Conversion firm EFW has delivered its third A321 converted freighter to lessor BBAM.
EFW said the aircraft (D-AEUC) will soon make its way to Munich to enter service as Lufthansa’s first A321 freighter.
The aircraft will be flown by Lufthansa City Line on behalf of Lufthansa Cargo.
The aircraft can transport more than 28 tons of gross payload per flight “significantly larger cargo volumes than in the short-haul bellies of passenger aircraft”, BBAM said.
The model also offers 14 full-container positions on the maindeck, plus up to 10 container positions and pallet loading capability on the lower deck.
A second A321 conversion will join the Lufthansa fleet later this year.
The aircraft will be used on intra-European services and will target e-commerce volumes.
When the deal was first announced, Lufthansa Cargo pointed out that cross-border e-commerce shipments are forecast to grow by around 20% per year for the next five years.
“Consumers expect ever shorter delivery times for their ordered goods,” the cargo business said. “This is also increasing the demand for airfreight connections within Europe.”
Lufthansa Cargo chief executive Dorothea von Boxberg said: “Lufthansa Cargo wants to offer customers in the eCommerce segment fast intra-European connections. With the converted A321s, we are meeting our customers’ growing demand for same-day solutions and further strengthening our dense network of global connections as well as our product offering.
“The selected aircraft type can transport 28t per flight, significantly larger cargo volumes than in the short-haul bellies of passenger aircraft. In addition to forwarders, integrators and postal operators, e-commerce providers will be customers for this offering.”
Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said cargo throughput in 2021 at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) rose by 12.5% year on year to 5m tons, exceeding the 4.8m tons recorded in 2019.
The number of cargo flights surged to an all-time record of 82,935, a year-on-year increase of 19.8%, confirmed AAHK. Monthly cargo throughput also reached a new monthly high in November 2021.
Peak cargo demand in November 2021 carried into December despite flight reductions due to the emergence of the Covid Omicron variant.
In December 2021, HKIA handled 477,000 tons of cargo, representing year-on-year growth of 8.6%.
The growth in cargo throughput in December was mainly attributed to 18% year-on-year increase in transhipments. Imports and exports both experienced 7% growth.
Overall, cargo to and from Southeast Asia experienced the most significant increases during the month.
In 2021 HKIA handled 1.4m passengers and 144,815 flights, marking year-on-year declines of 84.7% and 9.9%, respectively.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong enforced a 14-day ban on passengers from eight countries in response to rising Covid cases. Prior to this, the Hong Kong Government tightened the quarantine measures for air cargo crew.
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) saw its cargo volumes increase by double-digit percentage levels last year as demand soared and capacity constraints hit rival airports.
The airport in Pennsylvania, US handled around 113,000 tons last year, which is an increase of 30% compared with 2020 and 26% against 2019.
“Demand for air cargo soared amid global supply chain disruptions,” the airport said in a press release, adding that its “aggressive cargo strategy – set in motion prior to the pandemic – allowed it to capitalize during the past two years as capacity constraints piled up at major US gateways”.
The airport said that traditional cargo gateways are “often swamped”, creating a backlog that keeps cargo sitting for days waiting to be processed or available for delivery.
“Every minute that cargo isn’t being moved to its final destination incurs further expenses,” PIT said.
Nate Hankinson, president of Pittsburgh-based NJH Consulting, said, “The Airport Authority has put a lot of effort into a long-term solution for inbound and outbound airfreight – to really build a product that is different than what’s offered at the major air hubs in the US to offer quicker turn times, quicker to market.”
Hankinson said the airport’s success comes from partnering with the “regional logistics ecosystem”, such as trucking companies, ground handlers, local warehousing, container freight stations and third-party logistics providers.
Marc Schlossberg, executive vice president of air cargo & sales/marketing for Unique Logistics, said that it had shipped thousands of pounds of fashion apparel and high-tech products through PIT in the past year on a variety of international airlines, including Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways.
