Southwest Airlines Co., recently announced Leadership changes and appointments within various departments of the company.
Justin Jones is promoted to Senior Vice President Operational Strategy & Design, where he will lead the airline’s modernization and operational improvements in this newly created role. Jones previously served as the Vice President Technical Operations Planning and Performance, where he was responsible for Contract Services, Heavy Maintenance Planning, Maintenance Reliability and Records, Training, Business Intelligence, Aircraft Appearance, and Strategic Planning for Technical Operations. Jones has held a variety of performance and strategy roles throughout the Company and started with Southwest in 2001 as a Revenue Management and Pricing Analyst.
With this change, Angela Marano, currently Managing Director Business Transformation, is promoted to Vice President Business Transformation, and she and her Team will move from the Finance Department to the new Strategy & Design Team. The Business Transformation Team provides a variety of services and capabilities, including Innovation/Human-Centered Design, Continuous Improvement, Emerging Trends, Data Science, and Automation. Marano has been at Southwest® for 23 years, starting in 1998 in Technology and has held several Leadership roles in Technology and Corporate Strategy.
Jonathan Clarkson was recently promoted to Vice President Marketing, Loyalty, & Products. Clarkson was most recently a Managing Director, overseeing general management responsibilities for the Company’s award-winning frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards®, as well as our partnerships. He also has responsibility for business management of Southwest’s ancillary revenue products (EarlyBird Check-In®, Upgraded Boarding, Hotels, Cars, etc.) and leads the Business Performance/Data Science and Customer Insights/Testing & Optimization Teams in Marketing.
Jim Dayton is transitioning to Vice President Cybersecurity and Chief Information Security Officer, following Managing Director of Chief Information Security Officer Michael Simmons’ departure from the Company. In Dayton’s new role, he will be responsible for all aspects of cybersecurity across Southwest’s facilities, airports, and aircraft. Dayton joined Southwest in 2012 and has held several senior-level Leadership positions. In his most recent role, he had responsibility for leading the Operations portfolio within Southwest’s Technology Department and worked alongside Flight Operations, Inflight Operations, Network Operations Control, and Safety & Security to modernize many of Southwest’s most critical operational systems.
John Herlihy has also been promoted from Managing Director to Vice President Technology Operations and Enterprise Initiative Delivery. Herlihy will oversee the Technical Operations Portfolio supporting Southwest’s aircraft maintenance applications and ecosystem of products. Additionally, he will lead the newly formed Enterprise Initiative Delivery Team, which is focused on the delivery of critical department-wide cybersecurity improvements and data privacy. He joined Southwest in 2017 and oversaw several major product implementations within the Technical Operations Department.
American Airlines Group Inc. announced Doug Parker will retire as chief executive officer of American Airlines on March 31, 2022.
Robert Isom, currently president of American, will succeed him. Isom also will join the airline’s board of directors on that same date, and Parker will continue to serve as chairman of American’s board.
“I have worked with Robert for two decades and I am incredibly pleased that he will be the next CEO of American Airlines, which is truly the best job in our industry,” Parker said.
“Robert is a collaborative leader with deep operational expertise and global industry experience. His efforts to guide and support our team throughout the pandemic have been nothing short of phenomenal. We are well-positioned to take full advantage of our industry’s recovery, and now is the right time for a handoff we have planned and prepared for. I feel extremely fortunate to hand the reins to this clear and capable leader.”
Parker added, “It has been the privilege of my life to serve for 20 years as an airline CEO. I am forever grateful to the American team, whose commitment to taking care of each other and our customers has never wavered and will continue to drive our success going forward.”
Isom, who was named president in 2016, brings more than 30 years of global industry and leadership experience across finance, operations, planning, marketing, sales, alliances, pricing and revenue management.
“I am humbled to serve as CEO of American Airlines,” said Isom.
“Over the past several years, our airline and our industry have gone through a period of transformative change. And with change comes opportunity. Today, our more than 130,000 dedicated team members fly more people than any other U.S. airline on the youngest fleet of all the network carriers, and we are positioned to continue to lead the industry as travel rebounds.”
