Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) welcomed Lana Marks, the US Ambassador to South Africa, to its cargo terminal at Johannesburg’s O.R Tambo International Airport to personally oversee the arrival of 600kg of respirators donated by the United States to support the recovery of Covid-19 patients.
The Ambassador was joined by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) Manager for Cargo Security, Andrew Dhlakama, and USAID Mission Director, John Groarke, to witness the first shipment of US-made ventilators. The U.S. government is supplying up to 1,000 much-needed ventilators and accompanying equipment to South Africa to assist with its national response to the coronavirus as part of a $40 million donation.
The ventilators are highly specialized medical equipment used in intensive care units to support individuals whose lungs are not working adequately despite receiving oxygen, assisting them with their breathing as they recover. The ventilator donation is in addition to previously announced U.S. support to South Africa for its COVID-19 response, which has also included additional multi-million dollar funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and USAid, as well as donations of personal protective equipment from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Malcolm Tonkin, General Manager Cargo South Africa at WFS, said, “We were honored to welcome the U.S. Ambassador to see this vital equipment being handled by our team in Johannesburg. This is a tremendous response from the U.S. to South Africa’s call for more ventilator capacity and WFS is proud to have been able to offer its expertise to ensure the equipment was handled securely and sent to intensive care units in hospitals as quickly as possible, where it will be able to save many lives.”
Hong Kong Airlines has extended its longstanding relationship with APG, appointing the company as its GSA in the USA and Canada.
The APG offices across North America will provide wide-ranging sales and marketing activities for Hong Kong Airlines as well as full customer and agent support.
“We are delighted to be expanding our cooperating with Hong Kong Airlines,” said Richard Burgess, President – APG Network. “In spite of these challenging times we plan to immediately initiate services in the USA and Canada in order to maximize opportunities as the travel industry rebounds.”
Established in 2006, Hong Kong Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet comprising of 32 passenger aircraft. It normally flies to 25 destinations across Asia and has 91 interline and 19 codeshare agreements with multiple airline partners and ferry service providers.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Sebastian Mikosz joins IATA as the Association’s Senior Vice President for Member and External Relations, effective immediately.
Most recently, Mikosz was Group Managing Director and CEO of Kenya Airways (2017-2019), during which time he served on the IATA Board of Governors. Prior to that he was the CEO of LOT Polish Airlines (2009-2011 and 2013-2015) and the CEO of Poland’s largest online travel agency, the eSKY Group (2015-2017).
At IATA, Mikosz will lead the organization’s global advocacy activities and aero-political policy development, along with managing the association’s strategic relationships. This includes IATA’s 290 member airlines as well as governments, international organizations and stakeholders in both the private and public sectors. Mikosz will report to the Director General and CEO and join the Association’s Strategic Leadership Team. He replaces Paul Steele, who retired from IATA in October 2019. Brian Pearce, IATA’s Chief Economist has been handling the duties of this post on an ad interim basis since then.
“Sebastian brings with him a wealth of experience in the public and private sectors that will be critical in advancing the global aviation industry’s advocacy agenda. At this time of unprecedented crisis, the airline industry needs a strong voice. We must restore the confidence of governments and travelers so that aviation can re-start, lead an economic recovery, and connect the world. Sebastian’s experience in launching and turning-around companies will be invaluable in helping IATA meet the expectations of our members, governments and stakeholders,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
“I can’t wait to get started at IATA. Aviation is in crisis and all industry and government stakeholders have high expectations for IATA to play a critical role in driving the recovery. From my experience as an airline CEO and as a member of the IATA Board of Governors, I know how important IATA is to the global connectivity that we usually take for granted. Today’s challenges could not be greater. And, in joining IATA, I am determined to contribute to the efficient restoration of the links between people, nations and economies that only aviation can provide,” said Mikosz.
A Polish national, Mikosz is a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies in France with a Master’s degree in Economics and Finance. In addition to his airline experience, Mikosz’s career includes the positions of Vice President at the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, Senior Advisor at Société Générale Corporate Investment Bank, Managing Director of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland and founder of the online brokerage house Fast Trade. Mikosz speaks Polish, English, French and Russian.
SITA, the global IT provider to the air transport industry, has made several changes to its executive management team responsible for SITA’s product portfolios. These appointments come at crucial juncture as the air transport industry begins the difficult task of restarting operations after a lengthy shutdown due to the COVID-19 crisis.