“What we’re seeing is the labor issues and challenges surrounding lack of capacity at terminals as well as the additional labor required to manage passenger freighters has driven operations to secondary airports like PIT because the major gateways can’t handle the requirements,” Schlossberg said. “The labor shortage is a problem in places like JFK and as a result it’s opened up opportunities for me to divert aircraft away from JFK or Chicago or L.A.”
The airport has also benefited from a new airline customer: Amazon Air started air cargo services to PIT in May.
Further expansion is on the cards. In 2019, the US Department of Transportation awarded PIT an $18.9m grant to support the construction of a 75,000 sq ft cargo facility, Cargo 4.
The building will feature 18 loading docks for trucks; most will come with dock levelers while others will be used specifically for Unit Loading Devices (ULDs). Flatbed trucks will be able to access the interior of the warehouse.
Flexport has added more air cargo charter capacity in response to what it expects to be another robust year for airfreight.
The freight forwarder has announced a deal with JetOneX, which currently operates B747Fs, to provide services on the Asia to Europe trade lane.
The service will operate twice a week between Hong Kong and Maastricht (MST), and once a week between Ho Chi Minh City and Maastricht.
Neel Jones Shah, executive vice president airfreight at Flexport, said: “Disruption in the airfreight market caused by global uncertainty and rapidly changing Covid regulations continue to result in cancellations and volatile pricing for our customer.
“By partnering with JetOneX, we’re able to grow our capacity, and our customers will enjoy best-in-class service flying into an uncongested MST airport as a gateway for the rest of Europe. In the future, we plan to build upon this service to create a reliable network of scheduled services that our customers can rely on whenever they need it.”
Paul Rombeek, senior director of Network Trade Lane Management EMEA, added: “Additionally, faster transit times for airfreight are won with an excellent ground operation. Our network of owned and partner warehouses are designed to optimize the ground operation and seamlessly move freight from port to door. Once cargo arrives at MST, dedicated team members based in Europe will take over the rest of the shipment journey.”
The announcement comes shortly after the forwarder expanded its charter partnership with Atlas to add a third Boeing 747-400 freighter from September.
The long-term charter agreement will broaden Flexport’s network of dedicated freighters to include services from Asia to Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA) and soon, Chicago (ORD).
Meanwhile, during a recent webinar, Shah predicted tough market conditions for at least the first six months of the year while belly capacity may not catch up with demand growth for years.
He said that the Omicron variant was keeping capacity tight, while dock worker unions in the US will this year start negotiations with port authorities over a new agreement – in the past this has resulted in port shutdowns.
Demand, meanwhile, is expected to remain brisk as consumers continue to spend and volumes transfer from troubled ocean shipping operations.
He said: “40% of passenger capacity is still grounded and some of it will never return. That is the long-term impact that Covid will have on travel patterns.
“This has the potential to reshape the demand capacity balance for the next ten years,” he added.
“In the face of this capacity situation we have actually has one of the strongest market places we have ever had.
“Things could get worse when it comes to rates and transit times before they get better, although there is light at the end of the tunnel particular in the second half of 2022.”
Shah concluded: “We think the demand patterns are quite strong. The economies in Europe and the US are doing quite well. We have inventory to sales ratios that are that the lowest they have been since this metric has been recorded.
“So we do believed that 2022 will be a robust year for airfreight partly driven by the demand patterns and partly by the ocean market that continues to be severely congested.”
Freight forwarder Geodis will open a new warehouse at Brisbane Airport.
The 4,500 sq m facility is due to be operational in the second half of the year and will feature 4,000 pallet locations, 1,500 sq m of bulk space and a cool room for perishables to supply marine and hospitality logistics customers, especially cruise lines.
Geodis said the facility is ‘strategically located’ at Brisbane Airport and is 14 km from the central business district and 22 km from the Port of Brisbane.
“It will serve the growing logistical needs of Geodis’ customers,” the company said.
