ACW World Airlines Supplement 29th March 22 by Azura International

WORLD AIRLINES SUPPLEMENT

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WORLD AIRLINES SUPPLEMENT

Your guide to the latest developments in the international airfreight industry

WHAT MAKES A WORLD AIRLINE OPPORTUNITIES AFTER COVID FOR QATAR AIRWAYS CARGO THERE’S NO MAÑANA IN AIRFREIGHT FOR LATAM ETIHAD CARGO STAYS AHEAD OF THE CHALLENGES

29th March 22

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WORLD AIRLINES

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WHAT MAKES A WORLD AIRLINE? Who would run an airline in 2022? Over the past two years, world airlines have undergone a shock like none other since 1945. Legacy passenger carriers have seen traffic numbers plummet instantly and alarmingly when the virus appeared. This led to immediate grounding of thousands of aircraft that worked to rob the airfreight supply chain of invaluable belly-hold capacity. However for freight airlines, the opposite has been the case. Demands for PPE and other sanitary equipment quickly replaced the commodity cargo lost to the fall in consumer and business demand and confidence. This means that freight gained an importance it had never enjoyed before. Suddenly, global airlines flying around their networks were bringing health and safety to communities to help them fight the pandemic. Airline managements were quick to discover that freight, once a Cinderella of the aviation business, was now the only serious source of revenue. The black ink of airfreight operations diluted the red ink from the passenger side. This is why world airlines are now looking forward to an easing of the pandemic restrictions in many aviation markets that should herald new opportunities for growing networks and creating demand for airfreight services. The major concern for international belly-hold capacity providers is how quickly mass passenger traffic will return. Cargo follows cabin traffic so airfreight growth may yet depend on how confident and safe passengers will be in taking flights across the planet.

Legacy carriers Within aviation, airlines are generally grouped into three categories: legacy (or network) airlines, low cost carriers (LCCs) and ultra low cost carriers (ULCCs). This translates into a world airline being a legacy carrier if it provides mainly belly-hold capacity. An all-cargo carrier can be described as a network carrier. So what makes an airline a ‘world airline’? There are some 5,000 airlines with ICAO codes. There are 195 countries in the world today. The key measurement as to whether a carrier can be described as truly a ‘world’ airline must surely be the size of its network serving. This can equate to the number of countries in its network. In pole position has to be Turkish Airlines with some 121 countries served pre-pandemic. Next is Air France, in the AFKLMP grouping, at 91 countries served. British Airways, part of IAG, served 82 countries, one more than Ethiopian Airlines’ total network. In terms of destinations, it is main-deck capacity that takes the crown. In 2019, UPS served 815 destinations. In second place was FedEx at 375 destinations. The first legacy carrier in the list was at third place with United Airlines’ 373 destinations served.

Net Zero ambitions In the depth of the pandemic in 2021, the world’s top airlines made a joint pledge to reach “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050, as the

aviation industry ramps up efforts to curb its contribution to global warming. For aviation, net zero is a bold, audacious commitment. But it is also a necessity said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), to top airline executives meeting in Boston. IATA’s commitment came 12 years after the global airline association unveiled its first plan to reduce airline CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. Proof of the industry’s good faith, Walsh assured, is that airlines “invested hundreds of billions of dollars in more fuel-efficient aircraft,” with fleet fuel efficiency improving by over 20% in a decade. There was some friction at the time when Chinese carriers stressed that the 2050 objective was inconsistent with the goal adopted by their government in Beijing, which aims for carbon neutrality ten years later by the year 2060.

Global air traffic Industry business intelligence provider Statista says the number of flights performed globally by the airline industry had increased steadily since the early 2000s and reached 38.9 million in 2019. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of flights dropped to 16.9 million in 2020. The number of flights performed increased year-on-year continuously to transport both passengers and freight. The industry’s recent growth can be attributed to a combination of increasing living standards and decreasing costs of air travel. While North American and European airlines currently dominate in terms of both revenue and passengers flown, it is predicted that future growth will be highest in the emerging markets of Africa, Latin America and Asia. This is due not only to economic development but also to the expected increase in the working-age population of many countries in these regions.