David Lavorel, previously CEO of SITA FOR AIRCRAFT, has been appointed to head SITA AT AIRPORTS AND BORDERS, SITA’s airport and border solution portfolio. A key focus in 2020 will be to support SITA’s airline and airport customers to implement smart solutions to accommodate new passenger processes required to ensure the health and safety of travelers and employees. SITA is well placed to support the re-engineering of the passenger journey and to manage rapidly changing requirements at the border with the delivery of new solutions such as SITA’s cloud-based, open API platform, SITA Flex.
David will replace Matthys Serfontein, who will be retiring from SITA after 13 years.
Sébastien Fabre, previously VP Airline & Airports Portfolio, will replace David to head SITA FOR AIRCRAFT. As airlines globally begin to resume flights, they will increasingly turn to SITA FOR AIRCRAFT to deliver new operational efficiencies such as faster turnarounds while extracting the full benefit of modern connected aircraft.
Barbara Dalibard, CEO, SITA, said, “Ensuring strong leadership of our key business areas is especially important as we look to support the industry as it begins to return to the skies. After more than a decade proving themselves highly capable of driving innovation while ensuring continued customer satisfaction, Sébastien and David are perfectly placed to steer the business through the new challenges and deliver solutions that help support the industry’s recovery.”
The new appointments are effected from June 1, 2020.
Thai Airways International has appointed five people, including one of its former presidents, to jointly hold the position of plan preparer during its business rehabilitation process.
The carrier’s chairman Chaiyapruk Didyasarin and acting president Chakkrit Parapuntakul have been appointed, along with three newly appointed board members: former president Piyasvasti Amranand, as well as Boontuck Wungcharoen and Pirapan Salirathavibhaga. EY Corporate Advisory Services will also be involved in the process.
Wungcharoen, the former chief executive of TMB Bank, joined Thai’s board on 25 May, along with Salirathavibhaga, who is a former justice minister.
The five men and EY will have “the authority and duty in managing the business and assets of the company”, Thai says in a 27 May filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
“This rehabilitation process will enable the company to reach its rehabilitation plan’s objectives even more effectively step by step as supported by the laws, which provides equitable protection to relevant parties,” Thai Airways says.
“Moreover, during the process of rehabilitation, the company will still be able to conduct its normal business operations, whether it be providing passenger transportation service to global destinations or postal transportation service, of which will be carried out concurrently with the rehabilitation of the company, in order to improve the operational efficiency and further improve the quality of products and services.”
Alan Polivnick, a partner at Watson Farley & Williams in Bangkok, describes the appointments as an “interesting mix” of people and says the appointment of Amranand is a good move because he has prior experience in trying to reform the airline. Someone of EY’s “stature” being appointed is also a positive, he adds.
“We’ll have to see to what extent the board has the power to control the rehabilitation and to what extent the board is going to make the sort of deep and dramatic changes that are going to be needed,” he says.
“The issue is obviously going to be to what extent the creditors will be able to work with the rehabilitation planners… That would depend a lot on whether the creditors are happy with them as the administration planners. And the plan, ultimately, will have to go to the creditors, and then a certain percentage of the creditors will need to vote in favor of the plan.”
Once creditors have approved the plan crafted by these five plan preparers, a plan administrator needs to be appointed to carry out the plan. This could be the same five individuals, or it could be a different individual or individuals.
“If you are appointed as the plan preparer, there is a fairly good chance that you are going to be the plan administrator because of the sort of knowledge and expertise you build up on this. It’s all going to depend on the creditors really,” Polivnick says, adding that there are historical cases of creditors voicing objections.
A hearing to decide whether Thai Airways may enter business rehabilitation has been set for 09:00 on 17 August, according to a 27 May statement from the country’s Court of Justice.
“There was a flurry of activity around when they were going to file and what had to be done, and now that we have this date, I think people will probably take a bit more time to look at what they have to do. Some of the creditors’ relationships with Thai are quite complex: you have contracts, purchase orders, all sorts of different structures,” says Polivnick.
“So there will need to be some time to understand how the relationship works, what are the contractual obligations, and to make sure that that is sufficiently conveyed in the application that the creditors have to file with the court.”
Wizz Air, Eastern Europe’s biggest low-cost airline, will launch a bigger than previously anticipated operation from Abu Dhabi, as it looks to capture a larger share of the budget travel market in the UAE and beyond, its chief executive said.
The airline is moving operations to Abu Dhabi as it prepares to launch Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, now ADQ, in the autumn.
“We are moving [some of] our Hungary operations to Abu Dhabi and in a few weeks we will be making first announcements,” Jozsef Varadi told Arabian Travel Market delegates through a video.