Isom added, “I want to thank Doug for his partnership over the past two decades. He is a leader and teacher who inspires all around him and leaves an incredible legacy at American and in our industry. Looking ahead, I am deeply honored to be working alongside the best team in the industry and know that we will achieve great things together.”
Lead Independent Director John Cahill said, “The board views succession planning as one of our most important mandates, and today’s announcement represents the culmination of a thoughtful and well-crafted succession planning process. Robert is an excellent team builder who has worked to bring people together throughout his career. He is the right leader to carry American forward into its next period of growth.”
Cahill concluded, “Over the span of his 35-year career, Doug has been an architect and advocate for a more vibrant, resilient and secure aviation industry. At American, Doug has overseen unprecedented investment in our team and our product and set the standard for servant leadership, tirelessly championing our people and establishing an accessible and inclusive culture. We look forward to continuing to benefit from Doug’s sound judgement, deep industry knowledge, persistence and optimism as chairman of our board.”
APOC has appointed Pete Allwood as new vice president, business development – EMEA.
Allwood’s primary responsibilities will be the development and execution of sales and program initiatives designed to maximize APOC’s growing specialism in narrow-body aircraft and engine support. Previously regional head for Europe, Middle-East, Africa (EMEA) at Killick Aerospace, Allwood will build upon his business development experience gained in the sale, purchase and lease of commercial B737G/A320F narrowbody aircraft, CFM56-5B/-7B and V2500-A5 engines to airlines, operators and MROs.
“The new role of VP Business Development – EMEA is crucial to sustaining the growth trajectory that we have initiated” said CEO, Max Lutje Wooldrik. “Pete will build upon the success we have generated in a few short years. His focus on end-of-life aircraft/asset solutions and commercial development, has given him an in-depth knowledge of our airline customer’s needs, the services they require and their high expectations.”
Allwood said, “We are seeing signs of recovery however the airline sector is still cautious. Customers are extremely cost-sensitive with all expenditure heavily scrutinized before being justified. My new remit is to work with the APOC team of asset specialists, software engineers and technicians, all of whom are accustomed to doing things a bit differently, to develop cost-effective, flexible and creative servicing and provisioning program solutions.”
The global logistics solutions provider, UPS recently launched the second round of the Smart Logistics Challenge in partnership with DP World and AstroLabs at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The challenge aims to introduce reliable, scalable and secure solutions to tackle the key pressing challenges facing the healthcare logistics sector and meet the rising market demand, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic repercussions in place.
UPS Healthcare, a market leader in COVID-19 vaccine delivery and healthcare logistics stated that the challenge allows deep collaboration with the participating start-ups to “continue to drive the healthcare industry forward.”
Seven start-ups showcased their innovative solutions to real-world challenges facing the healthcare logistics industry, including, transparency, reliability, predictability, compliance, and temperature control.
The developer of the NextGen end-to-end supply chain eco-system, Tec4med was announced as the winner and will be fast-tracked to a proof-of-concept (POC) discussion with UPS and DP World.
NextGen is a supply chain ecosystem offering integrated smart temperature-controlled shipment monitoring, cloud data storage and AI solutions to serve the pharmaceutical industry.
“Winning the Healthcare Smart Logistics Challenge in Dubai means a lot to Tec4med, it supports our strong belief in integrated systems, and commitment to serve the pharma logistics market. We aim to enable a green and sustainable circular economy combined with end-to-end supply chain visibility and predictive analytics,” Tec4med CEO, Nico Hoeler said.
“I was really impressed by the start-ups’ caliber and the quality of their ideas,” Mike Bhaskaran said, adding that “contestants were clearly keyed into the sector, and very aware of what needed to be improved. It also shows just how important such events can be in discovering talent and allowing innovation to pollinate across an industry.”
On his part, Roland Daher described the challenge as a “validation milestone for the participating startups,” stressing the importance of AstroLabs’ collaboration with UPS to recognize and support emerging start-ups and their innovative solutions to develop the healthcare logistics sector.
The Omicron variant is set to keep air cargo capacity tight and as a result air cargo rates will remain at an elevated level.
In the latest Baltic Exchange market update, investment bank Stifel senior analyst Bruce Chan said that the new variant will restrict network capacity due to safety protocols, episodic infection and national response.
