The flag carrier air cargo brand Turkish Cargo was selected ‘Overall Carrier of the Year’ in the Payload Asia Awards 2020, the 7th edition of which was held digitally, and rewarded with the ‘Overall Carrier of the Year’ award.
Turkish Cargo, which had continued its operations and business processes on 24/7 basis throughout the year 2020 despite all difficulties and restrictions, has added one more award to its list of achievements by getting selected ‘Overall Carrier of the Year’ in the Payload Asia, which is based in Singapore.
In the award ceremony held on the digital platform on January 22 due to the global pandemic, over 60 industry professionals, airline representatives, cargo carriers, IT providers, express operator representatives participated, and the awards in 15 categories were distributed to the winners.
In the award process, the winners are determined by voting by the supply chain experts on the basis of the criteria such as quality, innovation, efficiency, speed, reliability, and vision, and it is carried out open to the entire industry that offers the innovative products, services or operations which help improving the air cargo industry.
Delivering his opinions on the award, Turhan OZEN, Chief Cargo Officer, Turkish Airlines said: “This valuable award and the other global awards we had won throughout the year constitute an important milestone indicating our service quality, operational excellence, our innovative standards targeting to exceed the customer expectations, and our sustainable achievements. Our brand, which has the largest flight network globally, will continue to perform very important transportations through the air cargo bridges it has built. With the new technologies and innovative approaches it has been using and developing, Turkish Cargo produces more effective solutions and maintains its successes even in this difficult pandemic period.”
Turkish Cargo, which is the air cargo brand that has the world’s largest direct cargo aircraft network, arrives at over 300 destinations, 96 of which are direct cargo, and continues to serve its customers in its global network on 24/7 basis. The successful brand targets to become one of the world’s top five air cargo brands in the year 2023 by continuing to raise its success level every day by merging its large service spectrum and operational capabilities with Turkey’s unique geographical advantages.
Etihad Airways, has become the first airline in the world with all its operating pilots and cabin crew vaccinated to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and give passengers who travel with the airline peace of mind.
In January 2021, Etihad was awarded Diamond status for ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitisation in the inaugural ‘APEX Health Safety, powered by SimpliFlying’ audit. The airline’s vaccination initiative has consolidated Etihad’s position as an industry leader in its response to the pandemic and in keeping its employees and travelers safe.
Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “We proactively made the vaccine available to all our employees to not only help combat the effects of COVID-19 but to make travelers feel confident and reassured the next time they fly with us. We are the only airline in the world to make COVID-19 testing mandatory for every passenger and crew member before every flight and now, we’re the first airline in the world with 100% vaccinated crew on board.
“I chose very early on to be vaccinated to demonstrate my own support of the national vaccination program and to encourage everyone at Etihad who was eligible for the vaccine, to receive it as soon as possible. I would like to thank the entire Etihad family for everything they have done to help us reach this milestone – I am truly humbled.”
This achievement was made possible through Etihad’s ‘Protected Together’ employee vaccination initiative which was formally launched in January this year. Building on the UAE’s Choose to Vaccinate campaign, Protected Together is about helping staff take proactive, personal steps towards protecting themselves against COVID-19.
In 2020, Etihad took significant steps towards supporting employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In collaboration with the health authorities, the airline facilitated access for its frontline staff to the UAE’s Emergency Use Program. Etihad was one of the first employers in the capital to secure places for their frontline staff – including pilots and cabin crew – in Abu Dhabi’s vaccination program. Etihad also ensured the Etihad Airways Medical Centre became an accredited COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
Dr. Nadia Bastaki, Vice President Medical Services and CSR, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “Following the national vaccination program, we worked tirelessly to become an approved COVID-19 vaccination clinic to support our staff, and their dependents, be able to easily access the vaccine. Since December 2020, we have been offering in-house vaccination appointments to our employees and their loved ones to ensure we are focused on our employee’s wellbeing.”