“Given the circumstances, we think we should be doing more right at the beginning,” Mr Varadi said.
“We would be coming out with a bigger plan than what we intended to [begin with] originally,” he said in reference to the planned operations from the UAE capital.
“We are already approached by a number of airports, presenting excellent opportunities for setting up new bases and entering new markets … this is what we have been waiting for 10 years. This is our opportunity to shine,” he said.
In March, Wizz Air finalized an agreement to launch a low-cost airline from Abu Dhabi International Airport. Based in Budapest, it sees immense growth potential and is vying to capture market share in the GCC and beyond.
The UAE capital is a springboard to gain access to a market of 5 billion people within a six-and-a-half hours flying span, which puts the aviation hub in an advantageous position, Mr Varadi said.
Wizz Air plans to replicate the success of its European point-to-point short-haul flying business model in the Arab world’s second-biggest economy, he said.
“The model we bring in is significantly different. We have managed to get our Hungary [base] fleet to 100 aircraft in 15 years, [and] I think we will be able to achieve the same thing in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “I am very hopeful about the prospects of this expansion.”
In March the new airline’s development team began the process with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority to secure an air operator certificate and an operating license.
“We have the intention to expand and Abu Dhabi has intentions to diversify its economy, and this [partnership] is in the arc of these initiatives,” Mr Varadi said.
Wizz Air will operate a fleet of Airbus A321neo aircraft, which feeds into the emirate’s ambitions of turning into a “green mega-city”, according to him.
“There is no better way of feeding into it [Abu Dhabi’s green ambitions] by bringing the latest technology jets with lowest environmental footprint,” Mr Varadi added.
Low-cost operators that will compete with the new venture include Flydubai and Air Arabia. Another potential competitor will be Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, a joint venture between Etihad and Air Arabia, which is yet to be launched.
Mr Varadi said increased competition is ultimately beneficial for consumers and is good for the industry, as every operator in the market “will have to prove that it deserves the trust of customers.”
Asked about the prospects of recovery of the aviation industry in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Varadi said low-cost airlines such as Wizz Air, will be the first to recover. “We are very much now [in a position] not only to recovery but also to restructure in terms of growth into different markets.”
It could take about a year for budget airlines with strong cash positions to bounce back.
However, the recovery time for the long-haul operators could be two to three years.
Covid-19 brought the travel industry to a halt and forced governments to close borders and shut all but essential businesses.
The pandemic threw airlines into a severe liquidity crisis as revenue dired up because of reduced capacity or passenger flight suspensions.
LanzaTech, a leading biotech company and carbon recycler, has successfully launched LanzaJet, Inc., a new company that will produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for a sector requiring climate friendly fuel options as it starts to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. With its approach to commercialization of SAF, LanzaJet is creating regional jobs while enabling global decarbonization of the aviation sector.
Canada’s leading integrated energy company, Suncor Energy Inc., and leading Japanese trading and investment company, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui), are investing $15 million and $10 million, respectively, to establish LanzaJet. The funding will be used to build a demonstration plant that will produce 10 million gallons per year of SAF and renewable diesel starting from sustainable ethanol sources. Production is expected to start in early 2022. This initial investment coupled with participation from All Nippon Airways (ANA) will complement the existing $14 million grant from the US Department of Energy, enabling the construction of an integrated biorefinery at LanzaTech’s Freedom Pines site in Soperton, Georgia.
In addition to its equity investment, Suncor has contracted to take a significant portion of the SAF and renewable diesel produced at the facility to provide its jet fuel and distillate customers with sustainable energy solutions.
Importantly, investors Suncor and Mitsui are aiming to invest further in the construction of commercial production facilities after the demonstration meets all its technical and economic targets. This novel phased investment approach will see the initial investment followed by a capital call once all the demonstration milestones have been met. This will significantly accelerate commercial deployment at a time when reducing emissions, especially of aviation, is increasingly important and demonstrates a joint commitment to creating a resilient, climate secure future.
“Suncor is excited to join LanzaTech, Mitsui and ANA in helping LanzaJet take off,” said Mark Little, President and CEO of Suncor. “We believe this technology will provide a solid foundation for the commercial production of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel. These products are very complementary to our existing product mix and we see growth potential in both North American and international markets. Suncor is committed to both a low carbon future for our own business and to helping our customers, including in the space of commercial aviation, realize their own vision of a sustainable future.”
