The newest member of Boeing's freighter family, the 747-8F, took to the sky for the first time today, beginning a test programme for what will be the world's most fuel-efficient all cargo aircraft.
Air France-KLM has become the latest airline to report an upward flicker in cargo volumes after a prolonged slump in the air freight sector, which closely mirrors trends in the economy, Reuters reported.
CATHAY Pacific Airways and Dragonair carried a total of 141,799 tons of cargo and mail in November, an increase of 7.6 per cent from 2008. Load factor rose 12.3 per cent to 76.8 per cent, while capacity fell 12.9 per cent. This brings the overall tonnage for the year-to-date down 9.5 per cent against a capacity reduction of 13.9 per cent.
THE International Air Transport Association reported international scheduled traffic results for October 2009 showing improving conditions. Demand for international cargo rose to 0.5 per cent below previous year levels. This is significantly better than the 5.4 per cent year-on-year decline recorded in September. Load factors for cargo were at 54.1 per cent.
CHINA Southern Airlines began scheduled freighter services between Shanghai and Frankfurt Airport on 4 December, 2009. The service is currently operated with a Boeing 747-400F but will be replaced by a lower emission and more fuel-efficient Boeing 777ER next year.
CARGO 2000's aim to attract more airports to adopt its quality measurement system, has received a boost with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's announcement that it plans to join the group.
WATANIYA Airways, Kuwait's newest carrier, commenced cargo operations on 1 November 2009, offering premium and express products to the region using its growing fleet of narrowbody Airbus aircraft. Wataniya Airways Cargo plans to offer a quality service that it says will "match and exceed the service levels of its regional competitors."
AIR India is to split off its cargo unit into an autonomous business. From April the new company will independently operate its four A310 freighters and six Boeing 737s from its cargo hub at Nagpur.
KOLKATA (Calcutta) airport's international cargo section received an anonymous phone call warning of a bomb last month. Security evacuated the 300 employees but discovered no explosives. Central Industrial Security Force CISF commandant Jayati Ghosh said that security at the airport had been strengthened.
A 5.5m, 68kg panel fell from an Atlas Air 747 freighter on Friday landing in a Miami shopping mall's car park.
A NEW Zealand judge has ruled that the country's anti-cartel Commerce Commission abused rules by preventing Air New Zealand from questioning employees the commission had interviewed.
KINGFISHER Airlines has launched a door-to-door express cargo service, Kingfisher Express. The same-day cargo service will launch with pick-up facilities at the six main metropolitan cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi delivering to 18 cities.
Logistics service provider Logwin has opened a new office situated at the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) with a focus on processing air-freight
Two North American airlines are moving to put customer-specific pricing information on-line. America Airlines Cargo has run a pilot programme with a large client to provide electronic rate information and is using the web as a second avenue of approach, while Air Canada Cargo is concentrating on making contract rates and spot prices available through its booking portal.
The world's largest forwarder is expecting tight airfreight capacity from Asia to Europe in the weeks ahead. DHL Global Forwarding has lined up additional lift for the first quarter of this year.
Two North American airlines are moving to put customer-specific pricing information on-line. America Airlines Cargo has run a pilot programme with a large client to provide electronic rate information and is using the web as a second avenue of approach, while Air Canada Cargo is concentrating on making contract rates and spot prices available through its booking portal.
The freight industry has come under the microscope in the Australian government's Aviation White Paper, released recently and titled Flight Path to the Future.
After a year of furious capacity cutbacks, airlines are again beginning to deploy freighters in Asia-Pacific.
UPS today launched inaugural flights from its new Shenzhen Asia Pacific hub at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport.
Japan Airlines (JAL) has decided to beef up its alliance with American Airlines instead of newly tying up with another US carrier, Delta Air Lines, according to informed sources, Jiji Press reported.