The facility will provide “airfreight, ocean freight, contract logistics and customs brokerage solutions for its customers in a wide range of market sectors, including automotive and FMCG”.
In Australia, Geodis currently offers 30,888 sq m of warehousing space across seven locations.
IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group (IAG), has increased services to Colombia and Argentina from Madrid, whilst offering daily capacity between Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires.
The business, which saw cargo revenues increase and volumes exceed 2019 levels in the third quarter of the year, now services 17 destinations in Latin America from Madrid, London and Barcelona.
IAG Cargo has particularly increased services to Colombia, with 14 flights per week now operating between Madrid and Bogota (up on the previous 10), while the three flights per week schedule into Cali is maintained. It has also increased services between Madrid-Buenos Aires from 8 to 10 flights per week, and services between London-Heathrow and Mexico City increase to seven per week (up from the previous five).
The division’s new service between Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires, will enable the flow of goods between the two cities, and the opportunity to fly freight across its network onto transatlantic trade lanes. All services utilize the Group’s widebody aircraft.
IAG Cargo now offers capacity to nearly every destination in Latin America which it operated pre-pandemic and operates over 250 flights per week between Latin America, Europe and the UK, all utilizing wide-body aircraft. This service has proved particularly valuable to the automotive and manufacturing industries which utilize air freight between the regions, and to the medical sector, IAG Cargo said.
The extra capacity also benefits perishable exporters seeking to transport fresh produce into Europe and the UK, it added.
Rodrigo Casal, regional commercial manager for Latin America at IAG Cargo, said: “These additional to the world, connecting automotive freight to assembly plants in Europe, or perishables onto flights will provide a welcome boost to businesses trading between Europe, UK and Latin America. Additionally, we are delighted to be able to offer regular wide-body capacity between Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, on flights that feed into London and Madrid. Our global network allows customers a gateway the supermarket shelves in the UK.”
The news of IAG Cargo’s expanded offer in the region follows strong performance in 2021, when a new route from Heathrow to Guayaquil, Ecuador was announced and increased flights to Sao Paolo, Brazil and Mexico City. Regular flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico and from Heathrow to Rio de Janiero were also re-started in 2021.
Miami International Airport (MIA) has broken its record for cargo volumes handled for the second year in a row.
The Florida hub handled 2.7m tons of freight in 2021, ‘shattering’ its previous record of 2.3m tons achieved in 2020.
International freight grew by 17% to 2.2m tons, while domestic freight rose 15% to 500,000 tons.
MIA ranks as the busiest airport in the US and ninth busiest in the world for international freight. Los Angeles International is the busiest overall – domestic and international – cargo airport in the US. Last year it handled 3m tons of cargo – a 20.6% increase.
The increases come as reduced passenger operations have resulted in cargo volumes consolidating at fewer airports – typically those with a larger cargo community and plenty of freighter operations.
Consumer demand in the US also continues to boom.
MIA said the growth experienced over the few years has two major facility expansions that were completed in 2021.
In November, DHL Express completed a $78m renovation and expansion. The investment includes a fully automated package sorting system and has nearly doubled the facility’s sorting capacity and warehouse space to 206,000 sq ft.
In December, FedEx completed a $72.2m, 138,000 sq ft expansion, doubling its total facility size to more than 282,000 sq ft.
The enhancements include a new customs clearance area and a new 70,000 sq ft cold chain facility.
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has appointed Mohammed Esa as Senior Vice President, Group Commercial Business Development & Strategy.
Esa, as he’s known to friends and colleagues, brings 30 years of global leadership experience in commercial and operational roles in the transportation and logistics industries, having spent the last 18 years at Agility Logistics, most recently as SVP Global Business Development & Global Lead Digital Customer Solutions. In this role, he was responsible for shaping and executing Agility’s commercial strategy, building long-term customer relationships across various industry sectors, and overseeing the deployment of new and emerging technology solutions.
