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Tag: air cargo

IAG Cargo launches largest-ever recruitment drive

Posted on by Keith McKinley

IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group (IAG), will be creating more than 500 new roles over the next 12 months in the biggest recruitment drive in the organisation’s history, in areas ranging from operations to transformation.

This landmark recruitment campaign will support IAG Cargo to expand its cargo operation and meet growing customer demand. The business has welcomed many new customers since the start of 2021. It has seen a growing demand for some of its specialist products such as Constant Climate, which supports the movement of temperature sensitive cargo such as vaccines, its dedicated perishable product Constant Fresh and its Critical product which continues to be popular for customers needing to transport emergency items.

IAG Cargo’s Q3 revenues increased by 34% compared to the same period in 2020 showing sustained growth as the business increases capacity across its network. As part of the campaign, IAG Cargo will be recruiting in areas across the business including operations, revenue and inventory management, data & analytics and projects.

Commenting on the recruitment drive, David Shepherd, Managing Director at IAG Cargo, said: “IAG Cargo is a growing business offering rewarding careers in a fast-paced environment, where no day is the same. We give individuals the opportunity to put ideas forward, have varied career paths, work autonomously and explore their potential with the support of their team. We put a big emphasis on internal promotion and being part of the IAG group means that our employees can not only move ‘up’ but across into other parts of the group. This recruitment drive will see us recruit broadly, advertising a variety of new roles.”

The business is looking to recruit employees on a rolling basis and interested parties are invited to CLICK HERE.

BlueBox and Tive sign strategic partnership

Posted on by Keith McKinley

BlueBox Systems, provider of the BlueBoxAir tracking platform that monitors air cargo in real time, and leading in-transit visibility provider Tive have announced a strategic partnership aimed at effectively reducing delays and damage on global air cargo routes by combining their respective solutions.

BlueBox Systems’ BlueBoxAir real-time tracking platform enables companies, shippers and logistics service providers to track air cargo shipments down to the minute, compare airlines, airports or entire supply chains for performance metrics. In addition, the platform offers the possibility to display and compensate the real CO2 values of a shipment. Due to the open structure, third-party tracking systems can be integrated without any problems, thus refining the data even further. For this reason, the partnership with Tive is the logical step.

“For us, Tive is one of the most important drivers in the digitalization of logistics,” said Martin Schulze, CEO, BlueBox Systems. “With their monitoring and tracking solutions, they already offer the market a portfolio of both innovative and future-oriented solutions. So, it is logical for us to enter a partnership with Tive and jointly develop value for our customers.”

“The next generation of in-transit visibility is adding more ways to deliver meaningful data in real-time, so logistics professionals can actively manage shipments and eliminate delays and damage,” said Krenar Komoni, Founder and CEO, Tive. “Hyper-accurate location and condition are a cornerstone – and together with BlueBox Systems we are creating a new industry standard in saving air freight loads.”

Rushlift wins lucrative global GSE contract

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Rushlift GSE, the specialist airport ground support equipment subsidiary of Doosan Industrial Vehicles UK, has entered into a six-year global framework agreement with airport ground services company, Menzies Aviation, to supply GSE equipment.

Under the arrangement, Rushlift GSE will initially lease 650 brand-new vehicles to Menzies Aviation’s ground handling operations at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The multi-million-pound contract will include the provision of a fleet of pushback tugs and HI loaders from Trepel, mobile conveyor belts and electric baggage and pushback tugs from TLD, and trailers from UK manufacturer TBD. The staged rollout, which is already underway, will continue through to Q2 2022 and is timed to align with the expected resurgence in passenger air travel.

Tim Willett, Operations Director at Rushlift GSE, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Menzies Aviation in supporting their operations at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and for the opportunity to expand our cooperation internationally.

“This contract further underscores Rushlift GSE’s capability to support large corporations. Rushlift are experts in large start-ups, as demonstrated by previous programmes, such as a recent major rollout for easyJet at Gatwick.

“In line with Menzies’ environmental objectives, we will be introducing a number of electric GSE vehicles over the six-year term of the contract. We are also exploring alternative fuel options, including Biofuels and Hydrogen. One of the huge advantages of being a subsidiary of Doosan – a global engineering enterprise – is that we have access to a world-leading team of specialists dedicated to researching sustainable, alternative fuels.”

