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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,065

27 January 2020

The barcode’s birth CVG cargo maintenance hangar opens

Where would airfreight be without the stripes?

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INSIDE SWISSPORT LAUNCHES IN OZ

SWISSPORT’S large-scale launch of its first cargo business in Australia is officially underway with the signing of a lease agreement .... PAGE 3

CHARTERSYNC’S CENTURY

CHARTERSYNC has established its active airline operator-base having successfully loaded over 100 cargo aircraft live onto its platform ... PAGE 5 AIR NEW ZEALAND PICKS

FEAM Aero has opened its new 10,300 sq m, $19 million hangar at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The facility creates the more than 100 high-paying aircraft mechanic jobs . FEAM Aero will operate the hangar to accommodate wide-body 747 aircraft for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). The hangar will provide aircraft maintenance support for aircraft operations using CVG including DHL, Prime Air and Atlas Air.

IATA has high hopes for audit reduction

ATA hopes to expand airline endorsement of its Smart Facility Operational Capacity (SFOC) audit this year after signing up SATS Singapore and the country’s flag carrier to the project. Glyn Hughes, IATA’s global head of cargo, told Air Cargo Week: “We anticipate many airlines conducting their individual gap analyses and signing the ARC (Audit Reduction Agreement). “This is a crucial step for the programme’s adoption across cargo handling operators and achieving our stated audit reduction goal for the entire industry.” SATS Airport Services handles 85% of the cargo

coming through Singapore Changi Airport. The cargo handling facility became the first one to be SFOC certified after the programme went live in December 2019. Singapore Airlines was the first carrier to sign the ARC, which specifies the reduced audit scope and frequency applied to all certified facilities. The Smart Facility Project, which was initiated in 2017, is intended to reduce duplicated cargo handling audit efforts by up to 50%. The programme develops a mutually recognised central audit program that covers industry standard cargo handling procedures shared by all airlines.

The SFOC audit certifies that facilities adhere to all cargo handling related standards and recommended practices in IATA’s cargo handling manual and regulations. It reduces redundant efforts across the industry by removing the need for individual carriers to validate generic cargo operational procedures. In 2018, the SFOC was pilot-tested in six cargo handling facilities around the world under airline observation. The pilots ensured that the programme is robust and satisfies the airlines’ operational quality and oversight obligation.

AIR New Zealand has adopted AEROTUF’s AeroTHERM range within its fleet after a series of live trials and other airlines are in discussions .... PAGE 9

THE NEXT DECADE OF CHANGE

AS we cross the threshold into a new decade in 2020, it is a time to take stock of the significant changes that transformed the pharmaceutical ... PAGE 10

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Davies Turner picks up freight industry ‘Oscar’

avies Turner, the UK’s largest independent freight forwarding and logistics company, has taken first place in the European Logistics category of the UK’s premier freight and logistics awards event. The British International Freight Association’s (BIFA) Freight Service Awards have been organised annually for over 30 years and are rightly seen as the Oscars of the UK freight services industry. At the presentation, Davies Turner also made the finalists shortlist in the Supply Chain Management category. The company’s unique neutral e-freight quotation and booking platform for third party freight forwarders was seen by the independent judging panel as an innovation that makes it stand out in the marketplace, so becoming a worthy winner of the European Logistics category. Philip Stephenson, chairman of the Davies Turner group comments: “Davies Turner is well known for its comprehensive European over-

Ade Adepitan reveals BIFA Freight Service Awards winners

ADE Adepitan, one of the UK’s most wellknown Paralympians and broadcasters has revealed the winners of the British International Freight Association’s Freight Service Awards 2019. At a glittering awards ceremony in London, host Adepitan announced eight winners from the 33 freight forwarding companies that were shortlisted as finalists, as well as three individual award winners. The winner of the Air Cargo Services Award, sponsored by IAG Cargo, was Noatum Logistics. The finalists were Charles Kendall Freight, Dimerco Express, Evolution Forwarding and Metro Shipping.. During this year’s Awards luncheon, Adepitan delivered a motivating speech, which gave some clear insight into how challenges need to be overcome if success is to be achieved.

land portfolio which offers direct groupage, part load and full load trailer services with dedicated express transit and super-express options. “The market for European overland operations is very mature and highly commoditised; so the opportunities to differentiate the service offering are limited. “Furthermore, a significant proportion of the traffic on the network is booked and contributed by other freight forwarding and logistics companies, which do not operate their own services. “Increasingly, these important independent third party co-loaders have sought the ability to obtain immediate rates for any of our European overland export and import trailer services in real time, without having to resort to time-consuming telephone calls, emails or filling in online quote request forms. “In response to this request, we have developed and implemented an online e-freight quotation and bookings portal specially aimed at the shipments of independent freight forwarders that can deliver instant online access to pricing, 24 hours a day for consignments up

to three tonnes in weight or nine cubic metres in size. “The success of the portal for both ourselves and these co-loaders has in turn led to our extension of access to the e-freight quotation and bookings portal for direct shippers as well, which enables all our customers to take advantage of the benefits that the portal delivers.”