Deutsche Post DHL Group has about 550,000 employees worldwide with offices in over 220 countries. The world’s largest courier and logistics company handles about 55 million letters a day and approximately over 1 million international shipments on a daily basis.
It has a fleet of 260 aircraft, more than 103 vehicles and over 27,000 bicycles and continues to experiment on innovative solutions and products in today’s ever-changing world besieged with so many environmental and other challenges, including the Coronavirus pandemic.
Leading this busy globalized force of expert logisticians is Dr. Frank Appel, a neuroscientist before he indulged into the corporate world.
The Hamburg-born, Dr. Appel completed his Master’s Degree in Chemistry from the University of Munich and later obtained a PhD in Neurobiology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1993. He began working as a consultant with McKinsey & Co., one of the world’s leading research and consultancy firms, where he eventually became a partner in 1999.
In 2000, Dr. Appel joined Deutsche Post AG as Managing Director, Corporate Development and quickly rose to prominence. In 2008, he was appointed CEO of Deutsche Post DHL Group, a position he will held through 2022.
Combining his scientific background with astute business sense and the power to motivate people, Dr. Appel led Deutsche Post DHL Group to new heights: The Group’s 2019 revenue was up 2.9% year-on- year to EUR 63.3 billion. And preliminary revenue results for 2020 yielded a new record—EUR 66.8 billion—with the rise in global e-commerce and more demand for logistics and air cargo services due to the pandemic.
Dr. Appel said while the company’s broad geographic positioning and comprehensive portfolio means it’s more resilient and robust than other companies, “a global crisis such as the coronavirus does not leave us unaffected.”
“2020 was an exceptional year: despite all the challenges faced, we achieved a record result. Our strategy and business model have proven resilient—even in turbulent times for the global economy. Thanks to the incredible performance of our 550,000 employees all over the world, we made a positive contribution to people and societies during the Covid-19 crisis. We are now focused on distributing the Covid-19 vaccine all over the world,” Dr. Appel said in a statement.
Striking a balance between his successful and well-rewarded career and family, Dr. Appel makes sure his weekends are devoted to his wife and children.
And their favorite activity—traveling.
“I’m neither a car fool nor a watch fool, nor do I buy expensive suits. But I like to travel. And I also spend a little more on it,” Dr. Appel said in an interview with Der Tagesspiegel, a German daily newspaper.
“I have already traveled to many beautiful countries with my family. I find it difficult to single out one thing. I travel to take memories with me. I also say to people who have less money: Invest in travel,” added the CEO who is also into mountain biking.
Indeed, simple things in life like biking and traveling matter most even for those who can afford everything.
Global leaders in trucking and fuel industries—Daimler Truck AG, IVECO, OMV, Shell and the Volvo Group—agree to work on unified vision of rolling out hydrogen trucks in Europe.
Amid a growing number of governments and businesses aligning on a common vision of a net-zero emissions energy system, global leaders in the trucking industry— Daimler Truck AG, IVECO, OMV, Shell and the Volvo Group—all participants to H2Accelerate committed to work together to create the conditions for the mass-market roll-out of hydrogen trucks in Europe.
The companies are convinced that hydrogen is an essential fuel for the complete decarbonization of the trucking sector.
Achieving a large-scale roll-out of hydrogen fuelled trucks is expected to create new industries: zero-carbon hydrogen production facilities, large-scale hydrogen distribution systems, a network of high-capacity refuelling stations for liquid and gaseous hydrogen, and the production of the hydrogen fuelled trucks.
H2A participants believe that synchronized investments across the sector during the 2020s will create the conditions for the mass market roll-out of hydrogen fuelled heavy duty transportation which is required to meet the European ambition of net zero emissions by 2050.
The decade long scale-up is expected to begin with groups of customers willing to make an early commitment to hydrogen-based trucking. These fleets are expected to operate in regional clusters and along European high capacity corridors with good refuelling station coverage. During the decade, these clusters can then be interconnected to build a truly pan-European network.