Stephen Gallagher, SVP GSE and Equipment for Menzies Aviation, said: “The reliability and uptime of our ground handling equipment is absolutely imperative to the service we provide – our reputation depends upon it. We’re confident that Rushlift GSE will provide the GSE and support we’re looking for, both here in the UK and overseas.”

 

CMA CGM Group orders two Boeing 777s

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Shipping and logistics company CMA CGM Group is purchasing two new Boeing 777 Freighters to grow the Group’s air freight division operations.

CMA CGM Group launched its dedicated air freight division, CMA CGM AIR CARGO, in February 2021, commencing commercial operations in March with its first flight between Liege and Chicago, followed by flights to New York, Atlanta, and Dubai. CMA CGM AIR CARGO represents a major new component of the CMA CGM Group in both operational and commercial terms. It is also a new milestone in the Group’s strategic development into logistics.

The Boeing 777 will provide CMA CGM AIR CARGO the flexibility to operate the airplane across its growing air freight network while helping to deliver on its sustainability objectives as the CMA CGM Group pursues its commitment to offer its customers a complete range of transportation and logistics solutions.

The 777 Freighter is the world’s largest, longest range, and most capable twin-engine freighter. With a range of 9,200km, the 777 Freighter can carry a maximum payload of 102 tonnes, allowing CMA CGM AIR CARGO to make fewer stops and reduce landing fees on long-haul routes.

The 777 Freighter is Boeing’s top-selling freighter of all time. Customers from around the world have ordered 272 777 Freighters since the programme began in 2005. A market leader in air cargo aircraft, Boeing provides more than 90% of the worldwide dedicated freighter capacity, including new production and converted aircraft.

 

 

 

 

Auckland Airport expands cargo facility

Posted on by David Priestman

GEODIS, a leading global transport and logistics operator, has announced a strategic move to a new facility at Auckland Airport, following strong and sustained growth in the New Zealand market. The 5700 sqm facility – with its prime location, advanced enterprise-grade systems, and extensive storage space – will offer GEODIS’ expanding client base the capacity needed to ensure seamless end-to-end supply chain support across both local and cross-border markets.

The unprecedented surge in consumer demand brought about by the pandemic, has heightened the need for resilient supply chain strategies, particularly within the healthcare industry, with pharmaceutical companies forced to reinforce their logistical requirements. Keeping these needs in mind, GEODIS’ new site will feature specially designed temperature-controlled areas to facilitate the optimal storage of pharmaceutical products at +15-25 degrees as well as +4 degrees Celsius.

The growing demand will also be addressed by the site’s high productivity storage solution, which consists of two-metre wide aisle racking that affords 5,000 pallet locations. There is a tier one Warehouse Management System (WMS) that offers automated operating systems to support the thriving e-commerce fulfillment business. The purpose-built facility is located at one of Auckland’s most prominent industrial hubs at Auckland Airport with connections to the main arterial routes used for distribution. It will also house GEODIS’ international container freight station (CFS), contract logistics and last mile distribution set-up to enable full-service supply chain management under one roof.

“Significantly, this new facility is in harmony with our commitment to being a strong growth partner to our customers. As GEODIS continues to expand, we will also continue to enhance our infrastructure and processes to align our evolution with our customers’ development ambitions,” said Stuart Asplet, Sub-Regional Managing Director, Pacific & Regional Director Sea Freight, Asia Pacific. “The supply chain industry has certainly been disrupted by the pandemic, yet GEODIS’ passion to stay ahead of the curve has continuously pushed us to deliver industry-leading solutions that add value to our customers’ business goals. Our core belief to make a tangible impact on our clients’ goals, has allowed us to remain one of the fastest-growing logistics operators globally”.

The move further emphasises GEODIS’ focus on the APAC market and follows a series of investments and advancements made in the region over the past few months. The consolidation of the company’s operations from multiple sites to a single site will also boost efficiencies. The logistics provider has signed a long-term lease for the Auckland facility, encouraged by a healthy growth trajectory in the market.

“We’re confident that the facility at Auckland Airport will be a gamechanger for our customers. Features like the increased capacity, temperature control rooms, state-of-the-art technology, and advanced security measures ensure more precise and cost-efficient warehousing,” said Hugh Mackay, Managing Director, New Zealand. “This new site reflects the scale of things to come for our operations in New Zealand. Our laser sharp focus on providing a robust set of solutions and unmatched service to our customers holds the key to strengthening our presence in a competitive marketplace.”

The move will take place in October 2021 and is slated to amplify GEODIS’ offerings to more businesses including key verticals such as pharmaceuticals, retail, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).