“The number of flights performed increased year-on-year continuously to transport both passengers and freight”

COVID-19 Under the circumstances of COVID-19, governments made a multitude of adjustments in the aviation industry to take the spread of the pandemic under control. Flights were cancelled, and individuals had to keep high levels of safety measures, such as social distancing. Subsequently, COVID-19 created many hurdles for the airlines to handle to be able to operate. According to an early 2020 survey, roughly 44% of individuals somewhat approved of how airlines dealt with the COVID19 outbreak. The emergence of COVID-19 also challenged the feeling of comfort amongst individuals to fly. As of May 2020, more than 40% of people expressed that they will use air travel less than planned over the next 18 months in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. This type of change in individual preferences raises a multitude of potential hurdles for aviation firms to tackle to survive this crisis sustainably, including an obvious tightening of belly-hold capacity.

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WORLD AIRLINES

OPPORTUNITIES AFTER COVID FOR QATAR AIRWAYS CARGO

“The pandemic, in fact, opened the world’s eyes to the importance of air cargo, and cast us into the spotlight”

Guillaume Halleux has been chief officer cargo at Qatar Airways, leading the cargo division, for the past five years since being appointed to this post in October 2017. He stands at the head of over 1,030 staff employed with Qatar Airways Cargo and close to 1,800 staff working in cargo operations with QAS Cargo, the ground handling company. Staff attrition rate is quite low and given the demand for air cargo, staff member numbers are definitely increasing. Halleux says: “We have been hiring throughout the pandemic. Reinforced by the QTalent programme, our world-class graduate development scheme, we are able to attract the most promising high-potentials and train them to become the leaders of the future. Hiring talents during the pandemic has been a mammoth challenge for our organisation. However, we have a team of resilient talent acquisition professionals, who have been hard at work deploying out-of-the-box tactics in sourcing, hiring and onboarding key talents for the business. “Before the pandemic, cargo contributed 20% of Qatar Airways’ revenue. Our market share in 2019 was 6.80% and it has certainly grown during the pandemic. In 2019, we transported close to

1,470,000 tonnes. This tonnage increased by 3.45% in 2020, and by 14.02% in 2021. In March 2021, our market share was 9%, with a 21.9% growth (YTD March 2021). Currently, we are ranked number one, with a market share of 8.31% (as of December 2021 YTD), and based on CTK growth, we are up by 17.01%. “The pandemic, in fact, opened the world’s eyes to the importance of air cargo, and cast us into the spotlight. At Qatar Airways, cargo always receives a lot of support. In fact, Qatar Airways Group chief executive, HE Mr Al Baker has always believed in cargo. This is why we have hardly any A380s, as they are not very cargo-friendly aircraft. Instead, we opted for Boeing’s 777 model and this has proved to be the right decision. Cargo has never taken the backseat at Qatar, nor was it ever viewed as insignificant before the pandemic. The way the carrier is set up, perfectly illustrates this: as head of cargo, I do not report to the head of commercial as some cargo heads do. I report directly to the group CEO, and that has always been the case. “We operated preighters throughout the pandemic and they played an important role in compensating for the capacity loss due to the grounding of passenger aircraft. “We will continue to utilise preighters for as long as operations are viable, and regulations allow. However, everything will depend on passenger demand development, cargo market demand conditions and fuel fluctuations. We are continuously working on examining

There are exciting things happening at Qatar Airways Cargo on all fronts; including new chapters under its WeQare programme

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proposals to source additional capacity under ACMI to meet and exceed customer needs.”

“As COVID-19 restrictions loosen, it will also allow many businesses across the supply chain to manage and forecast better”

QR converted six of its Boeing 777-300 passenger planes to preighters, or “mini-freighters” as the carrier likes to call them. They offered much-needed main deck capacity. In addition, it also used its passenger planes as passenger freighters, i.e., carrying cargo in the belly of those planes. Currently, five of the mini-freighters have been returned for passenger operations, with the last one due to return in April 2022. Halleux says: “We are very proud of our ‘Golden Triangle’ strategy, which involves our revenue management, commercial network planning and cargo teams adapting and working in cooperation to create a successful business model. Thanks to this approach, we did the most flying during the pandemic, efficiently utilising all our belly-hold planes and freighters (excluding the 10 A380s) and aligning our networks to benefit both business areas. “We have an extensive freighter fleet comprising of two Boeing 747-8 freighters, 26 Boeing 777 freighters, and one Boeing 777-300 mini-freighter offering main deck capacity. We also have the airline’s large passenger fleet at our disposal, where cargo is transported in the belly of the passenger planes. “In addition to this, we have wet-leased five freighters (two Boeing