SWISSPORT’S large-scale launch of its first cargo business in Australia is officially underway following the signing of a lease agreement for a brand-new air cargo facility at Melbourne Airport, with other locations to be announced early this year. Swissport has signed an initial seven-year lease on a new building with warehouse space at Melbourne Airport. The fit out is well underway and the facility is due to open in the third quarter of 2020. Further locations across Australia will be announced soon. “With this launch we bring a fresh approach and a more competitive offer to a market that has not seen a new entrant for more than 20 years. Swissport has industry leading processes, training and systems built up across more than 300 sites worldwide over our 25-year history and we will provide a nimble service model designed to better meet customer requirements and deliver on both price and service. We are excited to serve new customers in Australia and look forward to adding Australia to our global cargo network for our existing global customers.” says Glenn Rutherford, Swissport executive

vice president Asia-Pacific. The brand-new facility on Mace Way has direct airside access and will offer state-of-the-art cargo facilities for handling and storage of general cargo, animals, pharmaceuticals and perishables. Swissport welcomes Chris Doyle as new general manager cargo – Pacific. Chris has spent many years leading cargo operations, most recently as international cargo manager for a

Edward Stephenson (right), director of Davies Turner, with awards host Ade Adepitan, and a representative of category sponsor, TT Club.

Debut ACW World Air Cargo Awards sponsors ORGANISERS of the ACW World Air Cargo Awards (WACA) 2020 are pleased that the first tranche of sponsors for key elements of the glittering awards evening have come forward. Kim Smith, operations director of AZura International, says: “I am so pleased that Etihad Cargo has come forward to sponsor the Airfreight Forwarder of the Year 2020 award, while ECS Group will sponsor the Airline of the Year. The Goody Bags are being sponsored this year by Airfrance/KLM/ Martinair. “There are still opportunities for companies across the globe to get their names in front of some of the most important VIPs in the industry. “I invite any company to enjoy Exclusive Category Sponsorships or one of the secondary options including the helium balloons, entertainment, napkin rings, wine and the menu for the evening.” Tickets now available online at: https://www.aircargoweek.com/ table-reservations/

Swissport set to launch its first OZ air cargo terminal

major airline. Melbourne Airport Senior Property Development Manager, Gavin Potts, commented: “We’re pleased to welcome Swissport to Melbourne Airport’s Business Park. The new facility joins other industrial leaders in benefiting from 24/7 air freight opportunities, round the clock security and unrivalled proximity to arterial road networks.”

Asian volumes fall in troubled year A

ir cargo volumes for Asian airlines fell 5.3% during the first 11 months of 2019 compared with the same period in the previous year. The figures, released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), showed that freight tonne kilometre in November last year was 1.9% lower than in the same month 2018. Offered freight capacity for the 15 AAPA airlines rose by 1.2% year-on-year, leading to a two percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor to 62.9% for November 2019. Andrew Herdman, director-general of Kuala Lumpur-based AAPA, said that challenging business conditions resulting from protracted trade disputes had dampened demand for freight. “Asian airlines were particularly vulnerable, given the region’s importance in the global manufacturing supply chain. “The outlook for air cargo demand remains overshadowed by uncertainty over the resolution of ongoing global trade disputes,” Herdman said. “The region’s carriers remain vigilant in monitoring and

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responding to changes in market conditions, whilst seeking new growth opportunities.” In contrast, the airlines, which are based in 11 countries, including China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, carried 3.4% more passengers in November last year than in the same month in 2018, recording a total of 30.3 million. There was a 4.2% growth in passenger numbers over the first 11 months of last year, compared with 2018, to a combined total of 342 million international passengers. Herdman said this had been achieved “despite falling business confidence levels and corresponding moderation in economic

ACW 27 JANUARY 2020

AIPUT achieves key expansion to its Heathrow portfolio

BLACK Arrow, the proposed new warehouse at Blackthorne Point reflects confidence in the long-term strength of demand for this established industrial location serving London Heathrow. Aberdeen Standard Investments’ AIPUT fund (Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust) has secured a resolution to grant planning permission from Slough Borough Council’s Planning Committee for Black Arrow, a high-quality speculative-build warehouse development at its Blackthorne Point industrial estate in Poyle. The high-spec, 2,579 sq m GIA industrial warehouse will occupy a vacant brownfield site, immediately across the M25 from Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Black Arrow will be a flexible industrial warehouse unit supporting B1c, B2 and B8 uses, similar in proportion to an existing planning consent granted in 2017. However, the building will incorporate a number of new environmental initiatives – including air source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels – delivering a 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions over building regulation requirements and the achievement of a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating. AIPUT’s Carbon Strategy requires the fund to achieve carbon neutrality across its portfolio by 2025. The Black Arrow development follows swiftly on the heels of several key announcements by AIPUT at Blackthorne Point during 2019, following the refurbishment of several existing units. Current tenants at the 15,600 sq m facility include UPS, Horizon International and C. H. Robinson. The delivery of additional high quality warehousing strongly positions Blackthorne Point (and the wider Poyle Trading Estate location) to benefit significantly from the expected future expansion of Heathrow Airport and the growth of its air cargo service, which the airport’s owners project to reach at least three million tonnes per year by 2040. give our customers and airline partners more options than most.”