Throughout the scale up, support from the public sector will be required. Under H2Accelerate, the participants expect to work together to seek funding for early pre-commercial projects during the first phase of the roll-out.
In parallel, the participants will engage with policy-makers and regulators to encourage a policy environment which will help support the subsequent scale up into volume manufacturing for hydrogen trucks and a Europe-wide refuelling network for zero carbon hydrogen fuel.
‘Challenge of our generation’
Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of the Volvo Group, described climate change as “challenge of our generation” that needs collaboration from all sectors to effectively stave off its impact on the planet.
The impact of climate change in our environment is becoming more visible everywhere with devastating consequences. Huge wildfires in Australia, Brazil and the United States. Longer periods of drought in some regions. Powerful storms and hurricanes in different parts of the world. Melting ice glaciers. Species getting extinct and so on.
“Climate change is the challenge of our generation and we are fully committed to the Paris Climate Agreement for decarbonizing road transport. In the future, the world will be powered by a combination of battery-electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles, along with other renewable fuels to some extent. The formation of the H2Accelerate collaboration is an important step in shaping a world we want to live in,” said Lundstedt.
Elisabeth Brinton, Executive Vice President for New Energies at Shell, noted: “The prize is clear. By boosting scale in a big way, hydrogen fuelled trucks will need to become available to customers at or below the cost of owning and operating a diesel truck today. This means truck customers will need to have access to a fully zero emissions vehicle with a similar refuelling time, range and cost range compared to the vehicles in use today. To achieve this ambition a clear regulatory framework is needed, including policies addressing the supply of hydrogen, hydrogen fuelled trucks, refuelling infrastructure and consumer incentives in a coordinated way.
Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, commented: “The participant companies in H2Accelerate agree that hydrogen-powered trucks will be key for enabling CO2-neutral transportation in the future. This unprecedented collaboration is an important milestone for driving forward the right framework conditions for establishing a mass market for said hydrogen-based trucking. It is also a call to action for policymakers, further players involved and society as a whole.”
Angelika Zartl-Klik, OMV SVP HSSE & New Energy Solutions, hydrogen powered vehicles is the climate-friendly option in today’s world.
“H2Accelerate is playing a pioneering role and OMV is making an important contribution here. In order to achieve the climate targets, we will need any low-carbon technology. Hydrogen is an option for the climate-friendly mobility of the future,” she said.
Gerrit Marx, President Commercial & Specialty Vehicles at CNH Industrial, meanwhile, stated: “The widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel-cell technology in heavy-duty transport is a function of the necessary infrastructure. We also need very concrete projects to demonstrate with hauliers and other stakeholders in the industry that this solution is financially and operationally viable. The ground-breaking H2Accelerate collaboration will create the conditions for this to happen and accelerate the transition to zero-emission transport.”
What is H2Accelerate?
H2Accelerate is an alliance of different companies involved in the global transport industry agreeing to work together on a unified vision of fighting climate change by:
Seeking public support to fund early pre-commercial projects to activate the market on the path towards a mass market roll-out;
Communicating around the technical and commercial viability of hydrogen fuelled trucking at scale; and
Holding discussions with policy makers and regulators to encourage policies which can support a sustainable and speedy activation of the zero emissions long haul trucking market.
Team H2Accelerate
Daimler Truck AG, IVECO, OMV, Shell and the Volvo Group form part of H2Accelerate. With their alliance, hundreds of hydrogen trucks and more than 20 high-capacity refueling stations are envisioned to be built in the first phase. Second phase involves four-digit production figures, and more hydrogen filling stations across Europe will be constructed.
Shell New Energies NL B.V.
The Royal Dutch Shell Group of Companies are working to support the development of a global hydrogen market by creating an end-to-end business stretching from solar and wind to hydrogen production and finally supplying a growing range of customers in transport, heavy industry and other hard-to-decarbonise sectors.
Daimler Truck AG
In September 2020, Daimler Truck AG celebrated the world premiere of the fuel-cell concept truck Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck. It is conceptualized with liquid hydrogen for flexible and demanding long-distance haulage operations with ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers and more on a single tank of hydrogen with its series version.
