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Air Cargo

Menzies Fiji Airways Auckland International Airport

Menzies Aviation announces airline deals in Australia and New Zealand

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Menzies Fiji Airways Auckland International Airport

Global aviation logistics specialist Menzies Aviation has renewed and won several key contracts with airlines in Australia and New Zealand. These contracts include deals with China Airlines, Fiji Airways, Virgin Australia, Thai Airways and Aircalin.

Menzies says the company has renewed its ground services contract with China Airlines at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports. The company has worked with the airline in Sydney for 10 years and the partnership has expanded to Menzies now providing above and below the wing services to China Airlines at Australia’s three busiest airports.

Menzies has also renewed a contract with Thai Airways at Sydney and Melbourne airports, and continues to provide passenger and ramp services for the airline.

In New Zealand, Menzies says it has locked in a further term with Fiji Airways to provide air cargo handling services at Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington airports.

At these three airports, Menzies has established itself as a premium cargo terminal operator (CTO) and has state-of-the-art warehouses at Auckland and Christchurch and brand-new facility at Wellington.

Virgin Australia has selected Menzies as its new CTO across all three stations and Menzies will continue to be Aircalin’s CTO at both Auckland and Sydney airports, building on a 15-year partnership with New Caledonia’s national carrier.

Alistair Reid, Executive Vice President, Oceania & South East Asia at Menzies Aviation, said: “It is fantastic to see the momentum we have achieved across Australia and New Zealand with this series of key contract wins and renewals. These wins demonstrate Menzies’ consistent standards of excellence across both ground services and cargo, and the value of long-term co-operation with our airline customers. We are looking forward to further deepening these relationships and to continued growth in the Oceania region.”

March 14, 2022
AviaAM Leasing delivers one more B737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter to the lessee - Bluebird Nordic

AviaAM Leasing delivers B737-800 Converted Freighter to Bluebird Nordic

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AviaAM Leasing delivers one more B737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter to the lessee - Bluebird Nordic

Global aircraft leasing, trading and remarketing solutions provider AviaAM Leasing has announced the delivery of its second B737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter to Bluebird Nordic.

Bluebird Nordic is a rapidly expanding Icelandic cargo airline that offers ACMI and full-service cargo operations. Both Bluebird Nordic and AviaAM Leasing are part of global aerospace services provider Avia Solutions Group.

According to the companies, this results in strategic synergy between AviaAM Leasing and Bluebird Nordic which allows the lessee to continue accomplishing ambitious expansion plans.

AviaAM Leasing says it is planning to have 25 converted aircraft of different types in the upcoming four years. The B737-800BCF aircraft was converted to freighter configuration by Boeing at the Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company (GAMECO) facility in Guangzhou, China.

February 22, 2022
Air Asia

AirAsia X announces freight partnership with Teleport

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Air Asia

AirAsia X has announced that Capital A’s (formerly AirAsia Group) logistics venture Teleport will be using the full belly space of one third of the carrier’s widebody A330-300 fleet.

The agreement is initially for a period of one year, with Teleport using Air Asia X’s additional capacity to fulfil its robust customer requirements in the Asia-Pacific region.

Air Asia X recently also announced a strategic partnership with global logistics leader GEODIS to mount several weekly dedicated cargo flights throughout Asia-Pacific for an extended period, making the Teleport deal the second major announcement in the recent weeks for Capital A’s low-cost affiliate.

CEO of AirAsia X, Benyamin Ismail, said: “We are also in discussions with several other major global clients that have air cargo requirements, particularly to where we have established bases and flying rights. It’s just two months post our restructuring and the appetite for expansion of our cargo operations is significant. This dovetails neatly into one of the core pillars of our combination carrier strategy. For the foreseeable future, cargo revenue will underpin our route strategy and passenger revenue, for the first time, will be ancillary.”

Captain Suresh Kumar Bangah, COO of AirAsia X, said: “We will only fly if it is profitable to fly. With our restructured low-cost base, we can fly profitably where other airlines may not be able to and this is a significant advantage to us. We intend to add a further one plane a month to full service from now and we hope to have our full fleet operational by the end of the third quarter. As more aircraft are brought back into service, we are able to recall back pilots and crew who have been through a tough period during this pandemic.”