Swissport assumes hub management for Air Tanzania at Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro airports

Kilimanjaro airport

ir Tanzania has commissioned Swissport to handle its entire hub operation at the airports of Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro. The agreement includes a comprehensive service catalogue for airport ground services, air cargo handling and aviation security. Swissport, a leader in air cargo handling, has been awarded a contract for hub management services for Air Tanzania, the national carrier of the East African country. Starting this month at the airports of Dar es Salaam (DAR) and Kilimanjaro (JRO), Swissport will provide passenger, aircraft movement, cargo loading and aviation security services for 21 flights daily. “We are delighted that Air Tanzania has cho-

sen to rely on Swissport’s high quality, reliable and efficient operational services at its hub airports in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro,” says Jeroen de Clercq, head of Sub-Sahara and Israel, at Swissport International. “With their fleet of modern aircraft, Air Tanzania is the leader in the Tanzanian aviation market and we are excited to support them.” Swissport staff will be servicing Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Airbus A220s and Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

National Airlines begins 2020 with A330-200 addition

lorida-based National Airlines, has revealed an Airbus 330-200 as its newest addition to its fleet, joining the Boeing 747-400 Freighters and Boeing 757-200 Passenger Aircraft. This aircraft has been delivered with its N819CA registration in National’s striking livery. The Airbus 330-200 commences its international charter missions in May of this year. The current two-class configuration of 288 seats provides a generous seat pitch while providing onboard entertainment to all seats. National Airlines, a subsidiary of National Air Cargo Holdings, Inc., operates intercontinental cargo and passenger charters for both Government and Commercial customers. Heem Ashar, vp commercial services along with Robert Perry, passenger sales manager,

mentioned that National has been successfully managing its passenger segment of business with its medium range Boeing 757 aircraft, and with the introduction of the Airbus 330-200 allows National to enter the medium and long-range business needs of its customers. Chris Alf, chairman of National Air Cargo Holdings said: “National will be adding another Airbus 330 family aircraft into our fleet by June of this year and additional aircraft in the future. “We at National take pride in delivering personalized service offerings to our customers. Fleet improvements are continuously evaluated, and the demand for the passenger business drove us to the decision to acquire the Airbus 330200, based on its proven history of providing the highest level of safety and performance.” National recorded positive

economic results during 2019 in spite of the global economic challenges. Joseph Batten, vp Ops said: “National always maintains a competitive corporate structure, which helps National to service our niche customers globally, while keeping costs at minimum.” National has been in business for 30 years servicing the United States Government and international clients throughout the world..

ABDA GROUP celebrates a growing partnership with Turkish Airlines Cargo THE ABDA GROUP celebrated its partnership with Turkish Airlines through its latest appointment as Cargo GSA for the airline in Sri Lanka. The new appointment covers a tenured Cargo GSA relationship in Malaysia and a robust Interline relationship through ABDA’s partner World Cargo Solutions. The event was held at a grand ballroom in downtown Colombo with over 250 guests in attendance. The people assembled represented a cross section of freight forwarders fully representing the Sri Lankan marketplace and reaffirming Turkish Airlines’ vaunted position as Sri

Lanka’s 5th largest air cargo operator as of 2019. In attendance from Turkish Airlines Cargo were Fatih Cigal, senior vp cargo marketing, Selahaddin Burak Omeroglu, vp cargo sales (Middle East and South Asia) and Halit Tuncer, regional cargo sales manager (MESA). “This is an important appointment for us with a valued partner for a new territory. We have been eyeing a greater expansion in South Asia and are most grateful to our esteemed partner, Turkish Airlines, for this appointment”, said Muhammad Zulkarnain, group CEO of the ABDA Group.

US-China trade war seen as 2020’s biggest economic threat

ust days after the United States and China signed a deal that de-escalates months of back-and-forth trade retaliation, a survey of logistics executives shows that the supply chain industry continues to see a US-China trade war as the top threat to global growth. In a poll conducted this month by Agility and Transport Intelligence, logistics professionals were surveyed for their thoughts on the global economy and the leading threats to growth in 2020. The results are part of the annual Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, a look at industry sentiment and a ranking of

ACW 27 JANUARY 2020

the world’s 50 leading emerging markets. Twenty-eight percent of respondents see a US-China trade war as the biggest threat to global growth in 2020. US-Iranian tensions were next (19%), followed by a slowdown in the Chinese economy (17%). Three of the leading threats involve China, which highlights its growing importance to the global economy and its ability to affect the fortunes of other countries. The findings come just a week after Washington and Beijing signed a “phase one” trade deal in which they agreed to halt imposition of new tariffs and restore the flow of many

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goods and commodities that had been cut off by months of friction. Only 8% of those surveyed see Brexit as the largest threat in 2020. The survey of 330 logistics and supply chain professionals was conducted by global research group Transport Intelligence as part of the 2020 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, which will be released Februay. 10, 2020 At this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the key agenda content included sharing environmental business initiatives, worker reskilling programs, and renewable energy.

CharterSync reaches a century of airlines C harterSync has established its active airline operator-base having successfully loaded over 100 cargo aircraft live onto its platform within its first six months of trading. The only company to offer a bespoken charter booking platform connecting freight forwarders directly with airlines, CharterSync now has availability to a wide range of cargo aircraft from smaller piston aircraft through to B737 capable of carrying 20 tonnes of cargo. Automating the broker process for air charter is proving to have significant advantages for freight forwarders. Response rates are high with quotes only taking a matter of minutes, providing clients with the highest possibility of securing the most appropriate and ideally located aircraft for their charter. Commenting on CharterSync’s success, co-founder, Ed Gillett said: “The integration rate of new airlines onto the platform has far exceeded our expectations. This is because we have made the charter process easier for airlines, which

in turn allows us to get a very high response rate for a given charter request. When airlines are quoting on our platform in a matter of minutes, it obviously provides our clients with the highest possibility of securing a charter. This is the unique advantage we have by using our revolutionary technology.” Having surpassed its early growth and onboarding expectations, CharterSync continues to focus on its European and Northern African routes, a market the company believes it now has fully covered and will look to expand its coverage in new territories in the new year. “While greatly encouraged by the success of our first six months of trading, we are not complacent. We are always striving for continued innovation, and to make the charter process easier and quicker for both forwarder and operator. Working very closely with our airlines we are constantly striving for improvements based on their feedback.” Simon Watson, CharterSync co-founder added.