Daimler Truck AG plans to begin customer trials of the GenH2 Truck in 2023; series production is to start in the second half of the decade. In November, the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG signed a binding agreement for a joint venture to develop, produce and commercialize fuel-cell systems.
IVECO
IVECO designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks, and vehicles for applications such as off-road missions. IVECO is investing in electric and hydrogen technology with driveline specialist FPT Industrial, also part of CNH Industrial, and through its partnership with Nikola Corporation.
OMV Aktiengesellschaft
OMV produces and markets oil and gas, innovative energy and high-end petrochemical solutions – in a responsible way. Sustainability is an integral part of OMV’s corporate strategy. OMV supports the transition to a lower-carbon economy and has set measurable targets for reducing carbon intensity and introducing new energy and petrochemical solutions.
Volvo Group and Hydrogen
Volvo Group’s ambition is that 100% of our products are fossil fuel free enabled from 2040. There will be a gradual shift into electric, both battery and fuel cell electric. For use cases with heavier loads or longer distances, hydrogen fuel cells will be an important technology.
The two technologies complement each other and both will be needed in order for us to build the sustainable transport system of tomorrow. In November, the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG signed a binding agreement for a joint venture to develop, produce and commercialize fuel-cell systems. Text & photos sourced from www.media.daimler.com
After dominating air, land and sea logistics, the global freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group is turning its sights to huge galactic missions with the global space race spinning to new records.
Air freight and logistics companies traditionally transport goods via air, land or sea on Earth but the heightened global space race within a small circle of affluent countries and even some private companies have opened up new opportunities in the galactic world.
DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, announced it has partnered with D-Orbit, a specialized company covering the entire lifecycle of a space mission, including logistics services, for the first time.
Together with the company’s own innovation team DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation (CSI), the freight forwarding expert set up logistics to help the ION Satellite Carrier in its journey into space. Developed and designed by D-Orbit, the satellite carrier is planned to launch at Cape Canaveral, the world’s most famous space base in Florida in January 2021.
Tim Scharwath, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, states: “We are excited about this partnership for two key reasons. First, D-Orbit shares our vision of reliable, safe and sustainable logistics to connect people and to improve lives. D-Orbit developed its solutions by placing intelligent, safe, and efficient orbital transportation at the heart of its corporate vision, for commercial and human expansion that must be – first and foremost – sustainable.”
“Secondly, this project came to life because of collaboration within the company. It is a perfect example on how we work closely together with our innovation experts from DHL CSI to develop pioneering industry-tailored solutions and put innovation into practice.”
Mario Zini, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Italy, noted space logistics is fast becoming an emerging niche within the global logistics industry.
“With the advent of satellite constellations and habitable bases, space logistics is an emerging niche within the industry. While the core of logistics remains the same, whether in space or on Earth, more stringent constraints and extreme conditions challenge the safe transport, storage, and delivery of materials and products beyond Earth’s atmosphere and back,” said Zini.
“We are proud to support our partner D-Orbit with this critical mission, as we believe that space logistics will witness great expansion over the next few years, which we also highlighted for the first time in the latest edition of the DHL Logistics Trend Radar. There are enormous opportunities on the horizon for service providers in this sector. We firmly believe in the possibility of developing cutting-edge and sustainable solutions, especially for the transportation and storage of the future,” he added.
ION Satellite Carrier shipment: terrestrial challenges and galactic opportunities
ION Satellite Carrier is a cargo vehicle for microsatellites, able to transport them into orbit and release them into precise orbital slots, guaranteeing faster deployment, more rapid commissioning, and a more efficient use of their lifespan.
The satellite carrier, with a total weight of around 200 kg, was loaded into a special metal platform to be shipped from Milan Malpensa airport to Miami with a stopover in Luxembourg, on December 13. After an 11-hour flight, DHL brought the ION Satellite Carrier to Cape Canaveral via road freight.