He added, “This and other new variants are likely going to delay a return to pre-pandemic international business travel (or international travel in general), which means that the complete return of belly capacity on those core lanes will also get pushed out.”
Chan said that there was also at least some risk that belly capacity may never fully recover if there is a permanent switch to hybrid in-person/virtual business.
“With renewed lockdowns in some countries and geographies, and with continued and not unreasonable public concern about viral spread, we believe the eventual transition of discretionary dollar spend away from goods and back to services may be elongated as well,” he said.
“These factors should support persistently elevated airfreight rates, in our view, and any shippers that were looking for relief in the seasonal first quarter freight lull may not find it – at least to the extent that they expect.”
Last week, IATA’s director general Willie Walsh also warned that a knee-jerk reaction to the Omicron variant from governments could have an impact on cargo capacity if restrictions dampen passenger demand.
Walsh said that after almost two years of Covid-19, governments have the experience and tools to make better data-driven decisions than the “mostly knee-jerk reactions to restrict travel that we have seen to date”.
“Restrictions will not stop the spread of Omicron,” he said. “Along with urgently reversing these policy mistakes, the focus of governments should be squarely on ensuring the integrity of supply chains and increasing the distribution of vaccines.”
The warnings come as airfreight rates continued to increase recently.
The latest figures from the Baltic Exchange Airfreight Index (BAI) show that prices from Hong Kong to North America reached a new index record of $12.41 per kg, compared with $6.77 per kg in the same week last year and $3.66 per kg in 2019.
There was also a new index record on services from Hong Kong to Europe, which reached $8.46 per kg compared with $5.61 per kg in the same week last year and $3.27 per kg in 2019.
DoKaSch Temperature Solutions continues to expand its business in Asia. With the dedicated subsidiary DoKaSch Temperature Solutions K.K. in Tokyo and a new service station at Narita International Airport, customers in Japan now have optimal access to the ‘Opticooler’ – high-quality and reliable temperature-controlled packaging-solution by DoKaSch Temperature Solutions. Additionally, the specialist for temperature-controlled packaging solutions presented its active container solutions at INTERPHEX Japan 2021.
Japan is considered an important production and export center for pharmaceuticals in the Asian-Pacific region as well as worldwide. Especially in terms of biopharmaceuticals and vaccines, the demand for pharmaceutical cold chain capacity is increasing. Narita International Airport has one of the largest temperature-controlled storage facilities for airports in Japan, the Cargo Climate Control Terminal (CCC). The airport handles half of all pharmaceutical trade in Japan, making it one of the most important hubs for both import and export.
With its office in Tokyo and the new depot at Narita International Airport, DoKaSch Temperature Solutions is strengthening its network in the region and worldwide. In this way, the solution provider for temperature-controlled packaging contributes to a reliable cold chain for highly sensitive pharmaceutical products, especially during the pandemic. The capacities of RKN and RAP Opticooler at Narita Station can be increased at any time and immediately so that the required number of containers is available for each flight. Back in July, for example, DoKaSch Temperature Solutions K.K. provided Opticoolers for a large-scale and very important transport operation of vaccines.
“I see many opportunities for Opticooler in the important Japanese pharmaceutical market and beyond, because of its technical characteristics, exceptional reliability and availability. Because of our proximity and extensive network, we can serve customers quickly and reliably,” says Kazuyoshi Kakizawa, Head of DoKaSch Temperature Solutions K.K.. The experienced industry expert is responsible for the further development and expansion of DoKaSch’s business in Japan and also for the company’s operational activities in the East Asian island state.
Andreas Seitz, Managing Director of DoKaSch Temperature Solutions, adds: “Japan is a major production and export center for pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals. Therefore, we decided to open a new DoKaSch office and station at Tokyo. It is directly related to our growth strategy in Asia and ideally complements our extensive global network. This allows us to further ensure that our Opticooler reaches our customers quickly and thus contribute to a smooth and reliable cold chain.”
DoKaSch’s Opticooler is an extremely reliable, temperature-controlled packaging solution. Electrically powered and fully climate controlled, the active containers can both cool and heat without using dry ice or other refrigerants. They maintain the desired temperature level, e.g. between 2° and 8° Celsius at all times and regardless of external climatic conditions. This makes them the ideal solution for the safe transport of highly sensitive and valuable pharmaceutical products that must always be protected from temperature fluctuations.