Recovery in sight While some are saying there will be no pre-pandemic levels of passenger business until 2024/5. Halleux is confident passenger levels will return. He says: “We saw recovery over the course of 2021, as aircraft movements, airport cargo operations and passenger numbers all increased. At Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Qatar, we witnessed a 41.37% rise in passengers served in 2021, compared to 2020. Airport cargo operations increased by 20.71% in 2021, with 2,589,283 tonnes of cargo handled at HIA in 2021. “Aircraft movement also grew by 28.12%, with 169,909 total aircraft take-off and landings at HIA. “The capacity crunch will ease off as more aircraft take to the skies. As COVID-19 restrictions loosen, it will also allow many businesses across the supply chain to manage and forecast better, due to a reduced level of uncertainty, especially as newer Covid variants have less severe symptoms. “At some point, the balance between belly-hold and full freighter capacity will return to some sort of normality. At that time, only

Preighters use

747-400F, an Airbus 310-300F and two Airbus 330-300 mini-freighters), in order to provide additional capacity on key trade lanes. “We also made the largest freighter commitment (by value) in Boeing’s history, by ordering up to 50 B777-8 freighters.”

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“I would describe it more like a triathlon with a number of hurdles; however, given our resilience, we overcame all of them as one team”

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WORLD AIRLINES

the airlines that have accomplished their digital transformation will come out stronger. “We have positioned ourselves as a critical supplier of capacity even during the pandemic, and along with ensuring adequate capacity is provided, we have been investing in enhancements, innovation and digitalisation that will help us meet the logistics demand of the future.

Sprint or marathon? How would Halleux describe Qatar Airway’s recovery from the pandemic: a sprint or a marathon? He says: “I would describe it more like a triathlon with a number of hurdles; however, given our resilience, we overcame all of them as one team. The pandemic caused many changes in the way we do business. We have a 5-pillar strategy called the “Big Five” in place to continue to grow and develop the business post-pandemic. The pillars are: Quality, Customer Centricity, Products and Services, Digital Future and Set an Example. It comes down to always being available for our customers, being easy to deal with, also digitally, selling and marketing USPs and special services correctly, being efficient, cost-effective, reliable and ultimately coming out of the pandemic more sustainable and with even higher quality. One thing remained constant throughout the crisis, we never lost communication with our customers. We could not meet faceto-face, but we did stay in contact either through phone calls or web meetings. “e-Commerce witnessed an upward spiral since the onset of the pandemic, and with buying trends continuing to be online, we will be seeing a massive growth in 2022 and beyond. This will definitely create a high demand, and we are able to offer the versatility, speed, accuracy, a reliable, global network as well as an extensive fleet that are required to transport such e-Commerce shipments. “As an example, we recently partnered with Cainiao, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, to support e-Commerce growth in South America with the launch of a weekly Boeing 777 freighter service linking Hong Kong (HKG) and São Paulo (GRU). Airlines must continue to be agile and adapt their business to the needs of the customers, mostly around service quality, agility, flexibility, innovation and sustainability. “Considering the high demand for e-Commerce, and the pressure global supply chains are under, we are ensuring that we can add the right capacity to support our customers and global trade. “Throughout the pandemic, we collaborated closely with our customers to ensure ultimate reliability, and to best navigate the challenges together with our dedicated teams across the world.

We couldn’t have done this alone and are indeed thankful to all our partners, stakeholders, ground handling agents, customers, general sales agents, and most importantly, to our hardworking staff. We have focused significantly on schedule robustness, customer centricity, and digitalisation to maintain our position as the world’s leading air cargo carrier. The new groundbreaking order of 50 Boeing 777-8 freighters will enable a more sustainable and profitable business for us. This will also help us to increase our capacity and add new destinations to our extensive network, as well as give us an edge on the charter business front.” Halleux says: “Digitalisation and automation are the need of the hour and are definitely set to increase in the coming years. Air cargo carriers must embrace digitalisation, or they will be left behind as customers are asking for transparency and availability of real-time information. Had processes already been more digital, we would be faced with fewer disruptions. However, this is also now the opportunity to be the shining light during these critical times. “Luckily for us, a few of our digitalisation initiatives were completed before the pandemic, and a number of them during the pandemic, for example the roll-out of the third-party e-Booking platform, WebCargo, and providing key input during IATA’s Enhanced Partner Identification and Connectivity (EPIC) platform, which went live in March last year, to support the digitalisation of the global air cargo supply chain.”