Airports lead the way on tackling climate emergency with Brussels summit European airport trade body brings key actors together for first aviation sustainability summit

ith sustainability and the climate emergency firmly established at the very top of its priorities, ACI EUROPE staged its first Aviation Sustainability Summit in Brussels. The event, held under the patronage of the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council and István Ujhelyi MEP, contained key stakeholders from the EU institutions & Member States, EUROCONTROL, airlines, AIRBUS, NGOs, community representatives and airports. The summit focuses on two

main topics: the need to decarbonise aviation in line with the EU 2050 Climate Neutrality objective and ways to achieve more sustainable airports. The keynote address was delivered by Ovais Sarmad, deputy executive Secretary of UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change). T Opening the event, Jost Lammers, president of ACI EUROPE said: “Our purpose with this summit is to bring together all stakeholders to play their part in responding to the Climate Emergency.”

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ACW 27 JANUARY 2020

Swiss WorldCargo switches to new Beijing airport

wiss WorldCargo will begin operating at the new Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) instead of Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) as of summer 2020. The new airport is a world-class facility, located in Daxing, south of the capital city centre. The airline looks forward to processing shipments at the airport’s new state-of-the art special product facilities. Additionally, it will be able to handle the most complex and care-intensive shipping needs with defined processes for Live Animals, Dangerous Goods, Active or Passive pharmaceutical shipments as well as Valuables. In addition to the physical change in location, Swiss WorldCargo will have improved departure times, allowing new and immediate connections when departing from Zurich at 17.20 local time and from Peking at 11.00 local time. “We are delighted to note that these favourable timings will allow us increased opportunities for connecting flights and facilitating the same day arrival of express products,” notes the airline. Swiss WorldCargo will continue to operate the route with an Airbus A330-300, which holds an average of 12 to 18 tonnes of cargo. The date of thefirst ZRH-PKX flight will be Saturday 28 March 2020; consequently, the last ZRH-PEK flight will operate on 27 March returning 28 March from PEK. and Hanoi.

torms in eastern Australia may have brought some respite, but South Australia is not yet at its peak fire season warns ParcelHero. It says there is further chance of severe postal disruption throughout February. Deliveries to many areas of Australia were severely impacted by the catastrophic bush fires it experienced in December and January; and there is likely to be further disruption to come, warns the UK-based parcel comparison site ParcelHero, which specialises in

“

We are informing our customers and suppliers that we are currently estimating that the ungrounding of the 737 MAX will begin during mid-2020. This updated estimate is informed by our experience to date with the certification process. It is subject to our ongoing attempts to address known schedule risks and further developments that may arise in connection with the certification process. It also accounts for the rigorous scrutiny that regulatory authorities are rightly applying at every step of their review of the 737 MAX’s flight control system and the Joint Operations Evaluation Board process which determines pilot training requirements.

“

Returning the MAX safely to service is our number one priority, and we are confident that will happen. We acknowledge and regret the continued difficulties that the grounding of the 737 MAX has presented to our customers, our regulators, our suppliers, and the flying public. We will provide additional information about our efforts to safely return the 737 MAX to service in connection with our quarterly financial disclosure.

“

ACW 27 JANUARY 2020

Australian parcel delivery. Says ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks MILT: “Parcel and letter deliveries have been severely disrupted across many areas of Australia, particularly NSW, South Australia, Victoria and West Australia. Despite significant storms, over 80 fires are still blazing across New South Wales and Victoria. Naturally, there has been significant disruption to Australia’s transport infrastructure caused by these fires, and Australia’s national postal service,

Australia Post, was impacted in many regions.” Explains Jinks: “On (20 January) Australia Post said it was working to reinstate deliveries in areas impacted by bush fires and smoke haze. It’s still reporting some ongoing delays "due to ongoing safety concerns and will only deliver into these areas when it is safe to do so." The peak fire season is still to come for parts of southern Australia. February is being described as extremely dangerous.

Chinese carrier expands with route to Thailand

ianjin Air Cargo’s expansion is continuing with the opening of a route between Zhengzhou, in central China, and Bangkok. The freight carrier is using the B737-800BCF it started leasing late last year. The former passenger airliner is part of the Boeing Converted Freighter programme the manufacturer began in 2016. The 737-800BCF can carry up to 23.9 tonnes of cargo up to 2,293 NM (3,690 kilometers). The main deck can accommodate 11 standard pallets and one half pallet, giving a carrying capacity of 141.5 cubic meters with a further 43.7 cubic metres in two compartments in the lower lobe of the aircraft. Tianjin Air Cargo’s 737-800BCF is believed to be operated in partnership with the Chinese delivery company ZTO Express. The freight carrier also has a B737-300F and two 737-400Fs. The route between Zhengzhou and Bangkok, which runs five times a week, carries e-commerce and cold chain products. Tianjin Air Cargo is believed to be seeking to expand its fleet to up to 100 aircraft by 2025.