Along with the satellite carrier, a comprehensive set of essential test equipment was transported, equipment that ensures the satellite’s integrity and safety before it is launched into space. In January 2021, after lengthy analysis and strict controls, the ION Satellite Carrier will be launched into space.
To tackle this challenge, DHL Global Forwarding teamed up with the company’s own innovation centre. Businesses can profit from innovations along the entire supply chain that directly address the logistics challenges of today and tomorrow. The DHL innovation experts bring together customers, research and academic institutions, industry partners, and logistics experts within the business divisions to enable collaboration.
Space Logistics: new demands and opportunities for a zero-gravity supply chain
As a result of great technological advancement and successes in the last decade, the vision of living and colonizing space has slowly reawakened. In addition, the space sector is significantly adding to life on earth, like for instance monitoring the climate and collecting important data from space.
With exciting developments in the private and public sector, there are growing questions that need to be answered for space logistics to be successful and sustainable in the future: How will supply chains be planned and managed? How will the accumulation of space debris be curbed and reversed?
As launch rates and emissions increase, are there more sustainable ways to transport objects into space? How can products be packaged to survive the extreme forces of a rocket launch and the exposure to high radiation and extreme temperatures of the space environment? Despite the change of location, distances, and gravitational levels, the challenge facing the logistics industry is always the same: delivering goods from point A to point B – safe, on-time, and with the greatest efficiency possible.
Satellite logistics is the newest facet of the logistics industry, with tens of thousands of low- and medium-Earth-orbit (LEO and MEO) satellites expected to be launched in the next few years. Expansive constellations of hundreds to thousands of linked orbiters are planned to provide various services from global internet provision to data collection.
In tandem with this, many operators are seeking viability by cutting launch, operational, and decommissioning costs. D-Orbit, headquartered in Italy, targets this demand with solutions that are not unlike those offered by logistics companies on Earth, delivering satellites to their proper destination in orbit and providing close-up damage inspection services.
D-Orbit estimates that it can save satellite operators 40% in costs for constellation deployment and extend satellite life by up to five years. D-Orbit also provides safe decommissioning services for end-of-life satellites, to combat growing space debris and has a vision for the future that includes possible in-space orbital warehouses for satellites.
“DHL Global Forwarding is a world leader in logistics, and D-Orbit is an emerging leader in the space logistics and transportation,” said Jonathan Firth, Chief Operating Officer at D-Orbit.
“The success of our recent ION Satellite Carrier mission established D-Orbit as the first orbital transport company, with the ability to deploy satellites into precise orbital slots. The next step in our roadmap will be In-Orbit Servicing: moving existing satellites from one orbit to another, performing repair and refueling operations for vehicles in orbit, satellites at the end of their mission, thus optimizing resources and keeping space clean.” (Source: www.dhl.com)
The digitalization campaign in the air cargo industry has been going on for many years. But it wasn’t until this Coronavirus pandemic came that all players in the sector and its supply chain, big or small, were convinced that it’s indeed time to upgrade the system and invest on smart technologies.
As more businesses adapt to the market dynamics of the new normal where contactless transactions have become the norm, more digital solutions are introduced and used in different industries like air cargo, which at the height of the crisis became an instant life-saver, hauling countless tons of vital medical supplies & equipment and other basic necessities across continents, despite the virus threat.
Seeing the need to link further the air cargo industry to the digital world, aviation expert and entrepreneur Matthieu Petot launched CargoAi in 2019 by assembling a team of experts in airfreight, technology, products, customer success and sales.
So, what does CargoAi do? CargoAi is a SaaS application offering air cargo digital solutions to freight forwarders, airlines and GSAs, allowing users to manage the entire air cargo booking process via a single tool.
Part of that pioneering team is Mathilde de Rocquigny, Chief Commercial Officer of CargoAI, one of few women who hold a top management position in the air freight male-dominated industry.