Etihad Cargo and CargoAi agree global partnership

Posted on by David Priestman

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Aviation Group, and CargoAi, the SaaS application which provides air cargo digital solutions, have partnered to elevate the carrier’s API accessibility for freight forwarders as part of its digitalisation strategy.

During the past few years, Etihad Cargo has accelerated its development of technology advancements which have provided simplified customer experiences through a number of partnerships. This has culminated in the launch of its brand new digital platform, etihadcargo.com. Its latest collaboration with CargoAi will further enhance this through the provision of brand-new API accessibility for freight forwarders the world over.

“Digitalisation has been at the core of Etihad Cargo’s strategy over the last three to five years, and continues to be a focus in driving digitalisation and streamlining processes across the air freight world,” explained Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group. “Our partnership with CargoAi supports this vision, and provides an additional tool which delivers a rapid and fluid digital booking services platform.”

Matthieu Petot, CEO of CargoAi, noted: “Etihad Cargo is a cutting-edge, highly innovative carrier in the field of digital air freight. We are fortunate to have the chance to be the first provider to use their latest modern APIs. As cargo capacities worldwide are still restricted, e-marketing the Etihad Cargo offer on our platform is clearly a major opportunity for our freight forwarder clients.”

With CargoAi’s expertise in the areas of air freight and tech, integration is taking place at a record pace. By the beginning of August 2021, all aspects of the company’s offer of capacity – including rates, schedules, quotations and bookings – will be available via the platform. The unique Business Intelligence solution will for its part provide access to live data with staggering simplicity.

IAG launches Madrid-Maldives cargo route

Posted on by Keith McKinley

IAG Cargo has launched a new direct service from Madrid, Spain to Male, capital of the Maldives, starting from July. The service will run three times per week from Madrid-Barajas.

The new service will strengthen IAG Cargo’s existing presence in South Asia, which already includes regular services into Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi in India. IAG Cargo’s extensive global network will allow customers in the Maldives and nearby Sri Lanka seeking to transport essential goods, such as textiles and perishables, access to key markets in Europe, Latin America, United States and elsewhere. The new route will be operated by Iberia A330-200 and A330-300 wide-body aircraft.

Fernando Terol Armas, Director of Spanish Hub and Operations at IAG Cargo, said: “South Asia is an important market for IAG Cargo, and we are very excited to open this new service for our customers in both regions. This route will not only support Maldivian exporters get essential and time-sensitive perishable products to global markets, but also support Sri Lankan exporters using Male as a gateway to Europe and beyond.

“With our hub in Madrid one of the largest in Southern Europe, this connection opens up opportunities for further import and export growth from Europe and beyond into South Asia.”

Rob Wiemerink, Regional Commercial Manager for Asia Pacific and Middle East at IAG Cargo, said: “I am delighted to be able to provide our customers with a further route between South Asia and Europe. Male is an important trade link for Sri Lanka, where garments, automotive goods and perishables such as fish are among the principal exports.

“Exporters in the region will be able to benefit from our Constant Fresh product, ensuring produce arrives on supermarket shelves in peak condition. This will also be welcome news for exporters into the Maldives – in 2019, goods worth around US$2.89 billion were imported to the Maldives.”

Eligible customers seeking to use IAG Cargo’s services into Maldives will be able to benefit from IAG Cargo’s loyalty programmes.

Industry-first ETA solution for airfreight introduced

Posted on by Keith McKinley

FourKites, a leading real-time supply chain visibility platform, has introduced its latest AI-powered innovation, Dynamic ETA for Air. For the first time, shippers, carriers and 3PLs can track 100% of air freight with highly accurate and automated estimated times of arrival (ETAs).

This unprecedented visibility into air freight means the supply chain can now have greater confidence in a mode of transport that is typically utilised for the most critical shipments, but that has been notoriously difficult to track. Real-time visibility into all air freight, with extremely accurate predictive ETAs, empowers supply chain partners to optimise downstream planning, reduce the time and expense of manual track-and-trace efforts, and increase customer satisfaction in the process.

“FourKites’ Dynamic ETA for Air has provided the visibility needed to help reduce turn times on urgent product requests for fulfilling critical customer orders, while also eliminating nearly 75% of shipment tracking email inquiries to our global logistics team,” said Kimberley Segel, Director of Global Transportation, Zebra Technologies.