“We are pleased to launch LanzaJet along with excellent partners LanzaTech, Suncor and ANA,” Toru Matsui, Managing Officer, COO of Mitsui said. “This partnership demonstrates our continuing commitment to improving the sustainability of the aviation industry and supports our ambition to be the first in Japan to produce SAF on a commercial scale. The SAF produced by LanzaJet will support the development of a global SAF supply chain, which has the potential to significantly reduce emissions from aviation and help to create a low carbon society.”
“ANA is thrilled to work alongside LanzaTech, Mitsui and Suncor on this new venture,” said Akihiko Miura, Executive Vice President of ANA. “We believe that this partnership is a great step forward for carbon-neutral growth initiatives. ANA is happy to share in this innovative endeavor and to be a part of a carbon-free future in the aviation industry.”
Industry leader, Jimmy Samartzis, has joined as CEO, bringing a background in clean energy, public policy, infrastructure and sustainability, as well as a decade at United Airlines including multiple executive roles in operations, commercial, corporate affairs, strategy, renewables, and safety. Currently serving as a Director on the Board for the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, he has held various industry roles, including with Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association, and advised the World Travel and Tourism Council.
“The launch of LanzaJet marks an historic milestone in the clean energy transition that is underway globally. I’ve been part of many renewable energy and sustainability firsts over the last decade, and this one is the most exciting,” said Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet. “The commercialization of LanzaJet – built on the shoulders of LanzaTech, Suncor, Mitsui, ANA and with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy – gives our world, and aviation in particular, an important solution in shaping a cleaner future.”
The LanzaJet process can use any source of sustainable ethanol for jet fuel production, including, but not limited to, ethanol made from recycled pollution, the core application of LanzaTech’s carbon recycling platform. Commercialization of this process, called Alcohol-to-Jet (AtJ) has been years in the making, starting with the partnership between LanzaTech and the U.S Energy Department’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL developed a unique catalytic process to upgrade ethanol to alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK) which LanzaTech took from the laboratory to pilot scale.
“Achieving our global climate goals requires scaling new, transformative technologies rapidly. This requires new methods of financing that enable scaling from lab to pilot to demo to commercial without stopping after each step to raise more cash,” said Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech. “Suncor, Mitsui and ANA are stepping up to show that achieving meaningful scale will require new technologies, new business models and new approaches. I am delighted to see LanzaJet take off and to see Jimmy Samartzis lead the team as it brings this sustainable solution to market.”
London-based Beacon, the next generation freight forwarding and supply chain finance company, has raised over $15 million in its Series A fundraising round, with investors including Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, and leading US venture capital firm 8VC.
Beacon was founded in 2018 by CEO Fraser Robinson and COO Dmitri Izmailov, both former Uber executives. They were joined by CTO Pierre Martin, previously at Amazon, bringing together a management team with deep expertise in logistics, technology, finance and hyper-growth, which is committed to radically simplifying how companies import and export goods globally.
The freight forwarding and supply chain finance industries are worth an estimated $1 trillion and $12 trillion a year, respectively, with the former still a highly fragmented market in which the top ten forwarders globally control just 43%. Many of the logistics incumbents have been slow to digitize, and with fewer than 30% of shippers being satisfied with the customer service they receive, the industry is ripe for disruption.
Beacon already has an established customer base and is growing rapidly, with a mission to become a global leader in logistics and supply chain finance by making trade simpler, more transparent and more reliable for businesses. It offers a full range of services, including global ocean, air and truck freight, together with supply chain finance, all of which can be accessed and managed on a single platform.
The company uses best-in-class AI, search, optimization, data science, cloud and automation technologies to unlock significant operational efficiencies. The platform combines a real-time view of the global delivery of cargo and a marketplace view of global shipping costs and prices, all powered by machine learning that optimizes shipping routes and processes for improved cost, speed and predictability.
Beacon’s supply chain finance offering sets it apart from traditional freight forwarders by helping to solve one of the biggest challenges faced by importers today – cash flow. Suppliers often demand payment before goods are shipped and, with months-long shipment times, importers need flexible finance to meet their working capital needs. To address this, Beacon offers qualifying customers financing within 72 hours, which also entitles them to shipping discounts.
Participants in Beacon’s initial seed round included Uber founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, as well as venture firms such as Neo, Red Sea Ventures, Manta Ray and FJ Labs. The money raised in this Series A round will be invested in new hires, technology and market expansion.
Beacon co-founder and CEO Fraser Robinson said: “Beacon has attracted investment from some of the best minds in business and technology. The traditional freight forwarder model remains surprisingly analogue, using systems and processes that are slow and inefficient, with opaque pricing and limited use of technology.