Thriving in air cargo & tech industries
With a dynamic and innovative team, de Rocquigny, a French national, continues to break the glass ceiling for women while thriving in air cargo and tech industries, fields both associated with men.
A “pure product of airlines and airports business” posted in different countries, de Rocquigny told Air Cargo Update she finds the industry a challenging environment but with lots to offer for those who persevere.
“I studied in Toulouse Business School, and Tech de Monterrey in Mexico,” shared de Rocquigny. “I joined Air France passenger business in 2000 with a French specific national service agreement, usually reserved for men. I jumped into the program as soon as they opened it for women. It gave me the unique opportunity to get a nice job and work abroad for a French company in Aviation. Thanks to this I spent four years working for Air France in Portugal.”
In 2004, she was introduced to airfreight when she joined the Air France Cargo HQ. Back then, very few women in the industry were given high positions and responsibilities. She was among the chosen few thanks to her technical expertise.
“Air cargo has always been a male environment, and it was even worse 20 years ago. When I joined Air France Cargo in 2004, I was in charge of the e-booking platform implementation. At that time there were not many young managers within cargo and not many females’ managers,” she recalled.
“I believe my expertise in managing technical projects helped me to convince people and to gain some respect from this traditional environment. Some years of experience in Japan and in airfreight, even more challenging situation, also helped to establish my position. I am glad to see, for the last years, many female leaders and CEO in Airlines and for Cargo business,” she added.
New but with huge impact
Now only on its second year, CargoAi is certainly new in the industry yet its impact should not be underestimated. Within a short period of time, the company has managed to forge partnerships with major players with a growing list of clients, convinced that its innovative ideas make a difference in the industry’s newfound importance in today’s global trade.
“We are new in the industry and the impact is already huge. We benefit from the current air cargo boom and it seems very relevant to talk about digitalization, specifically now. It is difficult to get capacity on cargo flights, everyone is trying to get the best process to book efficiently,” explained de Rocquigny.
“Customer services of both airlines and forwarders are overbooked with booking requests, quotes requests and we are coming at the right timing. We propose a solution that provides more visibility for airline capacity, that saves time for both airlines and forwarders and that is easy to implement,” she added.
While it’s been known for curbing a name in real time cargo capacity sales/purchase process, de Rocquigny said their platform offers a wide range of other functionalities.
“CargoAi offers a wide range of functionalities in the cargo capacity sales/purchase process. Forwarders can see all flights for cargo available for a route search. They can request for quotes, see the airlines contract rates and market rates. Our system enables to book and get a confirmation in minutes. We provide the track and trace function and we build dashboards for booking reports,” she said.
And through these extremely busy moments for the industry, the benefits are immediate noted the CargoAI CCO.
“Connecting to CargoAi will save time and money to airlines and forwarders, in addition to bringing more business. Our functionalities are developed to reduce unnecessary manual processes on both sides: managing an incoming booking, requesting a quote, checking for rates, checking for route proposal and availability on flights. All these time-consuming processes are now reduced to instants and seconds. This saved time can be re-allocated to decision-making process, focus on complicated shipments and business development.
“CargoAi allows airlines to reach more potential customers thanks to the route search functionality that displays all airlines schedules. Freight forwarders have now the best tool to choose the flights they need among a comprehensive list of airlines serving the requested route. It is a major change and a tangible benefit,” said de Rocquigny.
Dedicated to airfreight
While their digitalization expertise could be adopted in other industries, de Rocquigny said CargoAi is currently focused on anything but airfreight.
“We actually believe that there is a lot to do in air cargo digitalization and CargoAi already answers to the most important need: the sales/purchase of capacity thanks to its unique cargo capacity marketplace. There are many more processes to digitalize after this shipment booking management and we will certainly look at them in future. Our tech experts have great ambitions for our developments and capable to embrace such projects,” said de Rocquigny.
“We do not plan to expand these services to other industries as we specifically built a team of experts with both technology and airfreight profiles. We believe our experience in air cargo brings a lot. Our solution is specifically made for airfreight, by airfreight experts. Our knowledge in air cargo business is our advantage, we are dedicated to airfreight,” she added.
