Air Cargo World articles from December 2003

Air Cargo World archives from December 2003

Secure.(Editor's Note)(Transportation Security Administration requirements)
December 1, 2003... Many executives in the air cargo industry have told us that the directives the Transportation Security Administration issued last month are practical measures they can work with. But whether cargo operators and shippers can live with the...

TSA directs cargo security.(News Updates)(Transportation Security Administration)
December 1, 2003... Air cargo security in the United States started to take shape with the Transportation Security Administration's release of new directions to the industry last month along with a strategic plan to ensure "that the entire air cargo supply chain...

Europe cutting.(News Updates)(Lufthansa Cargo cuts prices)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Cargo operations at Europe's airlines are feeling the pressure from a lagging economy, if the moves at Lufthansa Cargo are any indication. Even as the much of the rest of the world's air freight business absorbs rates hikes, Lufthansa...

Asia rising.(News Updates)(airline rate increases)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... So much for the peak season. While transport operators in some parts of the world were looking at long-awaited economic recovery, some forwarders on the trans-Pacific trade said airline rate increases cut deeply into their operating margins....

United falling.(News Updates)(cargo traffic at United Airlines)
December 1, 2003... United Airlines saw a steep slide in cargo traffic in the second of the year as forwarders appeared to move business away from the carrier as United pressed forward a bankruptcy exit plan that includes outsourced freight handling. ...

Nippon local.(News Updates)(Nippon Express to launch U.S. service)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Nippon Express is jumping into the United States domestic forwarding market, a dramatic shift in identity for a company once measured as the largest air forwarder in the world but one largely tied to its base in Japan. Nippon Express...

Eagle spreads.(News Updates)(Eagle Global Logistics looks to grow)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Long-troubled forwarder Eagle Global Logistics thinks it has fixed its problems at home and is now looking for more growth abroad. Houston-based EGL said that its net profit in the third quarter slipped slightly to $5.6 million but that...

Emirates debuts.(News Updates)(new North American service)
December 1, 2003... Emirates airline opened its first service to North America, using a 747-200 freighter to New York to launch the first direct scheduled freighter connection between the United States and the key Middle Eastern point of Dubai. The debut of...

Forward up.(News Updates)(Forward Air CEO Scott Niswonger resigns)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Scott Niswonger stepped down as chief executive officer of Forward Air, the Tennessee trucker he founded and built from a niche business into a national operation with a scale that dramatically raised the profile of air freight trucking...

Fixed cargo.(News Updates)(Mercury Air Group to sell fixed-based operations)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Entangled in a financial mess that has company finances under review, Mercury Air Group is scaling back its line of aviation service businesses by selling its far-flung fixed-based operations and concentrating on core offerings that will...

Feeding flight: regional air cargo carriers say a change in rules on small freighters could bring a big shift in short-haul traffic.(North America)
December 1, 2003... Don't tell Stan Bernstein that short-haul expedited air cargo is doomed to go to the ground. He's heard that before and says the movement of air goods to the surface transport is about far more than competitive trucking services and a lack of...

Serving postal.(North America)(UPS, FedEx to use U.S. Postal Service delivery network with new services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... United Parcel Service and FedEx like the delivery network of the U.S. Postal Service so much that they want to use it to compete against the post office. UPS started a service called UPS Basic last month that extends the company's...

Alaska passage.(North America)(cabotage may be allowed in Anchorage)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The barrier against cabotage in the United States may be cracking open a bit. Congress was considering a measure last month that would allow non-U.S, airlines to transship freight through Anchorage, creating an exemption aimed at luring more...

A Department of Transportation regulatory judge extended until Jan. 2 the deadline for a judgment on the case examining the corporate citizenship and control of AStar Air Cargo, the sub-service air operator in the United States for DHL Express.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A Department of Transportation regulatory judge extended until Jan. 2 the deadline for a judgment on the case examining the corporate citizenship and control of AStar Air Cargo, the sub-service air operator in the United States for DHL...

Cargolux dropped its twice-weekly freighter stop at Portland International Airport.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Cargolux dropped its twice-weekly freighter stop at Portland International Airport, citing weak high-tech traffic and tough competition along the West Coast.

AirNet Systems.(net profit falls)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Air express specialist AirNet Systems, facing the potential loss of its foundation business moving checks to banks, saw its net profit fall 28 percent in the third quarter to $1 million compared to the same period the year before as net...

Pacer International.(net profit grows)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Logistics operator Pacer International expanded its net profit 40 percent to $11.S million in the third quarter.

TNT Express.(certification)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... TNT Express said its United States operations were certified under the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program.

John S. Connor.(new branch opens)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Maryland-based forwarder John S. Connor opened a logistics branch in Louisville, Ky.