Opportunities Environmental sustainability and decarbonisation, in particular, are central to Qatar Airways Cargo’s corporate strategy. There are several opportunities for the airline to contribute towards sustainability in multiple areas such as climate and energy, weight and waste management, and water usage reduction. Qatar Airways Cargo remains committed to ensuring environmental sustainability in its operations. With the introduction of its cargo voluntary carbon-offsetting programme, the airline will allow customers to easily incorporate carbon-neutral business practices into their overall corporate strategy. He says: “As the State of Qatar moves towards FIFA 2022, it is an exciting time for us at Qatar Airways, since we are working with FIFA on managing the environmental impact due to the event. Being the Official Partner and the Official Airline of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we are pleased to be part of the first Carbon Neutral FIFA World Cup. “There are more exciting things happening at Qatar Airways Cargo on all fronts, including new chapters under our WeQare programme, and we will make more announcements in due time.”

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WORLD AIRLINES

THERE’S NO MAÑANA IN AIRFR Getting back into shape after the last two years is high on LATAM’s ambitions. Five years into his role as LATAM Cargo’s chief executive, Andrés Bianchi knows what he has to do. In April 2017 Andrés Bianchi was appointed LATAM Cargo’s chief executive officer. This meant he had been in harness for just over two years before the global Coronavirus pandemic rewrote much of the world’s trading activities. Where once Bianchi’s concerns were aimed at filling his capacity, like all the world airlines, they quickly turned to the empty cabins above the cargo space and the hole it had created

in the airline business. He was able to counter the problem by drawing on his 17 years experience in the airline business. Twelve of these years were in air cargo operations. He held multiple roles at LATAM Cargo, such as vice president finance, senior vice president network and senior vice president sales and revenues management for North America, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining LATAM Cargo, he had worked at McKinsey and Company and between 2002 and 2006 he was LAN Airlines’ Investor Relations Officer. He has a MBA (with Honours) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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RFREIGHT FOR LATAM This range of experience and skills allows him to head an operation of approximately 3200 staff members. He says: “The number has been growing and we expect it to continue doing so as we advance our cargo expansion plan.” In 2019 LATAM Cargo’s revenues amounted to nearly $1 billion. This represented 12% of the Group’s total annual revenues. During 2022, Bianchi expects total tonnage to grow 8% to 10% vs pre-pandemic levels.

Cargo success Cargo has been considered a key business for the Group for over 25 years. It has operated freighter aircraft while fully leveraging the capacity of its passenger fleet. It has supported this capacity with dedicated handling operations at key stations. Combined, these elements have formed South America’s broadest and deepest cargo network.

During the pandemic, the Group reinforced its commitment to cargo by announcing an 80% expansion of its freighter fleet and implementing the world’s most advanced end-to-end cargo system - Croamis. Did LATAM turn to the use of preighters during the crisis? Bianchi recalls the airline took every means to ensure cargo, especially vital PPE, kept moving through the dark days. He says: “During the crisis we used almost all aircraft types as preighters, including B777s, B787s, B767s and even A320s. As we recover our passenger network and most of these aircraft are back into passenger service, fewer aircraft will be available for preighter flights. At this point we only expect to operate some of the B767s that are to undergo their conversions during 2022/2023. “LATAM currently operates a fleet of 13 Boeing 767-300 freighters. We will receive two more during the first half of 2022 and six more during 2023. We expect that under normal circumstances about half of our lift will be provided by freighters.” A range of industry experts are saying passenger services will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2024/5. Does Bianchi agree with this observation and, if so, what are the implications for LATAM’s freight offerings? He agrees: “While it is extremely challenging to make projections