Good deeds to shout about

Over £6,000 raised for Birmingham Children’s Hospital by FedEx Express Team members

BOEING has issued its latest press statemenet regarding its troubled B737 Max aircraft model.

As we have emphasised, the FAA and other global regulators will determine when the 737 MAX returns to service. However, in order to help our customers and suppliers plan their operations, we periodically provide them with our best estimate of when regulators will begin to authorise the ungrounding of the 737 MAX.

Australian storms unlikely to end postal disruption

Boeing statement on B737 max

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FEDEX Express team members presented a cheque worth £6,172 to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity following fundraising efforts by operational teams in the West Midlands. The teams came together to deliver a series of fundraising activities, as well as collecting arts and crafts materials to make the hospital a happier and brighter place for children. The money will pay for new resources and raising LONDON-BASED Air Char- awareness of the hospital and its charity. ter Service (ACS) raised £4,698 at its staff Christmas event last month. According to Christine Leach, chair of ACS’s charity committee, the generous amount, raised on the night, helped by a donation from Air Cargo Week publisher AZura In- An amazing 385 kilos of food has been ternational, was doubled. donated to the Nuneaton Foodbank by the She says: “We feel very FedEx Express team based at its head office privileged that we can in nearby Atherstone. give something back. Over 900 items ranging from festive With ACS matching, we treats to everyday essentials were donated will give £9,396 to our four by FedEx Express team members. ACS charities this year.” These items were made into some 45 The four recipients of food parcels for those in the local region the money raised are: in need as part of the wider FedEx Cares Save the Children; Mac- initiative. millian Cancer Trust; US-based FedEx Express has set out to Momentun (supporting positively impact 50 million people by its children with life-threart- 50th anniversary in 2023. ening illnesses and their This is part of FedEx Cares, the companies families); and, Dysart, a way of giving back to the communities in local special needs school. which their team members live and work.

‘Tis the season to be jolly at ACS

By the truck load: FedEx deliver a difference

Stephen Tonks and Jamie Cooke of FedEx Express present funds to Helen Rawnsley of Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Delta launches innovative solution for pet travel D elta is ushering in a new best-in-class travel experience for pets and their owners with the exclusive launch of CarePod. The introduction of this state-of-the-art pet travel carrier, which provides many industry-leading features including real-time updates throughout the journey, heralds a new standard of first-class safety and care for pet air travel. After five years of research, development and testing, on top of a successful two-month trial, CarePod will be exclusively offered at eight U.S. locations: Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York (JFK and LaGuardia), San Francisco and West Palm Beach. There will then be a phased approach to roll out the CarePod pet travel carrier across Delta’s US network. “Continuous innovation is in Delta’s DNA and the launch of the CarePod pet travel carrier, an industry first, is an example of us seeking out innovative partnerships and looking at ways to improve the customer experience throughout all parts of their journey,” said Shawn Cole, vice president, Delta Cargo. “As the only airline to offer this premium pet travel solution, it represents a significant improvement for the millions of people who want to travel with their four-legged family members.” The CarePod pet travel carrier has several innovative safety features that make it the ultimate air travel experience for pets: Stronger, industrial strength walls that are insulated to protect your pet against potential temperature fluctuations when moving between different climates and travel conditions.

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Multi-layered windows and doors with specially angled blinds to help create a calming environment for pets by blocking out visual stress from unfamiliar environments. The world’s first built-in hydration system for pet travel carriers, holding up to a litre of water that will auto replenish the spill-proof water bowl to ensure pets always have easy access to fresh water.

Seamless connectivity

A powerful, enterprise level GPS tracking and monitoring system that connects the pet’s journey is connected to the specialised Delta Cargo Control Center. The Center is managed 24/7/365 by trained experts who supervise and digitally monitor every CarePod pet journey from beginning to end, with the expertise and authority to send out the right staff on the ground to check on the pet if needed. Seamless connectivity that enables you to use your mobile phone to view your pet’s key travel updates throughout their entire journey via deltacargo.com CarePod pet travel carriers are made to the highest quality and standard, with human grade materials that are non-toxic, UV and antibacterial treated for longer lasting strength and protection. The CarePod pet travel carrier is a next generation, IATA compliant pet travel carrier, which can accommodate dogs and cats permitted in a 300 series crate or smaller, and can be booked between three and thirteen days prior to departure.

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NEW TECHNOLOGY

CSafe expands service centre in South Korea for active temperature-controlled containers

Safe Global has opened a newly-expanded service centre in Incheon. The company-owned facility will allow CSafe to enhance support and service for customers transporting temperature-sensitive products to and from South Korea, while additionally serving as an important. It will also serve as a gateway hub for the greater APAC region. The opening of an enlarged and expanded service centre facility at Incheon International Airport (ICN) was strategically implemented to accommodate the growing demand for CSafe’s specialised air cargo containers in South Korea, and throughout the broader Asia Pacific region, says the company. CSafe’s ICN station is one of the latest of numerous locations around the world established to broaden CSafe’s global service reach and increase the impact on customers who have entrusted CSafe containers to thermally protect vital life-enhancing pharmaceuticals as they are shipped to patients in need. “We’re excited about our best-in-class service centre in Incheon. This new facility will ensure that our active containers are operating at top system performance, keeping temperatures precisely where they need to be for transport of crucial medications. “Our service team has been trained and is well prepared to address the significant volume demand for CSafe RKN and CSafe RAP containers from the Incheon station,” said Tom Weir, VP of global operations at CSafe Global. “With the expanded warehouse space and increased repair service throughput, not only can we easily accommodate the increasing

product demand from South Korea, but we also strengthen our ability to flex as needed for repositioning large numbers of our temperature-controlled containers to other CSafe hubs within Asia Pacific to meet unexpected or immediate surge demand from our customers and