Ethiopian Airlines named Airline Marketing Services.(cargo general sales agent)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Ethiopian Airlines named Airline Marketing Services of New York its exclusive cargo general sales agent for the entire United States. Ethiopian operates 767 passenger flights three times weekly connecting to a 757 freighter between Ostend...

Wholesaler Consolidators International opened a full-service facility adjacent.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Wholesaler Consolidators International opened a full-service facility adjacent to New York Kennedy International Airport.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.(expanded runway re-opened)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport re-opened an expanded 13,400-foot runway as part of a $25.5 million airfield improvement aimed at accommodating large, long-haul aircraft coming from Asia and other points around the world.

US Airways.(new Glasgow service)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... US Airways started daily 767 flights between Philadelphia and Glasgow.

Virtual airports: UPS has set up a new airport in Europe, but it has packages instead of planes.(Europe)
December 1, 2003... An airport can hardly be an airport without its three-letter IATA designator code attached. But a three-letter IATA airport designator code without an airport attached? Welcome to the real world of the "virtual airport." Or to be more...

Seko Worldwide.(London office)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Using a strategic partner in the United Kingdom, Seko Worldwide opened an office in London that is the Illinois-based forwarder's first station outside North America.

Orbit Express Airlines, the Turkish A300 freighter operator that goes by the name Orex, started twice-weekly flights out of Istanbul to London and named Pace Airline Management as its cargo general sales agent for the United Kingdom and Ireland.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Orbit Express Airlines, the Turkish A300 freighter operator that goes by the name Orex, started twice-weekly flights out of Istanbul to London and named Pace Airline Management as its cargo general sales agent for the United Kingdom and...

Singapore Airlines named France Handling as its cargo handling.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Singapore Airlines named France Handling as its cargo handling for three-times-weekly freighter flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Volga-Dnepr.(stage equipment delivery for concert)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Volga-Dnepr delivered the stage equipment for former Beatles bassist Paul McCartney's show in Moscow's Red Square.

GeoLogistics.(information technology capability ranking)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Datamonitor, an independent research firm, ranked GeoLogistics as having the best information technology capabilities among logistics firms in Europe.

Air Bangladesh started operating a 747-400 freighter.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Air Bangladesh started operating a 747-400 freighter between Bangladesh and Germany's Hahn Airport.

Austrian Airlines.(name change to Austrian)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Austrian Airlines will change its name to "Austrian" and sister regional carrier Tyrolean Airlines will become "Austrian Arrows."

Avaipartner opened a perishables handling center.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Avaipartner opened a perishables handling center at Belgium's Ostend-Bruges International Airport with capacity for 307 tons of cargo.

Canada Post awarded British Airways World Cargo.(mail contract)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Canada Post awarded British Airways World Cargo its contract for mail to the United Kingdom.

German road linehaul specialist Dachser will open a major trucking hub.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... German road linehaul specialist Dachser will open a major trucking hub at Frankfurt Airport's CargoCity South by the end of this year.

Kuehne & Nagel will handle logistics.(for Maersk Air)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Kuehne & Nagel will handle logistics for spare parts for Maersk Air's aircraft fleet.

Exel will acquire Transbeynak.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Exel will acquire Transbeynak, a logistics operator in Turkey with strong regional business with pharmaceutical and healthcare shippers.

Oversized freight carrier Volga Dnepr.(ADP appointed general sales agent)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Oversized freight carrier Volga Dnepr named ADP as its general sales agent in Italy.

Atlant-Soyuz Airlines.(new freighters)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Russia's Atlant-Soyuz Airlines will take delivery of a new An-124 freighter and signed a deal for five more of the outsized freight carriers.

Forwarder Norman Global Logistics.(joins alliance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Forwarder Norman Global Logistics, based near London Heathrow Airport, joined the Hi-Tech Forwarder Network alliance of cargo agents.

New Greek regional carrier Hellas Jet will use Wexco.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... New Greek regional carrier Hellas Jet will use Wexco as its cargo general sales agent in the United Kingdom for its London-Athens A320 service.

DHL Danzas bought out Turkish forwarder Berben Express.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... DHL Danzas bought out Turkish forwarder Berben Express and said the former owner, Polat Bengiserpe, will continue to manage the company under the DHL Danzas name.

BAX Global opened its first company-owned office in Greece.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... BAX Global opened its first company-owned office in Greece with the acquisition of its exclusive agent in Athens, Kalabokis Express.

Royal Jordanian Airlines started weekly A310-300 freighter flights.(to Germany)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Royal Jordanian Airlines started weekly A310-300 freighter flights between Amman and Hahn Airport in Germany and said it would add other connections out of the Frankfurt-area airport next year.

Dragonair named Globe Air Cargo.(general sales agent)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Dragonair named Globe Air Cargo, a member of the European Cargo Services Group, its general sales agent in Belgium.