CEO of Teleport, Pete Chareonwongsak, noted that as a fully capable cargo provider Teleport is on the right track to contribute to the logistical accessibility and the growing demand of the region by spotlighting its commitment to move things across Southeast Asia better than anybody else.

He said: “We do this by offering the best speed, value and coverage to all our customers. Our partnership in supporting AirAsia X further strengthens our position in the market and further validates that.”

February 15, 2022
Qatar Airways Valentines Day cargo

Qatar Airways Cargo delivers 60 million roses in the run-up to Valentine’s Day

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Qatar Airways Valentines Day cargo

Qatar Airways Cargo has flown 60 million roses out of Ecuador, Colombia and Kenya in the run-up to this year’s Valentine’s Day.

The carrier’s customers and cargo teams begin preparing for Valentine’s Day months in advance, with flower farms projecting more or less the tonnage required for the Valentine season, says Ian Morgan, Qatar Airways Cargo’s Vice President Cargo Americas. The forecasts determine whether extra flights are required to supplement the scheduled freighters during the peak flower transportation phase.

According to Morgan, this year the Ecuadorian market had to deal with 24% less capacity into Europe and around 16% less capacity into the US market. This led to three additional Quito-Miami flights and four extra flights from Quito to Europe and onward to Doha.

These flights complemented the five regular weekly freighters out of Quito.

“This is Qatar Airways Cargo’s second Valentine season out of Colombia and our sixth season out of Ecuador,” said Morgan.

The countries are the second and third largest flower exporters in the world after the Netherlands.

“Qatar Airways Cargo is always there to support the regular customers with extra capacity during the Valentine period,” says Nicolas Danton, Qatar Airways Cargo’s Regional Cargo Manager Africa.

The transportation period starts in the last week of January and goes on until around 9 February. Following handling, the flowers travel to Liège, Belgium, from where they are trucked to Amsterdam.

“A lot of coordination is required to arrange the charters with the authorities, and to handle the extra volumes and flights during that period,” explains Danton.

During the Valentine’s season, this results in additional 13 B77F charters alongside the usual scheduled freighter and passenger flights.

February 14, 2022
The_Boeing_777_8_Freighter

Boeing launches new 777-8 Freighter

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The_Boeing_777_8_Freighter

Boeing has launched a new 777-8 Freighter. Qatar Airways is the freighter’s launch customer, with the airline placing a firm order for 34 jets with options for 16 more.

According to Boeing, the deal is worth more than US$20 billion at current list prices and is also the largest freighter commitment in the manufacturer’s history by value.

The new freighter features advanced technology from the new 777X family and has the performance of Boeing’s 777 Freighter and a payload capacity nearly identical to the 747-400 Freighter. Boeing says the new type is 25% more fuel efficient, enabling more sustainable and profitable operations.

Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways’ Group Chief Executive, said: “Boeing has a long history of building market-leading freighter aircraft and Qatar Airways is honoured to have the opportunity to be the launch customer for the 777-8 Freighter, an aircraft which will not only allow us to further enhance our product offering for our customers but also help us meet our objectives to deliver a sustainable future for our business.

“Today marks a great day in the ever-building and strong relationship between Qatar Airways and Boeing. We certainly push Boeing hard to deliver upon our expectations and the team at Boeing consistently strives to meet and exceed our expectations, giving the opportunity for us to be here today to launch the most significant new freighter aircraft for a generation.”

Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ President and CEO, said: “We are delighted to launch Boeing’s next great cargo airplane – the 777-8 Freighter – with Qatar Airways, one of the world’s largest cargo carriers and our partner since the airline began operations 25 years ago.

“Our team is ready to create an airplane that will serve them well for many decades. Qatar Airways’ selection of the efficient 777-8 Freighter is a testament to our commitment to provide freighters with market-leading capacity, reliability and efficiency.”

The freighters will be built at Boeing’s Everett site in Washington and will have a range of 4,410 nautical miles (8,167 km) with a maximum structural payload of 118 tonnes.

February 1, 2022
Etihad Cargo loading CSafe RAP Container for large pharmaceutical shipments

IATA awards Etihad Cargo CEIV for live animals

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Etihad Cargo loading CSafe RAP Container for large pharmaceutical shipments

UAE national carrier Etihad has become the first Middle Eastern airline to hold IATA’s triology of air cargo certifications: CEIV Live Animals, CEIV Fresh, and CEIV Pharma.