Peli BioThermal expands distribution into Australia/New Zealand

eli BioThermal, a major name in temperature-controlled packaging, announced the further expansion of its worldwide reach into Australia and New Zealand, effective immediately. Wilpak Group International will provide sales and support from their headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. This is also an expansion of the current suc-

cessful global partnership with Wilpak Group International. Peli BioThermal provides its customers the additional option to utilise their InsulCap portfolio of thermal covers to protect temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical payloads. “We are pleased to announce the latest expansion of our global footprint,” said Ed Meyer, (pictured) vice president of worldwide sales at Peli BioThermal. “We have expanded our distribution to Australia and New Zealand, working in conjunction with fellow industry leading supplier Wilpak, whose technologically advanced thermal blankets complement our own product range, offering another thermal protection option for our customers.”

Closer partnership

ACW 27 JANUARY 2020

Adam Wilson, managing director of Wilpak Group International, added: “We welcome the opportunity to develop a closer partnership with Peli BioThermal. “Our product portfolios are complementary to managing a pharmaceutical manufacturer’s needs for temperature control during shipment. “It’s exciting to be trusted with expanding availability of the Crēdo, CoolGuard and CoolPall thermal packaging lines into Australia and New Zealand. “I’m thrilled about the opportunities sure to follow the expanded collaboration between our two companies.”

partners across the region.” To verify that CSafe RKN and CSafe RAP systems are of highest quality and in peak condition, all containers entering CSafe service centres are put through an industry-unique Preventative Maintenance Rebuild (PMR)

programme to certify optimal operational equipment performance. This protocol goes a long way on the CSafe promise to protect what matters most to pharmaceutical companies, so patients can receive what matters most to them, said Weir.

VRR and ACL Airshop joined forces to launch the first-ever collapsible AAY container at Inter Airport Europe 2019 in October. The AAY, which weighs 280 kilos can be erected and collapsed by two people in just two minutes, is seven times smaller than normal ULDs when folded. They can be stacked up to four high on a Boeing 737 Freighter main deck and six high on the lower deck of a wide-body aircraft. ACL Airshop is the launch customer for the AAY container, and though it has invested

significantly in Bluetooth Low Energy and track and trace, getting containers returned to their original location remains a challenge. Jos Jacobsen, chief technology officer of ACL Airshop says: “E-commerce is becoming an integral part of our society, and the AAY has proven itself as a very good cargo carrier. “In order to save on logistics we can now move the AAY container in larger quantities using less volume. This will save time and money for the airline and the end consumer.”

N October, LATAM Cargo Group and Unilode enhanced their collaboration through the roll-out of Unilode’s state-of-the art ULD digital tracking solution to LATAM’s entire ULD fleet. After the outsourcing of LATAM’s entire ULD

management operation to Unilode in 2016, this development was another major milestone in a partnership that has seen the opening of a bespoke ULD repair centre in Santiago de Chile and an optimised ULD supply.

ACL Airshop and VRR launch first-ever collapsible AAY

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ir New Zealand has adopted AEROTUF’s AeroTHERM range within its fleet after a series of live trials and other airlines are in discussions about acquiring the temperature-control ULDs. The airline conducted the trials to numerous destinations, transporting perishables and established tangible differences in temperature management compared with standard containers. The trials were conducted in partnership with AEROTUF. The AeroTHERM range, which was runner-up at the IATA Cargo innovation awards in 2019 alongside Air New Zealand, has panels with proprietary insulating technology that form part of the containers’ frameless design. This means the container offers 25 times more insulation than standard containers, protecting goods from extremes of heat, humidity and cold. It also offers the benefit of being lighter than other standard containers, making it a “green” development. Ian Buck, of OakSure Associates based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, who oversees commercial development for AEROTUF, said: “We are delighted that the development partnership with Air New Zealand has resulted in a range of such innovative and valued products. “When it comes to airline containers, the perishables sector has lacked true innovation for many years. We feel that this is of real interest to airlines, and indeed entire supply chains that are looking to increase the protection they want to offer their customers in a simple way when shipping perishable and fresh products, while managing costs carefully and boosting their tangible green credentials.” It is believed that several airlines around the world are interested in acquiring the ULDs. Air New Zealand has a fleet of passenger Boeing 777s and 787s as well as Airbus 320s and 321s which carry belly hold cargo. The fleet carries four different AeroTHERM containers, ranging from the

UNIT LOAD DEVICES

Air New Zealand picks AeroTHERM

14.3m3 (505ft3) AMF to the 8.9m3 (314ft3) ALF. AEROTUF, based in Charleston, South Carolina, says that its AeroTHERM significantly reduces the risk of cargo experiencing solar radiation that can send temperatures of goods soaring when containers are exposed to sunlight during airport apron handling procedures. “Our panels also protect goods from cold temperature spikes– such as sub-zero temps that can damage the safety and integrity of products, like pharmaceutical supplies,” the company says. The partnership between AEROTUF and Air New Zealand follows the showcasing of the manufacturer’s latest ULD innovation as part of Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator 777 programme in November last year.