Shipping via air has been estimated to cost 4-5 times that of road transport, and as much as 16 times that of ocean, but it is indispensable for shippers’ most critical and/or time-sensitive freight, including pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, perishable agricultural and seafood products, emergency shipments of spare parts or simply goods for which customers demand the fastest delivery. In addition, brands are increasingly turning to air cargo to expedite freight as inventory delays continue to plague supply chains.

To date, however, air freight has been plagued by a lack of real-time visibility, due to the complexity of the global air network, as well as multiple stopovers and transfers of goods in hub airports. As a result, ETAs for air shipments have only been available 40% of the time and could be off by as much as two days, creating myriad downstream logistical and customer service issues. By leveraging the latest and most advanced machine learning algorithms and knowledge graphs, FourKites’ Dynamic ETA for Air provides ETAs on 100% of air freight, and is accurate to within 9 hours.

This unprecedented predictive visibility means businesses can expect to spend far less time and money resolving delays, thereby enhancing their customer experience. In fact, FourKites customers have experienced two times higher customer satisfaction scores through their use of Dynamic ETA.

FourKites saw 97% growth in air loads tracked from 2020 to 2021. The platform now supports over 100 airlines and 17,000 airports, and has seen 40% growth quarter over quarter.

“When it comes to rapidly transporting critical goods, no other mode can compete with air,” said FourKites CEO and Founder Mathew Elenjickal. “Our announcement of Dynamic ETA for Air means that shippers, carriers and 3PLs can now enjoy greater ROI — not to mention peace of mind — from their significant investments in this critical mode of transport.”

Antonov delivers 3 firetrucks on single aircraft

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Antonov Airlines has safely transported three Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 fire trucks on a single AN-124-100M-150 flight from the Middle East to Central Asia at short notice.

The team managed to find a solution within a week to get the trucks to Central Asia after a change in circumstances meant short-notice airfreight was the only way to deliver the cargo safely and on time.

“When Rosenbauer came back to us and described the developments that affected the movement of its fire trucks, Antonov Airlines was able to connect this cargo with flight schedules already operating in the region to provide a cost-effective and time-sensitive solution that met Rosenbauer’s demands,” said Ivan Bozhko, Commercial Executive at Antonov Airlines.

Antonov Airlines flew an AN-124-100M-150 aircraft from its home airport in Kyiv, Ukraine to the Middle East to load the fire trucks and transport them to Central Asia.

After arriving at the destination, the fire trucks were unloaded, and cargo for a separate project was loaded, optimising the routing and cargo capacity of the aircraft.

The fire trucks weigh 21 tonnes each for a total payload of 63 tonnes and the length is 12m each, totalling 36m for a full AN-124.

“Once again we had the pleasure of working hand-in-hand with Antonov Airlines to airlift our fire trucks to an otherwise difficult to reach final destination,” said Philip Karl, Key Account Manager, Rosenbauer International AG.

Recently, Antonov Airlines transported five Black Hawk helicopters from Poland to the Philippines on one of its seven AN-124-100 that have a payload of up to 120 tonnes.

Finnair Cargo e-markets with CargoAi

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Finnair Cargo and CargoAi, two pioneers of digitalisation in the air cargo industry, have formed a partnership. The largest air cargo carrier in the Nordic and Baltic region, Finnair Cargo’s worldwide cargo offering is now live on CargoAi. State-of-art digital booking services – e-quotes and e-booking – are available to forwarders directly via the leading SaaS platform.

“We’re very proud to partner with Finnair Cargo, which is a pioneering cargo carrier in the field of digitalisation and was one of the first to put APIs in place. The airline’s network and its product expertise fully meet the needs of our forwarder clients – so this is excellent news for them,” said Matthieu Petot, CEO of CargoAi.

Finnair Cargo has invested heavily in digital and technological innovations to offer a best-in-class air cargo shipping process. Specialising in flying high-value items via the short northern route between Europe and Asia, Finnair Cargo offers a dense worldwide route network. From the most modern and digitalised air cargo terminal in Europe, its Helsinki Hub, the carrier covers 19 major cities in Asia, eight in North and Central America, and over 100 in Europe.

“Making our capacity offering available on CargoAi guarantees visibility and is fully in line with our digitalisation strategy for our sales process. With CargoAi, we have been moving fast with the integration and we are very happy to be able to provide this service to our customers. We speak the same language and the cargo challenges we face are fully understood and integrated into the tool,” said Karri Kauppi, Head of Revenue and Pricing, Finnair Cargo.

 

 

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