Asia Pacific Airlines see 2014 revival in cargo demand

  Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) preliminary figures for 2014 show an “encouraging revival” in cargo demand after three consecutive years of decline. An upsurge in exports from manufacturing hubs in the region led to a rebound in international air cargo markets in 2014, with demand in freight tonne km (FTK) growing by...

Continue

TNT's express trucking link to Istanbul

TNT has launched a daily scheduled road service to Istanbul, linking the Turkish capital city to Sofia, Bulgaria, and on to all countries in Europe via the express company’s trucking network. The Amsterdam-based parcels company says that it is currently the only express operator to run a scheduled road connection between all of Europe and Istanbul, “offering an...

Continue

LOT Cargo starts flights to US and Canada

LOT Cargo has launched a New York – Warsaw – New York freight route with a special all cargo Boeing 767-300 aircraft operated by a Canadian company Cargojet Airways. This year, flights are scheduled for January-April and October-December. For January and March, the company has planned weekly flights departing from New York (JFK) on Saturdays and from Warsaw on Sundays. For February, two flights per week have been scheduled with an additional flight from Warsaw on Thursdays. The ...

Continue

Dreamliner ticket for lionesses Maggie and Sonja

  Lioness sisters Maggie and Sonja made an epic journey home to Africa on the inaugural Kenya Airways Dreamliner flight from London Heathrow via Nairobi to Johannesburg. The two rescued circus cats were waved goodbye at the start of their 6,000 mile journey by singer celebrity and Born Free Patron, Peter Andre. Maggie and Sonj will begin...

Continue

BIFA awards: winners step forward

The British International Freight Association (BIFA) has revealed the winners of its Freight Service Awards 2014 at a ceremony in London. Robert Keen, BIFA’s director general, commented: “In a neat twist to celebrate the 26th staging of the awards, it was fitting that 26 different BIFA Member companies were in contention, plus our young freight forwarder finalists.” The air freight award – sponsored by IAG Cargo – went to DSV Air & Sea. The judges thought this company stood out from...

Continue

Ethiopian Cargo adds Brussels B777F quartet

Ethiopian Cargo has returned to Brussels airport with four B777 freighters per week to Addis Ababa. The freighters will provide onward connections out of Africa, direct to Dubai, Shanghai  and Hong Kong. The flights will carry mainly flowers, while exports will be general freight. Kuehne & Nagel and DHL Starbroker have actively contributed to bringing the...

Continue

Panalpina goes into Africa again

Freight forwarder Panalpina has opened new bases in Morocco and Kenya as part of a drive to expand its presence in Africa, a continent in which it was once a dominant player in the oil and gas project sector. Offices in Casablanca in Morocco and Nairobi, Kenya, and will spearhead a drive for energy and infrastructure business. Regional chief executive for the Middle...

Continue

FIATA welcomes all-in freight rates

FIATA has joined the air cargo industry chorus calling for the elimination of fuel and security surcharges in airline freight rates. The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations said: “The simplification of rate structures will be a significant benefit to forwarders and shippers alike. "Forwarders have for a very long time desired these surcharges be removed as they are opaque and complex and thereby making it difficult to quote a definite price for air cargo transportation,...

Continue

Vietnam and Cambodia lead air cargo surge for emerging markets

Asia’s Vietnam and Cambodia provided the fastest-growing airfreight trade lanes between emerging and developed markets. US-Vietnam volumes surged 42.7 per cent by volume, and Cambodia-European Union airfreight increased by 41.9 per cent. That was one finding from the comprehensive 2015 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, now in its sixth year, a data-driven...

Continue

IAG’s Cargo Connector is going to San Francisco

  IAG Cargo has extended its Cargo Connector service to San Francisco, the tenth city for the local pick-up service. It offers freight forwarders at or near the airport a free collection for consignments up to 300 kilos and IAG Cargo estimates that 95 per cent of its customers are based within a five-mile radius of the airport. This means...

Continue

TNT helps customers cut the carbon

TNT is offering CO2-neutral delivery of all express domestic consignments in Germany at no additional charge. The carrier measures how much CO2 is produced in transporting consignments and then ‘neutralises’ them with an equivalent amount of CO2 credits. TNT uses CO2 credits only from renewable energy projects that meet Gold Standard requirements. External auditor...

Continue

Shanghai sets freight record

Shanghai Pudong International Airport has set a new cargo record, handling a total of 1.5m tonnes of freight in 2014, with growth of 16.15 per cent year-on-year. Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal Co Ltd. (PACTL) - a joint venture handling operation between Shanghai Airport, Lufthansa Cargo and JHJ Logistics Management – says its domestic cargo...

Continue

China lifts price controls on 24 commodities, services

China will lift controls on prices of 24 commodities and services, said the National Development and Reform Commission on Sunday. Market will decide the price of tobacco leaves, the last agricultural product to be freed from government price control, but a minimum price will be set to protect farmers, said a statement on the commission website. Prices of railway bulk cargo, parcels and privately funded cargo and passenger transport will also be allowed to float. Railway passenger and cargo prices...

Continue

French forwarders slam fuel surcharges

French freight forwarders have called on airlines to end separate fuel surcharges, which they argue are no longer relevant. TLF Overseas, the French freight forwarders organisation representing 95 per cent of general air cargo transactions, expressed its “incomprehension” of a situation that requires “more transparency and real positive economic signals from the carriers”. The strongly worded statement comes after Middle East airline Emirates SkyCargo last week confirmed that it is...

Continue

Customs tips for the unwary shipper

Customs regulations can be a minefield for the unwary shipper, be it edible insects in Europe, chewing gum in Singapore and rubber gloves in the US. So parcels giant FedEx has come up with eight “surprising” Customs rules for small businesses setting out to conquer the world of exports. It was compiled by Harald Schoenfelder, managing director global trade services for FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa. Says Schoenfelder: “We decided to compile some of the...

Continue