“Our goal is to disrupt the trillion-dollar freight forwarding market by vastly improving the experience for importers and exporters with a more transparent and smarter shipping product. We also believe that our ability to offer supply chain finance can be transformative for our customers by allowing them to better control and manage their cash flow. We have built a team with deep expertise in technology, logistics and finance in a short period of time – these new funds will enable us to continue to strengthen that team and invest in our technology, while also increasing our international presence.
“With digitalization accelerating globally as a result of COVID-19, we believe the future of the traditional freight forwarder is more precarious than ever. Shippers are seeking technology-led products and services that will meet their needs more effectively, enhance their experience and cut their costs. We look forward to meeting that demand.”
HAECO Cabin Solutions, a business unit of the HAECO Group with headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, has launched new, certifiable devices to allow package stowage in the main passenger cabin.
As the COVID-19 environment developed, the company noted that airlines were beginning to use passenger flights strictly for cargo. At the same time, social distancing directives were being instituted nationwide. HAECO quickly developed solutions to allow airlines to carry cargo and passengers at the same time, optimizing passenger and cargo yield, using packages to distance passengers, and maintaining proper weight and balance requirements.
Four unique solutions moved from concept to offer able in less than a month. The solutions will be certified through a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) and are unique in the amount of weight that can be carried. The palletized variant can hold 1000 lbs., the all-in-one seat frame can hold 500 lbs., and the seat and floor storage systems can each hold up to 240 lbs. These options give airlines specific load authorizations and the capability of carrying larger items in the cabin that otherwise would have been stored in the aircraft’s belly, except for hazardous materials.
The solutions build upon existing seating and interior technologies and can be delivered in four to six weeks. Variants can be combined for both single and twin aisle aircraft to achieve an ideal operational payload. The installation process follows techniques used for economy seating, which can be accomplished quickly and without the need for special tools.
Doug Rasmussen, President and Group Director of HAECO Cabin Solutions, said, “We are pleased with the strong interest we have already seen from airlines and leasing companies and delighted that we can offer a quick, cost-effective solution to maximize yields during this challenging time.”
ForeFlight recently released an updated version of its ForeFlight Mobile electronic flight bag app, adding a long-asked-for feature: iOS multitasking. This allows users to run two multitasking-capable apps side by side on an iPad, with full functionality for each app. Other new features include internet traffic, customizable menus, and iPhone flight planning updated to match ForeFlight planning on the iPad. These features are included for all subscription levels.
A simple way to demonstrate the multitasking capability is to open the Apple clock app then slide up ForeFlight so both are multitasking. While ForeFlight is running, the clock’s timer can be set to countdown time an approach, for one example. Any apps that allow multitasking can run side-by-side with ForeFlight.
For apps that don’t allow multitasking, ForeFlight can continue running in the background while the non-multitasking app can be running in slide-over mode, on top of ForeFlight.
The iPhone version of ForeFlight also got a big upgrade and now it matches the iPad version with the bubble editor flight-planning function. Now the only difference between the iPhone and iPad versions is that the iPhone version doesn’t include the profile view.
To see what the iPhone version looks like, when multitasking with another app, the ForeFlight pane can be shrunk down to a one-third size pane on the iPad. In this mode, ForeFlight demonstrates the iPhone version functionality.
Internet traffic is a new feature available on the iPad and iPhone. Powered by FlightAware, internet traffic is selectable from the overlay menu. When internet connectivity is available, this layer shows traffic on the ground and in the air, with the same information available as ADS-B traffic by tapping the aircraft symbol. Once in the air and disconnected from the internet, the traffic layer reverts to ADS-B traffic if the device is connected to an ADS-B In receiver. It is possible to view internet traffic in the air when connected to the internet via Gogo or a Satcom Direct Router, but this is not the same as ADS-B traffic. According to ForeFlight, “[It] uses the distinct position reports received from FlightAware to interpolate each airborne target’s movement and display it smoothly on the map.”
The benefit of the internet traffic layer, according to ForeFlight co-founder and CEO Tyson Weihs, is to see how weather is affecting airports and potential routing during the planning process. “It’s helpful to understand what’s happening at the airport or along the route of flight,” he explained. Pilots can also use that feature before takeoff to see which departure and arrival procedures and runways are being used at the departure and destination airports. With internet connectivity in the air, he said, “You can look long-range and see weather effects and what traffic is doing further down route.”
Technology has made the world smaller and faster.Real time communication with people from all over the world at different time zones through phones and gadgets