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ACW 27 JANUARY 2020

SATS wins Riyadh cargo terminal concession

ATS, Asia’s leading provider of food solutions and gateway services, has announced that its subsidiary, SATS Saudi Arabia Company, has won a 25-year cargo terminal concession in King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh cargo terminal will be the second cargo operation in Saudi Arabia for SATS, after its first win in King Fahd International Airport in Dammam in 2016. Construction of the SATS

Cargo Terminal in KKIA will take place over two phases with the first phase expected to be completed in mid-2022. Upon full completion, this cargo terminal will have the capacity to handle up to 600,000 tonnes of cargo annually. There will also be a purpose-built cold-chain facility for the special handling of temperature sensitive perishables and a dedicated lane for pharmaceutical products. Alex Hungate, president and CEO of SATS said: “KKIA serves Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, and handles close to

40% of air cargo volume in the Kingdom. Connected to our stations in Dammam and Oman, and our extensive Asian network, KKIA will extend SATS’ network of quality cargo corridors to offer our customers greater connectivity and quality assurance, while supporting Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing cargo market and logistics infrastructure.” SATS operates 10 cargo terminals in Asia in Beijing, Dammam, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Oman and Singapore.

Green light for Rapiscan explosives detector from US authorities

n explosive detection system that can scan up to 2,500 parcels an hour has become the first of its kind to be approved by the US Transportation Security Administration. The Rapiscan Systems RTT110 scans cargo on a conveyer belt to produce a 3D image evert second. The machine alerts human operators if it detects anything suspicious so the

mally qualified and put into use in the US. It has already been approved by the EU regulatory authority as well as those in Britain, Italy and France. By February next year, all cargo shipments leaving, entering or travelling within the US must be screened by a product included on the latest TSA Air Cargo Screening Technology List (ACSTL). Mal Maginnis, the president of Los Ange-

les-based Rapiscan, said: “We are very excited to be included on the ACSTL and the only approved CT EDS on the list. “Our teams have worked extremely hard to create an exceptional product which we are all proud of. The technology has been designed to the highest quality to provide reliable and effective high-speed screening with many features ideally suited for the fast parcel industry and we are really pleased that our hard work is now being recognised.

Airports call for ambitious reform of outdated EU slot allocation regime

CI EUROPE has set out its recommendations for a comprehensive overhaul of the EU Airport Slot Regulation. It has called for “vital and overdue change” in the way airport slot allocation is governed. For the most part, the core principles of existing legislation date back some 27 years and are “no longer fit for purpose” to promote more efficient operations and more effective competition within the avi-

ation industry for the benefit of consumers. The trade body’s Position Paper on Airport Slot Allocation is underpinned by a comprehensive study undertaken by independent expert Professor Amedeo Odoni of MIT, which analyses the functioning of the EU Airport Slot Regulation. Europe accounts for half of the world’s most congested airports - and the study estimates that up to 10% of slots at these airports may be going to waste each year.

cargo can be inspected. The RTT110 will undergo further field tests which it must pass before it can be for-

THE NEXT DECADE OF CHANGE A By Kevin Lawler, Pelican BioThermal vp Sales

s we cross the threshold into a new decade in 2020, it is a time to take stock of the significant changes that transformed the pharmaceutical cold chain industry during the past decade. The years from 2010 through 2019 indelibly altered the landscape of pharmaceutical development and delivery, introducing both life-saving breakthroughs and unprecedented business pressure. The following four predictions are what we see on the immediate and not-so-distant horizon that will continue to transform the pharmaceutical and cold chain industries.

1:1 therapies Cell and gene therapies provide great promise for developing effective patient-specific treatments based on a person’s unique genetic and cellular make up. But these 1:1 therapies come at an incredibly high cost. With more cell and gene therapies expected to be approved in 2020 and beyond we anticipate this sector of the pharmaceutical industry will continue to ramp up — which will add more complexity to cold chain distribution, both inbound and outbound – from and to the patient. Scalability and costs will also become focal points for delivering cell and gene therapies and other specialty therapies. Pharma manufacturers will seek strategies to scale more quickly and drive down costs. One solution may be the development of therapies

ACW 27 JANUARY 2019

with common DNA characteristics no longer tailored to one-to-one, but one to many. In either case, these therapies are extremely sensitive to temperature fluctuation during transit and pharmaceutical manufacturers will demand increased confidence that these costly therapies will arrive on time, intact, and in temp, to their destinations.

Pricing reform With public scrutiny on the price and accessibility of pharma worldwide, there will be continued focus on bringing pharmaceutical prices down, which has the potential to dismantle long-standing pricing models for drug developers. With the upcoming 2020 U.S. election, Congress will likely drive pricing reform — which will impact the development of drugs and specialty therapies and likely accelerate the release of generic and bio-similar versions to the market. In an effort to preserve profitability, pharmaceutical companies are expected to continue to expand the use of outsourced partners to drive down costs. Sales and R&D are likely to be the only functions retained in-house, with all other critical operations outsourced. Cold chain packaging providers will be asked to provide more operational services on an outsourced basis such as support, conditioning, pick-and-pack and refurbishment — while needing to extend their global reach. Transportation providers (3PLs and Integrators) and contract manufacturers (CMOs and CDMOs) will also be

asked to provide additional services such as thermal packaging, refrigeration, and pick-and-pack support. As a result, we expect to see more alliances between packaging, transportation and contract manufacturing providers to leverage best-in-class capabilities to support increasingly cost-conscious global pharmaceutical manufacturing companies.

transportation decisions going forward.

