Air Cargo World articles from February 1999

Air Cargo World archives from February 1999

Leaders.(leadership in air shipping industry)(Editorial)
February 1, 1999... The news of the impending retirement of Jacques Anther as executive vice president of cargo at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (see page 7) hardly comes as an isolated event. In fact, Ancher's departure is just the latest in a series of recent...

Freighters the "crown jewel.".(fleet and operation reduction at American International Airways)
February 1, 1999... Kitty Hawk Chairman M. Tom Christopher says deep cuts in the fleet and operations at the American International Airways division are part of an ongoing process aimed at focusing the AIA business on its core cargo business. In a new bid...

Rating UPS.(United Parcel Service price increase)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... United Parcel Service says its average 2.5 percent price increase for 1998 is its smallest in 11 years, but experts say the company is making some of the most dramatic changes in several years in the way UPS charges customers. The new...

727s floored.(cargo carriers required to limit loads on converted freighters)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Cargo carriers must limit loads on many converted 727 freighters under a federal directive that gives them 28 months to fix problems in the floor beams of one of the world's most popular freighters. In a ruling long anticipated and feared...

Ancher retiring.(KLM Royal Dutch Airlines cargo chief Jacques Ancher)
February 1, 1999... Airline industry experts expect KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to stick with its sometimes-controversial cargo sales strategy, despite the retirement this year of cargo chief Jacques Ancher. Ancher, who has stirred fierce debate in the cargo...

Slowing express.(international air express traffic growth)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Can double-digit growth be bad news? A new study says international air express traffic was growing at a 12.3 percent annual rate midway through 1998, marking a steep slowdown in that market's rapid growth. The Seattle-based Air Cargo...

Dulles deluge.(impact of Asian economic crisis on East Coast airports)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The Asia economic crisis may be providing a boon to airports on the east coast such as Washington Dulles International. Because of declining load factors on transpacific routes, United Airlines is shifting 747s to Dulles along with other...

Fries to go.(air transportation of french fries to Asia)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... As Asia's appetite for increasingly expensive North American fruit wanes, air carriers that feasted on annual transpacific perishables exports may have found another food to fill their bellies - french fries. Chopped, quartered, sliced...

Coming out.(public relations strategy for Evergreen International Airlines)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... As public offerings go, Evergreen International Airlines' may be one of the most surprising. No, we're not talking about a public stock offering on Wall Street. But the secretive Oregon-based freighter specialist claims it is stepping out of...

Rescoping leaders.(management changes at Fritz Cos)
February 1, 1999... After rescoping and re-engineering, the Fritz Cos. is taking another stab at management changes as the forwarder looks to regain confidence from Wall Street and investors. The San Francisco-based operator has brought in two outsiders -...

Emery's promise.(Emery Worldwide's guaranteed delivery program)
February 1, 1999... Emery Worldwide says its new guaranteed delivery program is about service, but experts say it's also a signal that freight carriers are looking for ways to boost their returns despite slowing demand. "They are trying to get their rates up...

Growth portals.(effect of increased online shopping on parcel carriers)
February 1, 1999... United Parcel Service claims it benefited from the surprising spike in on-line shopping over the last holiday season as much as Internet providers and Web-based stores. On-line spending in the United States nearly doubled compared to the...

Sale signs: bargains in Asia include new planes and the airlines that fly them, so why is nobody buying?
February 1, 1999... Airlines across Asia are putting up "For Sale" signs like never before, yet no one is buying. This has sent many of the region's carriers into a near panic as they sell aircraft, cut services, search for partners and do anything else they can...

Taking planes.(Korean Air Lines to buy new planes from Boeing Co)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... A surprising improvement in Korean Air Lines' fortunes has helped break a logjam of newly-built aircraft at Boeing. Korean, saying 1998 will be its first profitable year in three years, agreed to take four new Boeing aircraft right at the...

EVA rising.(EVA Air's 1998 profits)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Boosted in part by dramatically higher cargo revenues, Taiwan-based EVA Air says final numbers will show a slim profit for 1998, making it one of the region's few carriers to fall on the positive side of the balance sheet. While Asia's...

