working patterns, and employees in China are also being enabled to work remotely. Flight departments of all airlines of Volga-Dnepr Group

STARTING March 1, 2020, Delta Air Lines is committing $1 billion over the next decade to mitigate all emissions from its global business going forward. The airline will invest in driving innovation, advancing clean air travel technologies, accelerating the reduction of carbon emissions and waste

and establishing new projects to mitigate the balance of emissions. “As we connect customers around the globe, it is our responsibility to deliver on our promise to bring people together and ensure the utmost care for our environment,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer.

(including Volga-Dnepr, AirBridgeCargo, and Atran) have received counter measure briefings, with personal protective equipment purchased and distributed to all flight crews already. The centralised Volga-Dnepr Group medical department has introduced regular monitoring of all flight personnel, regardless of global location of flight operation.

Delta commits $1 billion to become first global carbon neutral airline

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ACW 24 FEBRUARY 2020

WFS gains IATA CEIV certification for pharma centre at Paris CDG

orldwide Flight Services (WFS) has been awarded IATA CEIV Pharma certification

for its new €10 million Pharma Centre at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, for the handling of temperature-controlled healthcare and life science products. Opened in September last year, the Centre is the only dedicated facility at the airport – the second largest air cargo gateway in Europe – with a team of dedicated and trained experts, temperature-controlled warehousing, and a transport fleet specifically adapted to guarantee pharmaceutical shipments integrity. Nearly 30 airlines and freight forwarders are already using the Pharma Centre, which is forecast to handle over 8,000 tonnes of products in 2020. Hugo Rodrigues, vice president cargo France at WFS, said: “Investing in the Pharma Centre supports WFS’ strategy to broaden our product offering by supporting the needs of both our airline and forwarding customers as well as their customers, which, in this case, are major pharmaceutical companies that

demand the highest standards of compliance to protect the integrity of their products. Gaining IATA CEIV Pharma certification so soon after opening the Centre recognizes our intention to meet the highest industry standards. It also adds to Paris CDG’s reputation as one of the world’s leading air cargo gateways.” Located in the heart of the airport’s cargo area, WFS’ 2,400 sq m Pharma Centre in Paris offers landside and airside acceptance capabilities and significant temperature-controlled storage. The dedicated operation has its own docks and maneuvering area for the loading and unloading of temperature-controlled pharmaceutical shipments and incorporates a dedicated room for loose cargo storage at +15 to +25°C with a capacity for 108 euro-pallets on four levels of racking; a separate cold room for loose cargo storage at +2 to +8°C with the capacity to store 47 euro-pallets on the ground, and with additional racking also available; a small freezing room for loose cargo storage at -20°C capable of handling nine euro-pallets at a time; two temperature-controlled areas for +2 to +25°C for cargo unit load devices with a combined capacity to store 53 P2P or 106 AKE pallets. New technologies used in the facility include digital systems to improve operational efficiency and shipment visibility. The warehouse management system (WMS) supports the use of barcode scanning for real-time storage capacity monitoring and management, ensuring constant tracking of shipments from the Pharma Centre to and from aircraft, with time and date statements available on demand. A temperature monitoring solution with a Cloud platform collects temperature and humidity data in real-time and enables this information to be accessed on mobile devices.

Finnair cancels mainland China flights until the end of winter FINNAIR will cancel its flights to Beijing Capital Airport and to Shanghai during March 1-28, 2020 (until the end of the winter season), as the coronavirus situation has led to a temporary decline in air travel between China and Europe. THE US FAA has allowed US flights to resume in the overwater airspace above the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman from February 14. The new Notam however, does warn to exercise caution and to avoid operating on air routes nearest to the Tehran FIR (OIIX) boundary whenever possible. The situation in the region “remains fluid and could quickly escalate if circumstances change”, according to the FAA.

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Finnair will also cancel one of its double daily flights to Hong Kong between March 1 and March 28, 2020. Finnair has already earlier communicated the cancellation of its Nanjing, Beijing Daxing and Guangzhou flights during March due to the declined demand for group travel from China. Customers whose flights have been cancelled can change their travel dates or get a full ticket refund by contacting Finnair customer services. As Finnair communicated in connection with its financial results on February 7, the direct financial impact of coronavirus during Q1 2020 is relatively limited, even if the mainland China cancellations continued until the end of Q1 2020.

GSSA

Dreamlifts ceases to represent Antonov Airlines ...

reamlifts Ltd will no longer be acting as a worldwide General Sales and Service Agent for Antonov Airlines as from next week. Dreamlifts has been proud to represent Antonov since 2016, but having failed to reach an acceptable agreement, Dreamlifts has decided not to renew its agreement with Antonov. The decision affects the UK office based in

Stansted, as well as the Dreamlifts’ US office in Houston. Graham Witton, managing director of Dreamlifts, says: “This has been an extremely difficult decision. A number of our staff have been representing Antonov in the worldwide market since

... as Vietjet goes on hunt for a GSA in Malaysia

the establishment of the airline in 1989. “Since setting up Dreamlifts in 2016, and subsequently the US office, Antonov Airlines Inc, we have helped strengthen the Antonov Airlines brand globally and have been very proud in doing so. “Therefore, this has been an extremely difficult decision to take. “The decision will not affect any projects that are currently ongoing. The customers have been contacted and we will ensure that they continue to receive the service they deserve from our team. “We would like to thank our customers for their support and trust placed in the Dreamlifts team for the last three years. We also thank Antonov for their partnership and wish them every success in the future.” Dreamlifts’ management team continues to work on future projects, which will be announced in due course.