in the current environment, we expect that to be the case. Having said that, we expect cargo-relevant passenger capacity to recover faster. “Our freighter growth plan is extremely flexible as the B763F is able to handle multiple route and cargo mix combinations optimally. We currently have 3-4 different deployment scenarios. Furthermore, since the plan is based pre-COVID economics it is sustainable even if passenger operations grow faster than expected and demand returns to pre-pandemic levels. The pandemic and its recovery have been, and still are, characterised by a high level of uncertainty and complexity. Its duration and evolution has proven difficult to forecast and thus, maximum collaboration and agility have been necessary to sustain our operation and support LATAM’s customers. He says: “While this can easily be associated with a series of sprints, we have approached it as a marathon: every short decision needs to fit with our long-term plan.” e-Commerce is generally accepted to have received a major kickstart during the pandemic as people were locked down around the world. Will this surge continue and if so, what might be the implications for his airline’s freight operations? “We have seen a relevant surge of demand related to e-Commerce in our region in both trade border and domestic demand. Multiple players - ranging from e-Tailers to companies developing their e-Commerce capabilities - have made several announcements into and inside South America,” says Bianchi. “We believe that the breadth and depth of our combined network, as well as the flexibility of the B763Fs positions us to serve these types of customers. For example, we have an agreement with Cainao to distribute their cargo throughout South America. Another key element is to be able to integrate digitally and our new system gives a powerful tool in this regard.”

“Our freighter growth plan is extremely flexible as the B763F is able to handle multiple route and cargo mix combinations optimally”

Future-proofed If change is the only constant, Bianchi is aware that he must future-proof his operations to meet any future challenges, including those we cannot even imagine. Consider what we might have replied if we have been told about Coronavirus in 2018. Bianchi says: “Freighter markets are inherently volatile and we have designed our strategy with that in mind. Our approach has been to (1) build a talented and customer-focused organisation; (2) give it a fleet/network combination that is efficient and flexible; and (3) support it with robust technological tools. The expansion of our freighter fleet, our alliance strategy and the deployment of CROAMIS all fit into this. Upcoming developments like the launch of new O&Ds (Origin & Destination) and advanced analytics should further enhance the robustness and sustainability of our freighter network. “Last year, LATAM Cargo went through the most important technological transformation of its history by implementing a new version of CROAMIS - the most advanced end-to-end platform in the industry - on its international operations. Implementing CROAMIS has enabled us to automate and digitise multiple processes. Additionally, this has allowed us to create the data lake that is enabling the start of multiple AA/AI/ML initiatives.”

WORLD AIRLINES

ETIHAD CARGO STAYS AHEA Martin Drew has been in the role of leading Etihad Cargo since only November 2020. Talk about a baptism of fire. Etihad Cargo has a global team of over 300 people headed by Drew and prioritises the continued development of team skills while ensuring the retention of key talent throughout the business. As Etihad Cargo continued to grow and deliver world-class service as an air cargo partner of choice in 2021, it has been actively hiring for various roles within commercial, revenue management and fleet planning teams. Martin Drew, senior vice president – sales and cargo for Etihad Aviation Group, says: “The past two years have also seen changes at an industry level, as carriers adapted to the challenges of a global pandemic. To ensure Etihad Cargo has stayed ahead of these changes, our HR department has been working closely with all departments within the business to support new and existing employees. Etihad Cargo has also rolled out generous incentive schemes and comprehensive training programmes to ensure we remain an employer of choice. As a result, Etihad Cargo has one of the best teams in the industry.”

Group activities Etihad Cargo represented 13% of Etihad Aviation Group’s total revenue in 2019. However, as a result of the pandemic, air cargo was called upon, playing an even more crucial role, and became the lifeline of the group. It contributed 49% of total revenue in 2020 and 55% in 2021. In terms of tonnage, pre-COVID tonnage in 2019 reached 408,383 tonnes. In 2021, Etihad Cargo achieved a record tonnage of 729,200 tonnes – the highest since 2017, as it worked closely with customers to address capacity demands on key trade lanes. While the market is volatile and is difficult to predict, Drew foresees a decrease in tonnage carried in 2022 compared to 2021 as cargo in cabin capacity reduces.