Managing crisis.(Union-Transport expanding supply chain management service in Asia)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... As large parts of the air cargo industry scale back in the face of Asia's economic crisis, Union-Transport is taking the opportunity to expand supply chain management business between the United States and Asia. The global freight...

Moving West.(Asiana Airlines's European expansion plans)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Asiana Airlines isn't letting its financial troubles or Asia's struggling economy get in the way of its European expansion plans. South Korea's No. 2 carrier began serving Europe in December with 747400 freighters, and immediately...

Singapore Airlines.(lower cargo load factor in Nov 1998)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Singapore Airlines says its cargo load factor fell 3.7 percentage points in November, following a 4.7-percentage-point slip in October.

Virgin Atlantic.(London-Shanghai route)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Virgin Atlantic launched a new guaranteed 48-hour airport-to-door delivery service for cargo originating in U.S. gateways and heading for the U.K. and Ireland.

Lufthansa Cargo.(new freighter flights between Frankfurt and Tokyo)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Lufthansa Cargo added three weekly 747-200 freighter flights between Frankfurt and Tokyo through Fairbanks International in Alaska, routes formerly covered by bankrupt Southern Air Transport for Japan Airlines.

Japan Air System.(losses in 1998)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Japan Air System posted a loss of $1.9 million in the first half of this year, compared to a $5.6 million profit in the same period last year, and expects to post losses exceeding $22 million for the full year.

Japan Airlines.(1998 profits)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Japan Airlines saw net profit drop 10 percent, to $157.5 million, in the first half of this year compared with last year.

Qantas.(route between Australia and Paris)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Qantas restored three-times-weekly service between Australia and Paris, with stops in Singapore.

Winnport Air Cargo.(transportation between Winnipeg and China)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Winnport Air Cargo started operating a 747 freighter three times a week between Winnipeg, Canada and Nanjing and Shenzhen in China.

China Airlines.(Internet Cargo Tracking System)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... China Airlines launched an "Internet Cargo Tracking System" under the cargo services portion of the carrier's Web site.

Mercury Air Cargo.(to handle cargo handling for Cathay Pacific)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Mercury Air Cargo will perform the cargo handling for Cathay Pacific at the airline's new freight terminal in Los Angeles.

Emirates.(code-share deal with Qantas for Dubai-Australia flights)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Emirates' ground handling subsidiary at Dubai, Dnata Cargo Agencies, has changed its name to Cargo Partners.

Emirates.(Dnata Cargo Agencies renamed Cargo Partners)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Emirates sealed a code-share deal with Qantas for daily flights between Dubai and Melbourne, Australia.

Lynden Air Freight.(deal with Sakhalin Energy Investment Co)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Lynden Air Freight has been designated the primary transportation logistics provider for the Sakhalin Energy Investment Co., an oil exploration firm in the Russian Far East.

Northwest Airlines.(expanded service between Tokyo and Anchorage, Alaska)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Northwest Airlines plans to double its service between Tokyo and Anchorage this summer with two weekly DC-10 flights.

Azerbaijan.(earning from air cargo transiting)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The central Asia nation of Azerbeijan expects to earn $100 million this year from air cargo transiting the region.

BOC Cargo Services.(to erect cargo terminal at airport in Sydney, Australia)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... British handling company BOC Cargo Services will build a cargo terminal at the Sydney, Australia, airport.

Multi tasks: air operators may find that joining the competition can be better than fighting for shippers.
February 1, 1999... As more transport operators try to get a piece of the Latin America's promised trade growth, air cargo operators may find it more lucrative to work with other modal companies rather than compete with them. That's the message from Ivan...

Renovacion.(new jets ordered by Aerolineas Argentinas)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Aerolineas Argentinas' order of 12 long-range A340 wide-body jets marks the first step in a fleet overhaul aimed at overhauling the image and reach of airline that has struggled financially through the 1990s. Using new backing from...

Grupo TACA.(Mercury Air Cargo chosen to handle cargo in Miami, Florida)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Grupo TACA, the Central American airline consortium, named Mercury Air Cargo to handle its cargo in Miami.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.(to expand service in Argentina)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will increase its service to Argentina from three times to five times weekly under a new aviation agreement.