Boeing and Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (STAECO) recently announced plans to create additional capacity for the market-leading 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) to help meet continued strong market demand.
In 2022, Boeing will add two 737-800BCF conversion lines at STAECO’s facility in Jinan, China. The first new line will open in the first quarter of the year, with the second line expected to begin conversions by midyear. Once the two new lines are operational,
STAECO will have seven conversion lines dedicated to the 737-800BCF.
“Boeing is pleased to continue growing our strong and mutually beneficial relationship with STAECO by creating additional conversion capacity to meet growing global demand,” said Peter Gao, vice president, Boeing Commercial Sales and Marketing for China. “STAECO has exhibited the expertise and track record of delivering quality freighter conversions and will play a critical role in helping Boeing meet our customer commitments today and in the future.”
Boeing forecasts 1,720 freighter conversions will be needed over the next 20 years. Of those, 1,200 will be standard body conversions with Asia carriers accounting for 40 percent of that demand.
“The successful implementation of the 737-800BCF program at STAECO has become a model of cooperation between manufacturer and MRO on passenger-to-freighter conversions,” said Wang Chao, president, STAECO. “We are honored by Boeing’s ongoing trust and partnership in expanding our capacity through a sixth and seventh conversion line, and we look forward to continuing to fulfill our commitments in support of our mutual customers.”
This year, Boeing announced it would create additional 737-800BCF conversion capacity at several sites, including with existing supplier Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Limited (GAMECO), and with new suppliers Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios Aeroindustriales (COOPESA) in Costa Rica, KF Aerospace in Canada, and Boeing’s London Gatwick MRO facility in the United Kingdom.
The 737-800BCF is the standard body freighter market leader with more than 200 orders and commitments from 19 customers. The 737-800BCF offers higher reliability, lower fuel consumption, and lower operating costs per trip compared to other standard-body freighters.
Boeing has more than 40 years of successful experience in passenger-to-freighter conversions, relying on original design data and a deep understanding of the needs of the air cargo industry to deliver a superior, integrated product, including fully integrated manuals and world-class in-service technical support. Boeing Converted Freighters also come with the advantage of being associated with the industry’s largest portfolio of services, support and solutions
ROM Cargo has appointed Air One Aviation as its exclusive Global Sales & Services partner.
This follows the awarding of the airline’s Air Operators’ Certificate by Romania’s civil aviation authority to begin international Boeing 747-400 freighter services.
Combined with its existing airline client base, the new contract means Air One Aviation is now marketing its biggest-ever fleet of Boeing 747-400SF freighters globally as well as a Boeing 737-400SF for regional cargo services. In the past 18 months, Air One Aviation has generated over 270 million kilos of airfreight for more than 2,400 full freighter flights to more than 50 countries, achieving its most successful year yet.
Air One Aviation expects ROM Cargo’s 747F fleet – which will be available for full charter services and capable of carrying a payload of up to 112 tons – to meet immediate demand for Asia-Europe cargo capacity.
Paul Bennett, Founder & CEO of Air One Aviation Limited, stated: “We are delighted to welcome another Boeing 747 freighter operator into our fleet portfolio. With the support we are generating from our freight forwarding, logistics and charter broker customers for 747 all-cargo capacity, we are confident of quickly establishing ROM Cargo in the international market and developing a platform for the next stage of the airline’s expansion.”
“Given its track record of generating growth for other 747 freighter operators, and its large, established customer base for full charter flights, we see Air One Aviation as a natural partner for our aircraft. It has a highly experienced commercial team, and we look forward to leveraging their knowledge and expertise in the freighter market,” added Nicu Berla, Deputy Accountable Manager of the airline, which trades as ROMMCARGO.
Challenge Group is the latest temperature-sensitive supply chain specialist to join the Cool Chain Association (CCA) as part of its growing membership.
Global air cargo group Challenge’s six companies include cargo airlines, handlers, and logistics services, and its subsidiary carrier CAL Cargo Airlines is a leading carrier of perishables on the Israel to Europe trade lane.