Pandemic impact The pandemic has indeed shed light on the importance of cargo within the airline, considers Drew. With passenger flights grounded because of global travel restrictions, Etihad Cargo became the lifeline of the airline in addition to playing a major role in the UAE government aid programme as the national carrier. While Etihad remains predominately a passenger airline, Etihad Cargo has a prominent position in the strategy and when making choices related to routes and aircrafts deployed to destinations. Drew says: “Etihad Cargo rolled out the first passenger freighter within 24 hours of ceasing our passenger operations, and within 48 hours, we had a full schedule. As passenger flights were grounded due to global travel restrictions, Etihad Cargo added capacity along key strategic routes by temporarily modifying five Boeing 777 aircraft to support cabin-loaded cargo, operating more than 800 chartered and scheduled cargo flights in the new configuration

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HEAD OF THE CHALLENGES in 2021. This, in addition to Etihad Cargo’s five Boeing 777 freighters, has greatly supported Etihad Cargo’s allocation of necessary capacity to ensure connectivity along major trade lanes for our customers and partners. More significantly, these passenger freighters have also played a major role in the UAE Government’s aid programme. “With the current pent-up demand on the passenger side, we have started to convert those aircraft back to passenger configuration. All of them will be flying with seats on for the summer peak.” At present, freighters hold a 40% share of cargo traffic for the carrier.

Bounce back? With passenger services unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025, Drew is quietly confident that the industry will be able to build back better. He says: “In the last year, we have already seen encouraging signs of recovery in the passenger services sector month-on-month. While a return to pre-COVID passenger numbers is estimated to happen in 2024, we are optimistic that this year will see a continuation of the recovery momentum already witnessed month on month.” In terms of the question as to whether recovery from the pandemic will be a sprint or a marathon, Drew is hedging his bets. He says: “I would have to say a little bit of both. There is the shortterm impact, where yields are making up for capacity challenges. At the same time, there is the sense of this being a long-haul journey or marathon, as we have invested and developed strategies that will contribute to long-term benefits. These include addressing customer demands, such as developing our booking portal and sustainability initiatives. “e-Commerce has definitely picked up pace during the pandemic. We expect to see this demand continue, especially with the rapidly developing technologies that promote and encourage online shopping habits, which further feed into a growing consumer behaviour and preference for buying while staying in the comfort and safety of their homes. This trend is likely to continue, placing a requirement on logistics stakeholders to adapt. Accordingly, the key success differentiators to adapt will include agility, the adoption of innovative solutions and forging and retaining strong partnerships.” Understanding these trends, Etihad Cargo embarked on a digitalisation journey in 2018 and has continued to invest in its infrastructure and resources, which has proved to be very useful in supporting growing customer demands over the past two years. The most significant challenges remain achieving required turnarounds and supporting last minute bookings. To facilitate this, Etihad Cargo has invested in a new booking portal, which provides access to capacity in addition to being available on third party portals. This is how Drew and his team have future-proofed their freight operations. He says: “Etihad Cargo is committed to our continuous investment in digitalisation. We have launched a new booking portal as part of our continuous development strategy, as well as partnering with third

party portals and launching a Mandarin website. Also, as part of the Etihad Aviation Group, Etihad Cargo has cemented its commitment towards sustainable objectives, including achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Etihad has been a leader in this direction and Etihad Cargo recognises the way to differentiate our operations is by making and allowing our partners to make more conscious choices.”

AI’s future role Industry estimates suggest world air cargo traffic will more than double over the next 20 years, expanding to $578 billion revenue tonne-kilometre (RTK) by 2039. But for Etihad Cargo to be able to benefit from such growth forecasts and secure increased market share, the industry has to be both digitally prepared and ready with the necessary infrastructure and technologies in place. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a front-runner among technologies in a diverse range of sectors, including air cargo, are adopting to enhance their offerings. To ensure its future readiness, Etihad Cargo has entered into a Proof-of-Concept agreement with Singapore-based SPEEDCARGO, a leading-edge logistics technology solutions provider, to utilise AI products to boost cargo capacity on flights. This is Etihad Cargo’s first experience with AI and, once all tests are completed, this technology will deliver significant cost control through manpower savings that could reach up to 3,720 hours a month. Drew says: “Minimising leakage and optimising offload recovery by up to a third and automating accurate data receipts will result in improved customer satisfaction. Additionally, clients will benefit from highly transparent and accountable billing, as well as quicker response times for freighter charter quotations. “Simply put, by maximising cargo across flights and ULD container configurations in accordance with internal loading rules, Etihad Cargo can boost capacity by more than 3,000 tonnes a year, equating to a significant increase in revenue yield. We believe these are all necessary steps in the right direction.”