In today’s fast-moving and interconnected world, de Rocquigny said companies should opt for simple but smart tech solutions that offer the best benefits at optimized budget spend.
“Business and processes are moving so fast that I would recommend to avoid any long term/heavy structured projects. The time taken by these companies to build new systems is too long and not any more affordable in terms of time and budget. The most important is to go for reliable and quick implementation projects. At CargoAi, we talk in weeks of efforts, not in months. Our customers appreciate this,” she said.
CargoAi’s unique features enable an airline for instance to connect within just two to three weeks and have its flight schedules for cargo as quickly as possible.
“Cargo relies on light and flexible technologies. It means we are able to connect to an airline very easily and do that technical work in 2 to 3 weeks,” said de Rocquigny.
“In terms of functionalities, we also have a competitive advantage, our schedule module. CargoAi displays 100% of the flight schedules for cargo for any search for route and this is very powerful. None of our competitors has this module, and we created it! That is the power of having genius of tech on board and experiences airfreight people. We have created what everyone was looking for,” she noted.
IATA: Digitalization crucial to air cargo’s future
While the global aviation industry quickly embraced digitalization, the air cargo industry lagged behind, fully adopting the electronic Air Waybill (e-AWB) as the default contract of carriage for all air cargo shipments only on 1 January 2019, about a decade since the International Air Transport Association (IATA) pushed for its adoption.
This key industry milestone ushered air cargo into a new era where digital processes became the norm eliminating paper-based transactions, thus, improving efficiency and transparency.
The move turned out to be very crucial as the world faced its worst crisis, the Coronavirus pandemic, where air cargo played a very important role in keeping the flow of essential medical supplies and other goods flowing at every continent.
With all airlines grounded, belly-hold capacity sharply declined putting an unprecedented strain on air cargo to deliver essential medical supplies and other vital goods. In the early days of the pandemic, the industry managed to transport 1.5 million metric tons of medical and personal protective equipment across the world through some 46,000 special flights.
Innovative, agile and flexible, the industry managed to reconfigure some passenger planes into freighters to meet the rising demand for more air cargo haul.
With COVID vaccines now available to deal with the pandemic, air cargo’s role became even more important with its new mission of safely transporting the delicate vaccines in all corners of the world.
Throughout this process, air carriers and the supply chain have turned to digitalization and other smart technologies to accomplish what was described as the industry’s “mission of the century.” Specialized containers are used to safely transport the vaccines. Temperature-controlled facilities and coding systems are enhanced, and the list goes on.
And this seems to be just the beginning of the industry’s greater need for smart technologies to keep the world rolling in the new normal.
A new cold storage facility is to be developed at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC).
Alaska Cargo and Cold Storage (ACCS) will develop the 700,000 sq ft facility and intends to start work in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The facility will offer climate-controlled zones, ground source heat exchange, 500kw solar photovolatics, oxygen reduction fire suppression and three stage ammonia refrigeration.
Rob Gillam, chief executive of ACCS investor McKinley Capital, said: “We recognized the opportunity at ANC to provide new infrastructure that’s critical for shippers to make the most out of a location that’s already a strategic stop with many benefits.
“Our advanced ACCS facility will be located adjacent to the runway and it’s going to have the latest in automation and smart warehouse technology to maximize efficiency. This facility has the potential to streamline the global supply chain and the global cold chain, making ANC a global logistics hub.”
The ACCS development is the second of five proposed cargo projects at ANC.
Kenya Airways is increasing its cargo capacity by removing the seats from two of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The carrier recently received confirmation from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make the conversions.
The carrier said that the modification works on the aircraft are being carried out in partnership with Avianor Inc.
The aircraft will be used to transport cargo from Kenya to longhaul destinations in its network.
Peter Musola, cargo commercial manager at Kenya Airways, told Air Cargo News: “Two aircraft are having the seats removed to scale up capacity to up to 50 tons. All in all, this operation has enabled us to scale up our dreamliner cargo capacity from 15 tons [in the bellyhold] to 50 tons with the seats removed.”