Plascow Logistics.(to be Israeli agent for Consolidators International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Plascow Logistics, a 55-year-old forwarder based in Tel Aviv, will be the Israeli agent for U.S. wholesaler Consolidators International.

Kuehne & Nagel.(to manage European distribution center for Harman Consumer International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Kuehne & Nagel will manage the European distribution center for Harman Consumer International, an American maker of high-end audio and electronic products in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Bulgaria Air named ATC Aviation Services.(cargo sales agent)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Bulgaria Air named ATC Aviation Services as its cargo sales agent for new flights to Switzerland.

Opening Bangkok: Thailand's economy is growing and the trade is more open, so when will the freighters start landing?(Pacific)
December 1, 2003... It was only one baht (about 25 cents in U.S. currency), but for Thai Airways it was an important milestone. At the end of October the carrier proudly announced that it would pay shareholders an interim dividend, the first since the Asian...

The first air services treaty between the United States and Vietnam.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The first air services treaty between the United States and Vietnam includes unlimited scheduled and charter all-cargo frequencies.

Xiamen International Airport.(air freight terminal opens)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... China's Xiamen International Airport opened an air freight terminal that is 49 percent owned by Taiwanese airlines, the first direct investment by Taiwan's air carriers in mainland China air freight infrastructure.

Korean Air signed a contract for three firm orders of the Airbus.(A380)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Korean Air signed a contract for three firm orders of the Airbus "superjumbo" A380 and three options.

Menzies Aviation Group signed a joint venture to provide passenger, cargo and aircraft handling and maintenance services at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in China's Sichuan province.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Menzies Aviation Group signed a joint venture to provide passenger, cargo and aircraft handling and maintenance services at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in China's Sichuan province. The airport handled 210,000 tonnes of freight...

Dragonair.(cargo traffic growth)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Dragonair, which added a freighter to its fleet late last year, saw cargo traffic grow 48 percent in the first eight months of 2003, including 21 percent in August.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd.(ISO 9001-2000 quality certification)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Ground handier Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. won ISO 9001-2000 quality certification for its operations in Hong Kong. HACTL set a single-day record Oct. 31 with 7,694 tonnes handled and the 198,704 tonnes handled in October, a 4.7...

China Eastern Airlines.(new A340-600)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... China Eastern Airlines took delivery of the first of five A340-600s it has on order.

ACP Worldwide.(New Zealand office opens)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... General sales agent ACP Worldwide opened its first office in New Zealand, naming former Air New Zealand regional cargo manager Wendy Jolly to manage the station.

Kenya Airways.(new service to Hong Kong)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Kenya Airways launched service to Hung Kong from Nairobi through Bangkok and named HACTL as its handler at Hong Kong.

Container management company Unitpool named DRH Logistics.(sales representative)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Container management company Unitpool named DRH Logistics its sales representative for the Indian sub-continent.

DHL Danzas.(to operate BMW distribution center)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... DHL Danzas will operate a distribution center for automaker BMW at the port area of Incheon in South Korea.

Cargo facility manager ProLogis signed an agreement to build a distribution center at Japan's Nagoya market, to be known as ProLogis Parc Tokai, near the site where a new airport is to be built in a couple of years.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Cargo facility manager ProLogis signed an agreement to build a distribution center at Japan's Nagoya market, to be known as ProLogis Parc Tokai, near the site where a new airport is to be built in a couple of years. ProLogis also signed a...

Schenker.(relationship extended with Bosch Trading)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Schenker extended its relationship with auto parts maker Bosch Trading with a three-year outsourcing contract in China.

Menlo Worldwide Forwarding.(contract from Integrated Device Technology)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Semiconductor maker Integrated Device Technology awarded Menlo Worldwide Forwarding a multi-million dollar contract to handle traffic through Hung Kong, Manila, Penang, San Francisco and Shanghai. Menlo is providing a streamlined billing...

Qatar Airways.(new passenger services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Qatar Airways will start passenger service to Singapore and to Cebu in the Philippines this month after launching direct flights to Shanghai and Seoul in October.

Aerolineas DHL: while some air carriers shy away from Latin America, DHL is building its fleet and its business.(Latin America)
December 1, 2003... Compared with Asia and Europe, Latin America has underachieved as an air cargo market in recent years. But Carlos Gamundi isn't crying in his cafe con leche. He runs an active cluster of cargo airlines in Latin America that have been 70...

LanChile.(cargo traffic growth)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Cargo traffic at LanChile grew 8.4 percent in October but the cargo load factor slipped 1.1 percentage points as capacity grew more than 10 percent. For the first 10 months of the year, LanChile's cargo traffic was up 2.8 percent over 2002.

TAMPA Airlines.(new flights)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Colombian cargo carrier TAMPA Airlines added a third weekly DC-8 freighter frequency to Lima, Peru on a rotation that starts and ends in Miami. TAMPA also started three-times-weekly DC-10 freighter service to Quito, flying to the Ecuador...