Technology disrupts

Sustainability driving

At the beginning of this decade and prior, healthcare providers entered a transformational phase as they migrated to electronic health records. Technology is now present in the pharma manufacturing space in the form of automation to improve efficiency and optimization. While slower to advance, technology has recently begun to enter the pharmaceutical cold chain — and it’s now gaining more traction as the Internet of Things (IoT) progresses from intriguing concept to attainable reality. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are beginning to ask for real-time tracking of ambient and payload temperature, as well as RFID for location tracking and tracing. This will lead to more and more data being collected to assess challenging shipping lanes and distribution modes where temperature and other issues arise. With technology to provide remote temperature management, alerts and global vision, pharma manufacturers will increasingly leverage this data to make smarter cold chain

Not long ago, pharma manufacturers viewed sustainability advantages offered by packaging and transportation providers as a good thing, but not a deciding factor. As we move into 2020, that is completely shifting. With initiatives such as the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) driving corporate initiatives toward more ecofriendly practices around the world, the pharma industry is much more focused on reducing their environmental impact. As a result, the use of reusable packaging continues to gain acceptance, and many pharmaceutical manufacturers are now requiring their vendors to demonstrate that their packaging and modes of transportation minimize negative effects on the environment. Packaging providers are also being asked to provide tools to help pharmaceutical manufacturers measure their actual environmental impact so they can monitor and demonstrate their reductions in carbon footprint and waste.

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THE MAN WITH THE UNEXPLAINED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA

Beep: the birth of the barcode

et’s face one of the deans to it, in the research a system alphabet to automatically soup that read product inforis modern mation during airfreight induscheckout. try, where we have Food Fair, also RFID, AI, IoT to known by its name just a few successor name acronyms, where Pantry Pride, was a would we be withlarge supermarket out a bit of idle chain in the United dreaming on a n States. It was American beach founded by Samuel long before I was N. Friedland, who born? opened the first Barcodes seem store (as Reading like they have been Giant Quality Price around forever. Cutter) in HarrisCertainly no cargo burg, Pennsylvania Mr Barcode warehouse or even in the late 1920s. basic shipment is now complete with As of 1957, Food Fair had 275 stores, its array of black-and-white zebra and at its peak, the chain had more than markings on the side? 500 stores. Friedland’s family retained In the supermarket, the Beep is control of the firm through 1978, when enough to send you to despair. Yet, the chain entered bankruptcy. without it, how much of all our lives Silver told his friend Norman Woodwould be spent writing things down? land about the request and they started Like so many commonplace objects, working on a variety of systems. Their few know where they come from. I first working system used ultraviolet for one had no idea a barcode had ink. The ink faded too easily and was ever been invented; thought they just expensive. Bye-bye that idea. appeared.. Gambling there was something in Wow, when I looked into it, did I have this, Woodland left Drexel, moved into a surprise! his father’s apartment in Florida and continued working on the system. Hungry for IT He was inspired by Morse code. Its dots and dashes had since the midIt seems that in 1948, Bernard Silver, 19th century taken news and gossip a graduate student at Drexel Institute around the world. of Technology in Philadelphia, PennSilver was on the beach where he sylvania, US overheard the president of formed his first barcode from sand on the local food chain, Food Fair, asking the beach. “I just extended the dots and

dashes downwards and made narrow lines and wide lines out of them.” To read them, he adapted technology from optical soundtracks in movies, using a 500-watt incandescent light bulb shining through the paper onto an RCA935 photomultiplier tube from a movie projector on the far side. The next year,

Woodl a n d a n d Silver filed a patent application for “ C l a s s i f y - ing Apparatus and Method”, in which they described both the linear and a bull’s eye printing patterns, as well as the mechanical and electronic systems needed to read the code. The patent was issued on 7 October 1952 as US Patent 2612994. In 1951, Woodland moved to International Business Machine (IBM) and continually tried to interest IBM in developing the system. The company eventually commissioned a report on the idea, which concluded that it was both feasible and interesting, but that processing the resulting information would require equipment that was some time off in the future. IBM offered to buy the patent, but the offer was not accepted. Philco purchased the patent in 1962 and then sold it to RCA sometime later.

On track

The early 1960’s developments with barcodes extended through much of industry, such as American railroads, a toll bridge in New Jersey, US Post Office and General Motors. In the early 1970’s, the technology jumped the barrier into the consumer world. This was neat as it had been a grocery chain that had instigated Silver’s interest. In July 1972, an 18-month test in a Kroger store in Cincinnati saw barcodes printed on small pieces of adhesive paper, and attached by hand by store employees when they were adding price tags. The code proved to have a serious problem; the printers would sometimes smear ink, rendering the code unreadable in most orientations. However, a linear code, like the one being developed by Woodland at IBM, was printed in the direction of the stripes, so extra ink would simply make the code “taller” while remaining readable. So on 3 April 1973, a standard was selected. A testbed at Marsh’s Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, near the factory that was producing the equipment. On 26 June 1974, Clyde Dawson pulled a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum out of his basket and it was scanned by Sharon Buchanan at 8:01 am. The gum and receipt are now on display in the Smithsonian .

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