He added: “In the run up to the Valentine’s Day period, these preighters will be critical for our customers because 50 tons is around half of a Boeing 747 capacity-wise.”
Allan Kilavuka, group managing director and chief executive of Kenya Airways, commented: “We are excited to be part of the first ever certified cargo conversion of this type on the Boeing 787 aircraft. It demonstrates our agility, innovation and quick thinking as well as increases our cargo capability and capacity to keep essential goods moving across the globe.”
Matthieu Duhaime, president and chief executive of Avianor, added: “Avianor’s team has been pioneering the main deck temporary cargo repurposing process in response to the need for rapid increase in air freight cargo capacity at the onset of the pandemic.
“We are very excited to now be working with Kenya Airways to adapt this solution for their 787 aircraft. This represents a unique design and certification challenge, and we are thrilled to demonstrate, once again, our ability to find unprecedented solutions to customer needs.”
Delta Air Line’s Vaccine Watch Tower was called into action recently when mechanical issues delayed a flight.
The carrier said that it recently had two Covid-19 vaccine shipments connecting through Atlanta to the west coast.
Due to mechanical delays on the inbound flights to Atlanta, both shipments would miss their connections without intervention.
“The Vaccine Watch Tower, however, brought together Delta teams to ensure the vaccines made it safely to Seattle,” the airline said.
The delay of the aircraft into Atlanta was minimized, with the two onward flights held for a short time after evaluating that customer and operational disruption would be minimal.
The Airport Coordination Center and Delta’s Atlanta Cargo team updated the pilots on the reason for the delay and ensured the two aircraft were at adjacent gates at the airport to allow the teams to quickly transfer the vaccines.
“To say this was our most challenging shipment to date would be an understatement, but the entire Delta team pulled together to make it a success,” said Delta’s James Ryu, manager – cargo control center.
“We are judged every day by the service we deliver our customers, and this is critical as we build trust with healthcare manufacturers and shippers that we can handle their business.”
Air Canada is hoping to have seven freighters operating by the end of next year.
Speaking as it announced its fourth quarter financial results, president and chief executive Calin Rovinescu said cargo will play an increasingly important role at the airline in the future.
Executive vice president and chief commercial officer Lucie Guillemette later confirmed that the carrier plans to convert a total of seven of its B767 aircraft into freighters – it had initially announced plans for two conversions in January.
Deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Michael Rousseau added that the airline would “love to have all seven up and operating by the end of next year”.
“These [conversions] are longer process and slots are not readily available but we are certainly working on having all seven up and running by fourth quarter next year,” he said.
The deal announced in January will see the airline sell two passenger Boeing 767s to lessor ATSG to be converted into freighters before leasing them back.
The first aircraft will be inducted for conversion in March 2021. Both are expected to be redelivered to Air Canada by the end of 2021.
Looking at the cargo division’s financial performance last year, revenues increased by 28% year on year to C$920m.
In the fourth quarter there was a 53% increase in revenues to C$286m.
Outlining highlights for the year, Guillemette said that the carrier pivoted in March and April to utilize the grounded Air Canada fleet for cargo-only operations.
By end of year 2020, over 4,000 cargo-only flights had operated using a combination of B787s, B777s as well as four B777 and three A330 aircraft with seats removed.
Looking ahead, Air Canada is expecting to continue handling Covid-19 vaccine shipments and has plans to roll out its door-to-door e-commerce service.
“We are very excited with our entry into the e-commerce sector, launching our first deliveries directly to people’s home in the fourth quarter,” said Guillemette.
“This program, in co-operation with local retailers, takes advantage of our domestic passenger network, facilitating the end-to-end distribution of e-commerce goods across Canada and offers logistics and delivery solutions for online retailers that are simply faster and easier that what is available to online Canadian shoppers today.
“We expect to officially launch the new branded platform in soon.”
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