Etihad Aviation Group’s cargo and logistics arm was awarded IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) for live animals following an IATA-led assessment of Etihad Cargo’s dedicated LiveAnimals product for animal transportation and SkyStables equine transportation product – in addition to its logistics’ audit checklist to ensure compliance with standards, requirements and live animals regulations.

Etihad Cargo is the third carrier globally to hold IATA’s CEIV Live Animals, CEIV Fresh, and CEIV Pharma certifications.

Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “The transportation of live animals requires specific conditions and the CEIV certification further underlines Etihad Cargo’s experience and commitment to animal welfare and safe transportation. Etihad Cargo is proud to have secured certification for its LiveAnimals and SkyStables products. This recognition further endorses the industry-leading service we provide global customers.”

Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo, said: “Handling and transporting live animals is challenging. Each type of animal has its own specific requirements. Achieving CEIV Live Animals certification means Etihad Cargo’s customers can benefit from extra assurance that their precious cargo is in safe hands. We congratulate the airline on becoming the first in the Middle East to complete the suite of CEIV certifications – Pharma, Fresh and Live Animals.”

Etihad Cargo is a signatory of the Buckingham Palace Declaration against the illegal trade of wildlife. The key benefits of the CEIV Live Animals certification include improving animal welfare and safety through appropriate quality and risk management and enhancing standardisation and professionalism in the handling and transportation of live animals in a multimodal environment.

January 31, 2022
Airbus Beluga air cargo transport

Airbus launches Beluga air cargo service for oversized freight

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Airbus Beluga air cargo transport

Airbus has launched a new service for transporting outsized freight worldwide using its fleet of five BelugaST “Super Transporter” aircraft.

To launch the new service, Beluga “No 3” delivered a brand new helicopter from Airbus Helicopters’ manufacturing site in Marignane, France, to Kobe in Japan in late December 2021, stopping to refuel at various transit points.

Airbus says the whole helicopter was accommodated inside the Beluga without any prior disassembly and only needed its long rotor blades to be folded back.

The fleet of BelugaSTs, which has been used to transport Airbus’s large aircraft sections, still has plenty of available flight hours remaining before the aircraft will reach their original design service limits.

The Beluga possesses the world’s largest interior cross-section of any transport aircraft and can accommodate outsized cargo of up to 7.1m in width by 6.7m in height. The new service will be solely dedicated to carrying cargo for commercially contracted customers such as engine manufacturers, space industries, helicopter manufacturers, oil and gas firms, energy providers and machinery manufacturers.

Clement Beaunis, Project Leader of Airbus Beluga Transport, said: “The large dimensions accommodated are also attractive for satellite manufacturers, for example, as they would like to design bigger ones in the future. In contrast, today they are constrained in size by the available transport means. The Beluga will relieve that constraint.”

Airbus says its six new-generation BelugaXLs, which are based on the aircraft manufacturer’s A330-200 platform, will support its ramp-up of airliner production going forward.

New cargo airline for worldwide operations

Airbus says its in-house airline Air Transport International (ATI) is using its own aircrew for the initial Beluga missions, but once Airbus has commissioned all six new BelugaXLs the fully released BelugaST fleet will be handed over to a newly created dedicated subsidiary airline.

The airline will have its own Air Operator Certificate and employees and the Belugas will be upgraded with a new generation Flight Management System (FMS) with ADS-B for enhanced intercontinental navigational capabilities.

Airbus is also developing new loading techniques and equipment to maximise the BelugaST’s reactivity and short turnaround capability.

According to the aircraft manufacturer, an automated on-board cargo loader, available from 2022, will enable missions to and from airports which do not have available suitable loading/unloading platforms, and for payloads weighing up to 20t. It will also be able to load and unload the payload autonomously and will be transportable inside the aircraft.

Other innovations will include a redesigned transportable outboard platform which will be strategically pre-positioned at various airports around the world and is easily transportable prior to a mission at short notice, and a new multi-purpose pallet which is compatible with a range of payloads and is raised by around five metres above the apron level when it is already carrying the cargo and loaded through the Beluga’s nose opening.

January 25, 2022