Exel.(new office in Mexico)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Exel opened a logistics office in Queretaro in central Mexico.

Reade Advance Materials.(new office in Panama)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Reade Advanced Materials opened an office and distribution center with just-in-time capability at the Port of Baboa in Panama that it plans to use as a base for expansion of its specialty chemicals business into Latin America.

Alianza Summa.(Colombian exporters claim they are owed money)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Hundreds of Colombian exporters and other businesses that sell goods and services in Venezuela, including airline Alianza Summa, complained that they are owed up to $300 million that has not been paid due to currency restrictions in...

Menlo Worldwide Forwarding.(North American Economy service offered in Mexico)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Menlo Worldwide Forwarding began offering its North American Economy service to 18 industrial centers throughout Mexico. The forwarder added a station in the Port of Manzanillo near the states of Jalisco's maquiladoras plants, adding to...

Fraport Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide signed an agreement with the Cuban Aviation Authority.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Fraport Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide signed an agreement with the Cuban Aviation Authority to work on the operation and expansion of the Gomez Varadero Airport and other airports in Cuba.

Air Canada.(new service to Cuba)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Air Canada added service to Cuba, giving the airline 25 weekly flights from seven Canadian cities.

Menlo Worldwide Forwarding.(Brazil office)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Menlo Worldwide Forwarding opened an office in Manaus, Brazil.

Freighter operator Amerijet signed a 10-year lease worth $8.2 million for its 210,000-square-foot hub facility just off the Miami International Airport.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... Freighter operator Amerijet signed a 10-year lease worth $8.2 million for its 210,000-square-foot hub facility just off the Miami International Airport. The site is owned by AMB Property.

US Airways.(airline begins service to San Jose, Costa Rica)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ... US Airways started Saturday A320 service to San Jose, Costa Rica, out of both Philadelphia and Charlotte, N.C.

Turning around slowly: air cargo operators expect new peaks in 2004, but volatility is still in the business plan.(Feature focus: express couriers)
December 1, 2003... Anyone making a forecast about air cargo business over any of the last few years could predict fairly reliably that pricing would be erratic for the 12 months ahead. These days, that can stand for the outlook for the overall air freight...

Canada's clear turbulence: Canada conquered SARS this spring, but the country's major air cargo players are still in recovery.(Region report: Canada)
December 1, 2003... These are times of uncertainty for Canadian air freight customers and their forwarders, and the biggest question marks loom over the top Canadian air cargo and express carriers. Air Canada is struggling with the kind of financial pressure...

Freight's integrating airlines: long separate from the air freight market, express carriers have a new interest in industrial trade.(Feature focus: express couriers)
December 1, 2003... At this year's CNS conference in May, Lufthansa Cargo executive Andreas Otto painted a bleak picture of the airlines' situation, a predicament characterized by a lack of professionalism and yields so low that the ability of carriers to invest...

The 2003 air cargo quality survey: shipper survey-part 3: what do shippers think?--Industry trends and issues in Intercontinental Air Freight.(Special report: shipper survey III)
December 1, 2003... In this third installment of the three-part survey of shipper views of air cargo services, the International Logistics Quality Institute looks at the opinions of intercontinental air shippers regarding the services of the major freight...

First annual Air Freight Trucking Directory.(Directory)(Illustration)
December 1, 2003... The first Air Freight Trucking Directory is based on listings provided by Air Cargo Inc., Annapolis, Md., with some company additions and includes air freight trucking services in the United States and Canada. Listings are divided into...

Obituary.(People)(Clifford Currier)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 1, 2003... Clifford Currier, co-founder of the influential Colography Group research and consulting firm, died Oct. 24 in Atlanta after a long illness. Currier was 64 and had retired from Colography in 2001. Currier was at forwarder Profit by Air in the...

TIACA.(Education)(The International Air Cargo Association awards scholarship to Emilio Laurin)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... TIACA: The International Air Cargo Association gave its Walter H. Johnson Jr. Scholarship Award for 2003 to Emilio Laurin, a student at Laval University in Quebec, Canada who is working on a doctoral thesis examining ways to save money on the...

Lufthansa Cargo.(Airlines)(appoints Bernhard Kindelbacher senior vice president of marketing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Lufthansa Cargo: The airline named Bernhard Kindelbacher senior vice president for marketing effective Jan. 1. He replaces Harald Eisenacher, a key architect of Lufthansa's worldwide cargo sales strategy focused on time-definite services and...

Volga-Dnepr.(Airlines)(hires Peter Yap as sales, marketing director for Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Volga-Dnepr: The Russian airline named Peter Yap sales and marketing director in the Asia-Pacific for the new 747 scheduled cargo airline being launched next year. Yap is a 25-year cargo industry veteran whose career includes senior...