ASIAN carrier Vietjet has announced that its subsidiary and cargo arm, Vietjet Cargo is opening a tender for a cargo general sales agent (GSA) in Kuala Lumpur and is inviting companies to bid for the first time in Malaysia. “The GSA will be responsible for all the commercial activities for sales, marketing and promotion on Vietjet’s flight network connecting to over 400 flights daily covering more than 140 destinations across Vietnam and internationally such as Malaysia, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, which includes a daily flight from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City. The GSA will also be actively controlling the pricing policy and space management, working with the cargo warehouse and ground handling agency, supervising the operations, maximizing the uplifted cargo and securing the service level

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commitment to clients directly. Nguyen Thanh Son, Vietjet vice president, said: “At Vietjet, we believe in diversification to create sustainable business prospects. Following the establishment of Vietjet Cargo in 2014, we have independently and strategically developed and grown demand for air cargo services in Vietnam in addition to our main function as a commercial airline. “Today, we have grown internationally, taking necessary steps to expand our cargo business to the Malaysian market.” To-date, Vietjet has transported nearly 100 million passengers in Vietnam with a fleet of 80 Airbus aircraft, comprising the Airbus A320/ A321 aircraft, a high-tech airplane in the aviation industry, with a capacity of four to five tonnes of cargo per flight

ACW 24 FEBRUARY 2020

GSSA

ECS’s forward thinking A

Adrien Thominet, CEO of ECS Group, talks to ACW’s Yasmin Turner about the GSSA and their plans for the future

PARIS-based ECS group boasts global connectivity with over 95 subsidiaries and 153 offices spanning more than 50 countries. They currently represent over 140 airlines worldwide, including 20 all cargo airlines. The company, which was formed in 1998 after a number of freight companies united, was the first ever GSA group in Europe and US. Between 2005 and 2010 the company was able to diversify further as more partners joined and an airline (NAC) was established. In the years after, the network was able to offer a tailor-made GSSA service and following this, with 830 members of staff and the integration of a 12th brand between 2013 and 2015, ECS became world leaders in GSSA. Now, with

“We have designed our internal structure to be agile” Thominet

over 1,100 employees and 26 awards, ECS has created global links with an extraordinary reach. Adrien Thominet, who became CEO in 2017 having spent two years as Chief Operating Officer, says: “We are confident about the future [of ECS] because we believe in our abilities.” He notes that as a business, ECS’ ability to adapt puts them at a huge advantage as they can keep up with the changing environments of the global cargo industry. “We have designed our internal structure to be agile and focused on our clients- not focused on ourselves,” he says. He compares this business structure to that of airlines: “It means we are able to fully understand and meet their needs, while retaining the flexibility that makes us unique’. It is this flexibility that allows ECS to respond so well to their client’s needs,” he says. Thominet notes that ECS’ creativity is also a driver for their success. It allows the company to anticipate future needs through detailed analysis of trends based on in-depth knowledge of the current market. “This is what we do with our service offering, which covers all of an airline’s needs in terms of its cargo activities,” says Thominet. Airlines can choose to delegate these activities to ECS as part of a bespoke offering or as a package, or they can also choose to delegate everything under the Total Cargo Management offering (TCM). For this, there is a dedicated operations and claims entity, based in Frankfurt, which is formed of over 10 area specialists who are responsible for aspects including daily operations, QSS (Quality, Safety & Security), claims,

ULD management, customs procedures and registrations and GHA contracts. ECS’ exciting use of innovative business tools gives them a huge industry advantage. They have developed a business intelligence tool, Apollo, that conducts detailed market analysis which enables the business to offer optimised and competitive rates, as well as a tracking system, PathFinder, that offers real time map view of the plane and its cargo. The business is also using Robotic Process Automation technology, which automates low-value added tasks, thus enabling employees to focus on activities that create value.

Trade wars

Thominet is realistic about the future. ‘The sector is faced with a number of difficulties,” he admits. This is partly due to the fact that the passenger offering to Asia, the Middle East and South America has exploded in the last few years, driving rates down while significantly increasing cargo capacities. Alongside this, trade wars - particularly between USA and China - have hampered trade, such as of manufactured products, which has slightly increased available capacity. The e-Commerce boom has been of greater benefit to integrators than to airlines. Despite this, Thominet is optimistic about ECS’ future role in the industry. He is confident that the business’ ability to adapt will be their success: “Year after year, we represent more and more airlines because we know how to meet new needs. And this trend is set to continue,” he says.