It has a portfolio of temperature-controlled products covering perishables and pharmaceuticals and holds the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV) certification for its two airlines, CAL Cargo Airlines and Challenge Airlines, as well as for Challenge Handling in Liège, Belgium.
Challenge Group will join the CCA’s newly developed Technical Committee, with the aim of supporting tangible projects and initiatives to drive improvements in the cool supply chain.
“By joining the CCA, we know we can make a concrete contribution to raise industry standards as an active member of the Technical Committee,” said Gianluca Marcangelo, Senior Manager Cargo Transformation, Challenge Group.
“We are looking forward to networking with other members and enhance our industry engagement to build strategic and long-term business partnership.”
CAL Cargo Airlines, part of the Challenge Group, was founded in 1976 to service growing export demands of perishable goods out of Tel Aviv, Israel, and has remained committed to delivering quality services for temperature-controlled products, as well as growing its portfolio.
CCA members are focused on driving improved logistics services for the pharmaceutical and perishable sectors.
The CCA launched its Technical Committee earlier this year, to analyze and manage critical points affecting product quality along the cool chain, as well as to develop standards and initiate projects.
“It is important that we work together to deliver tangible solutions for our cool supply chain, that is our focus,” said Nicola Caristo, CCA Secretary General and Airline Partner Manager, SkyCell AG.
“By working with quality-driven experts such as Challenge, we will together make a much-needed difference and we welcome their knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to help us achieve our goal.”
The CCA holds two networking events a year, one covering perishables and the other on pharmaceuticals.
Copenhagen Airport has acknowledged Worldwide Flight Services’ (WFS) latest investment to expand its cargo handling facilities as enabling ‘future airfreight growth’ for the airport and its airline clients.
WFS is the largest cargo handler in Copenhagen, supporting 31 airlines with flights to and from the Danish capital. It also provides cargo handling services for a further 127 offline carriers. It opened its first 4,600m² cargo terminal in Copenhagen in 2008 and expanded with an additional 3,000m² Terminal 2 facility at the beginning of 2010. In 2019, WFS also invested in a new GDP-certified Pharma facility,
increasing its footprint by a further 1,500m².
WFS – the world’s largest air cargo handler – is investing once again by signing a contract for a new Terminal 3 cargo center. The 3,700m² warehouse facility will open in Q4 2022. In the meantime, to support its airline customers’ growing volumes, WFS has taken a 12-month lease on an additional facility to provide the additional capacity it needs in the short-term, until construction of the new cargo center is completed next year.
Thomas Woldbye, Group CEO of Copenhagen Airports has praised WFS’ commitment to the airport and its cargo community. “With this significant expansion of an additional handling terminal, WFS has ensured further improvement and capacity for growth in the airfreight segment in Copenhagen Airport. This fits well with Copenhagen Airport’s cargo strategy and will enable opportunities for future airfreight growth. Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, WFS has proven to be a solid partner and maintained good contingency, which has contributed to the airfreight market receiving a stable and good service in CPH under these difficult conditions and large fluctuations in the volumes of airfreight in our region,” he stated.
In the past 12 months, WFS has renewed airline contracts at Copenhagen Airport with Qatar Airways and Sichuan Airlines, and now handles 100,000 tons of cargo annually across its facilities, as well as providing airside cargo handling. In addition to facilitating rising general cargo volumes, WFS’ investment at the airport is also important in supporting Medicon Valley, the strongest life science cluster in the Nordic countries, which spans the Greater Copenhagen area. It is home to a vibrant ecosystem underpinned by world-class life science universities and research infrastructure, including 350+ biotech, medtech and pharma companies with local R&D, 4 global R&D pharmaceutical companies, and seven science parks with a major focus on life science.
“Throughout the pandemic, WFS has continued to provide a full 24/7/365 cargo handling service for our customers in Copenhagen, including those closely connected to the country’s thriving pharma industry. As volumes recover to close to their pre-covid level, and we see new growth potential ahead, we are able to make this new investment to ensure WFS and Copenhagen Airport have the infrastructure in place to maintain high quality cargo handling services, for both our existing clients and future customers which recognize this strategically-important regional cargo hub,” added Thomas Egeland, General Manager, WFS – Scandinavia.
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