He previously also served as Agility’s Chief Executive Officer & SVP of UAE, Oman & Bahrain, and as the company’s VP Sales for the Asia Pacific region. Before joining Agility, he spent 13 years at Emirates Airline, based in Dubai, in Finance, Operations & Business Development roles.
At WFS, Esa’s mission is to develop and oversee the implementation of WFS’ commercial development strategies to ensure a fully integrated commercial approach to drive future growth. He will also help to identify and develop new lines of business and focus on the development of digital solution.
“Esa is a tremendous addition to WFS’ already-strong commercial team. His business skills gained from such a successful career in the airline and forwarding industries, alongside his knowledge of international management cultures, and understanding of how digitization is driving customer relationships and business growth, will be a great asset in the delivery of WFS’ global commercial strategy. He will be a strong contributor to the next phase of our growth,” said Barry Nassberg, Group Chief Commercial Officer at WFS.
In his new role, reporting to Barry Nassberg, Esa will operate from the WFS Group headquarters in Paris, with regular travel across the company’s global network.
Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC), the world’s largest regional aircraft leasing company, today announces the appointment of Klaus Heinemann as a Strategy Consultant with the intention to be named Non-Executive Chairman of the Board upon NAC’s emergence from Chapter 11.
Mr. Heinemann brings over four decades of aviation financing and board expertise to NAC, having held senior leadership roles throughout his career.
Klaus was CEO of AerCap Holdings NV from 2002 to 2012, where he was instrumental in building the firm into a top global aircraft lessor. He was previously on the Executive Board at DVB Bank from 1998 to 2002, driving its transformation to a global transportation-focused bank. Klaus also served as Joint General Manager at Long Term Credit Bank from 1988 to 1998, where he built its aviation financing franchise. He began his banking career in 1976 at Bank of America, where he worked for 11 years. Klaus has a degree from the University of Hamburg.
After AerCap, Klaus has been an independent director at multiple firms for the last decade. He is currently an independent board member of Hamburg Commercial Bank AG. He was also former Chairman of Ingrid Hotels and Finnair OY and a former board member of Algeco Scotsman SARL.
Justin Bickle, Vice Chairman of NAC and Chairman of its Restructuring Committee said, “I am delighted to welcome Klaus to NAC. He brings extensive commercial aviation and broad business experience that will be invaluable as the Company positions itself for long term success.”
Klaus Heinemann said, “This is a pivotal time to be joining NAC, as the Company builds on the next chapter of its evolution and growth. It has been a challenging time for NAC and the aviation industry, and I look forward to working together with my new colleagues as the industry recovers from the pandemic.”
Norman C.T. Liu, President & CEO of NAC, said, “I have known Klaus for nearly two decades and am very pleased with his appointment. Since last fall, the NAC team has made steady progress recovering from the pandemic, rebuilding its leadership team and stabilizing its portfolio. We look forward to advice and counsel from Klaus as we pivot to growth in the near future.”
Gerhard has worked at Chapman Freeborn for almost 7 years, starting in 2015 as Cargo Account Manager – South Africa, and then as Cargo Charter Manager – South Africa from 2018.
His new role as Regional Manager IMEA – Cargo will see him develop and grow the Cargo Team in this region, supporting and delivering on the wider IMEA strategy.
Gerhard comments: “I am very excited to take on this new role, especially with our recent region merge between Africa, India and the Middle East.
I will encourage the sharing of fresh ideas and innovative solutions within our established team, giving a fresh perspective on business growth and further developing and guiding our IMEA cargo brokers.
In 2022 I am hoping the circumstances will allow for opportunities to meet with more of the teams in person.”
Gerhard will work closely with Sharon Vaz-Arab, Regional Director – IMEA.
Sharon said: “Gerhard’s history at Chapman Freeborn, together with the energy and passion he puts into everything he does, is reflected in the strong and lasting relationships he maintains within the industry and with his peers.
I am confident that under his leadership and direction we will take the IMEA region to new heights.”
Gerhard is based in the Chapman Freeborn South Africa office in Johannesburg.
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