TCC appoints NAS as GSSA

etwork Airline Services, the GSSA division of the Network Aviation Group, have been appointed by Trans Caribbean Cargo (TCC) as Cargo General Sales Agent (CGSA) in Europe. This partnership with the cargo-exclusive airline started back on 1st February 2020 which includes total coverage in Belgium, France, Germany as well as The Netherlands to start. Further countries are expected to be added in the foreseeable future. TCC is a US-based airline out of Miami (MIA) which operates into key destinations such as Lima, Bogota, Medellin, Guarani and Caracas but also includes various other important South American destinations. Trans Caribbean Cargo has a fleet of B747F aircraft as well as MD11F aircraft which can carry almost any cargo ranging from perishables & live animals to dangerous goods & valuable

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cargo. TCC can also offer full or part charters as well as more ‘special’ one-off projects. This newly struck partnership further strengthens our relationship with Southern American airline carriers but also widens our reaching coverage of the entire South American continent.

TRADE&EVENTSFINDER Freight Forwarders

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World Air Cargo Awards 2020

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Calling the cockpit

The humble airline call sign can sometimes be something out of the ordinary

ne of the most evocative parts of the mundane communication between ATC and an aircraft pilot has to be the call sign that is always used alongside the flight number. Messages between the controllers and the flying crew use these call signs to ensure that radio comms are always clear and that the right aircraft are identified and being contacted. Airlines started using call signs way back in the 1930s as the industry blossomed. Most carriers mundanely use their names as their call signs. Delta uses Delta, Singapore Airlines uses Singapore, while Southwest is Southwest. Occasionally, a few airlines had a dash of creativity when selecting a call sign. In no particular order, here are some of the coolest call signs of the past and present: The grounded carrier AirTran Airways used Citrus, inspired by the orange groves of Florida where it was based. When it was acquired by Southwest Airlines in 2014, its

call sign was pulped. When Resort Air, later Trans States Airlines, first flew in the early 1990s to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, an area noted for its recreation, especially water skiing, it acquired the call sign Waterski appropriately.

You can’t miss the beautiful plum blossom than adorns the tails of China Airlines jets. The call sign of Dynasty stands out as well for the Taipei-based carrier. While some Canadian carriers have cool call signs such as Rouge, Flair and Bearskin, can any strike the right note in coolness as Jazz? What’s cooler than cool Jazz? Jazz Aviation is Canada’s second larg-

est airline. America West came up with a new call sign, Cactus, in an employee contest to come up with a new name to avoid a previous clash of call signs. Later the airline merged with US Airways, which in turn merged with American Airlines. Cactus was then put out to sea. To be sure, Aer Lingus, the national flag carrier of Ireland, has the most appropriate call sign in Shamrock. Since the early 1960s, the carrier has featured a three-leaf clover (shamrock) on the tails (and now winglets) of its aircraft.

Across the Irish Sea, British Airways continue to use the call sign Speedbird, the call sign of constituent company British Overseas Airways Corporation and the name of its logo. The troubled 1990s low-cost carrier

ValuJet Airlines had what many think was perhaps the cutest call sign: Critter. It was the name of the airline’s logo. Hawaiian Airlines daily non-stop from Honolulu to New York is flight 50. Pilots and controllers often ignore the official radio designation of Hawaiian 50 and use the call sign Hawaii Five-0 to pay homage to the classic TV police drama. It is technically incorrect radio procedure, but how can they resist? Book ’em, Danno! Defunct German airline Air Cargo Germany was Loadmaster, while African International Airways has Fly Cargo. The grounded Capital Cargo International Airlines used Cappy. Hong Kong Air Cargo uses Mascot. UPS Airlines has used three different call signs since it became an airline in 1988: Browntail; UPSCO (2 syllables: “Ups-Co”); U-P-S (current call sign. 3 syllables). Middle Eastern airline Maximus Air Cargo has the modest Cargo Max call sign.

Delta unveils 'thank you' aircraft featuring all 90,000 employee names DELTA Air Lines will pay out more than $1 billion in profit sharing, celebrating the outstanding accomplishments made possible by its employees around the world. The $1.6 billion profit sharing pool – a record for a US-based company – translates to a 16.7% payout for eligible employees. “Delta would be nothing without our 90,000 people worldwide,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “They deserve all the credit for our success, and we recognize their extraordinary work with a $1.6 billion payout – the sixth year in a row that Delta’s profit sharing has exceeded $1 billion.” “We’re often asked what sets Delta apart,

and the answer is simple: our people,” said Joanne Smith, executive vice president and chief people officer. “That’s why profit sharing is one of the most important days of the year.”

Delta unveiled another symbol of the company’s appreciation: a custom aircraft livery featuring all 90,000 employee names, with the message that the aircraft is “dedicated to the world’s best employees and customers.”

The custom “thank you” message featured on this Airbus A321 aircraft was designed, produced and installed in-house by Delta people. The process took more than a week to complete at the Delta TechOps print shop and hangar in Atlanta. For Joel Freeland, a TechOps painter who worked on the project, the aircraft is particularly meaningful. “It’s so wonderful to get to do a project like this,” said Freeland. “The idea was conceived within Delta, and all the employees working together have made it a reality.”

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