“Etihad Cargo is committed to our continuous investment in digitalisation”

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WORLD AIRLINES DATA The airline business is about numbers - number of flights, number of tonnes moved, number of consignments lifted and the number of warehousing square metres within the supply chain. The business figures also matter, especially over the last two years, when the bottom-line of many airlines bled red. Now, in the recovery mode which

many carriers have adopted, the numbers should turn black out of the red. We would like to thank IATA for the data supplied for this feature.

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WORLD AIRLINES RALLY TO UKRAINE’S AID • Lufthansa’s new freighter to fly aid for Ukraine • Air Canada joins partners to send aid to refugees in Poland • El Al ships humanitarian aid • United announces a fundraising effort to fly aid supplies to the areas of Ukraine that are most in need A number of world airlines have undertaken mercy flights of cargo and medical supplies to Ukraine to relieve the suffering that is being seen on television screens around the globe. One of the first missions of Lufthansa’s new A321 medium-haul freighter was to fly aid cargo to Poland, the carrier’s cargo chief revealed at a livestream event to launch the new aircraft on March 15. Chair of the executive board and chief executive Dorothea von Boxberg said that the flight was only one of a number of fundraising and aid efforts, which also included raising funds and free transport on the Lufthansa road feeder system to Poland. Speaking before the converted aircraft’s first departure – which has been dubbed ‘Hello Europe’ – on a service to Dublin, the carrier’s chief commercial officer, Ashwin Bhat said that the aircraft would provide Lufthansa with more flexibility. It could, he said, be used for charter services or even ACMI leasing deals.

Humanitarian special cargo An Air Canada-operated humanitarian special cargo flight on behalf of Airlink and other aid organisations departed Toronto Pearson International Airport with a final destination of Warsaw, Poland on March 9. Through a partnership between Air Canada, disaster logistics non-profit Airlink, relief organisation Project C.U.R.E., and freight forwarder Flexport, medical supplies and hospital beds, humanitarian and medical supplies were loaded onboard the Air Canada Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Medical and trauma supplies destined for a Ukrainian hospital provided by Canadian disaster relief and life-saving humanitarian aid organisation GlobalMedic were also boarded. More than two million people throughout Ukraine have now fled their homes after the invasion seeking safety in neighbouring countries. Primary care has been identified by aid agencies as one of the most pressing needs. “Our hearts are with the Ukrainian people in need – all of us have seen the crisis they are facing. We know from our aid partners the critical requirement for much needed medical and humanitarian

supplies and our global partner Airlink reached out to us to help transport these vital items quickly,” said Jason Berry, vice president, cargo at Air Canada. Meanwhile, the final portion of Israel’s 100-tonne humanitarian aid package to Ukraine left Ben Gurion Airport in an El Al aircraft carrying the aid — preceded by two additional flights —to Warsaw for later delivery in Ukraine this week. “This is a gesture of friendship to the Ukrainian people,” said a representative from Mashav, a division of the Israel foreign ministry that co-ordinates the country’s national aid. “The mission, 100 tonnes in one day to Ukraine, is without precedent and we should be proud about it,” she told the local press. The aid includes 17 tonnes of medical equipment and medicine, water purification systems intended to supply 200,000 people, emergency water supply kits to supply 100,000 people, winter tents to house 3,000, 15,000 blankets, 3,000 sleeping bags, and 2,700 winter coats.

Critical role United has organised a fundraising effort that has the potential to play a critical role in the mission to fly aid workers and supplies to the areas of Ukraine that are most in need. United’s MileagePlus members can donate cash or miles to the airline’s signature relief partners - Airlink, Americares, American Red Cross and World Central Kitchen - by visiting united.com/UkraineSupport. United will match the first five million donated miles - the equivalent of hundreds of connecting flights to places like Poland, Hungary and Romania - and $100,000 as well as award bonus miles to anyone who gives $50 or more. “The human tragedy we are witnessing in Ukraine is horrifying and has shocked us all so we’re doing our part to quickly help get aid to the people who desperately need relief,” said United president Brett Hart. “Our partners have been on the ground for more than a week and it’s clear they need more resources to fulfill their mission of flying workers and supplies to and from the frontlines of this crisis. We’re proud to do our part and will continue to look for ways to lend support where it’s needed.” In addition to fundraising efforts, United has paused Russian airspace transit, suspended interline agreements with Russian carriers and until further notice, credit card payments from Russia will no longer be accepted.

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