World Airways.(air service between Miami, Florida and Central America)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The Virginia-based carrier promoted Gilberto Duarte, a 30-year airline industry veteran, to chief financial officer. As controller, Duarte oversaw a $15 million cost reduction plan at the airline.

Virgin Atlantic.(GMD chosen as sales agent in Puerto Rico)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Virgin Atlantic named GMD as its sales agent in Puerto Rico.

Air Transport Action Group.(air passenger traffic in Chile predicted)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The Air Transport Action Group forecasts Chile will lead international passenger traffic growth in the Americas with 8.2 percent average annual growth, down from 14.6 growth rate the country showed in the 10 years up to 1996.

Trans World Airlines.(routes between New York and different points)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Trans World Airlines will begin direct service between New York and Nassau, the Bahamas, and Boston and San Juan in February.

Consolidated Freightways.(new facility in Mexico)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Consolidated Freightways opened its 16th facility in Mexico, a 20-door terminal in Nuevo Laredo.

Delta Air Lines.(code-share deal with Aeromexico)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Delta Air Lines formed a code-share alliance with Aeromexico for twice-weekly service between Dallas and Cancun, Mexico.

Air Aruba and Aserca Airlines.(new Latin American routes)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Venezuelan carriers Air Aruba and Aserca Airlines have each placed an MD-90 in service on intra-Latin America routes.

BWIA International Airways.(turboprops purchased)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Caribbean carrier BWIA International Airways has purchased two Dash-8 turboprops to expand its inter-island service.

Emery Worldwide.(to handle air, sea and truck shipments for Transportadora de Gas del Norte)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Emery Worldwide will manage air, sea and truck shipments for Transportadora de Gas del Norte, an Argentine natural gas company, between North American suppliers and its pipeline projects in Argentina and Chile.

Varig Brazilian Airways.(aircraft leased from GE Capital Aviation Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Varig Brazilian Airways leased a 737-700 from GE Capital Aviation Services.

Fitting pieces: coordinating freighter services and flights is just the start of an alliance between KLM Cargo and Alitalia.
February 1, 1999... It hasn't taken KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Alitalia long to start consolidating their new-found alliance. Not on the cargo front, at least. In fact KLM Cargo and Alitalia Cargo were already ahead of the game before the formal launch of the...

Heavy Hahn.(cargo business at Germany's Hahn Airport)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Just a couple of years after it was converted from a military base near Frankfurt, little Hahn Airport claims to be Germany's fourth-busiest airport for cargo business. The airport nearly tripled its air cargo tonnage last year, although...

Busing integration.(mobile sorting at Polish operations of DHL Worldwide Express)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The shipments on the bus go round and round, round and round, all over town. At least as far as DHL Worldwide Express is concerned. The express carrier is trying out its latest attempt at mobile sorting on a specially-designed bus that...

Delivering Italy.(Italian express and parcel carrier MIT acquired by Deutsche Post)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Put Italian courier MIT under the rapidly expanding umbrella of the German post office. Barely even pausing after its huge purchase of forwarder Danzas, Deutsche Post last month bought 90 percent of the $100 million Italian express and...

Balkan Airlines.(new freighters purchased for fleet renewal strategy)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Bulgaria's Balkan Airlines, working on a privatization plan, says new Russian-built freighters are part of its fleet renewal effort.

Cargolux.(stopover at Manchester, England for Luxembourg-Washington route)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Cargolux added Manchester, England, as a stop in both directions on its Luxembourg-Seattle weekly route with a 747-400 and signed Servisair for ground handling at Manchester.

Schneider Logistics.(freight network for TRW Automotive in Europe)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The European division of Schneider Logistics, a subsidiary of U.S. trucker Schneider National, is building a pan-European freight network for TRW Automotive.

Flughafen Frankfurt/Main.(to provide handling equipment to Tashkent Airport)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Flughafen Frankfurt/Main, the operators of Frankfurt's airport, signed a $16 million contract to provide handling equipment to Uzbekistan's Tashkent Airport.

Virgin Atlantic.(airport-to-door delivery service in United Kingdom and Ireland)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The British government chose Virgin Atlantic Airways over British Airways to launch twice-weekly London-Shanghai service.

DHL Worldwide Express.(Colitel shares bought)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... DHL Worldwide Express bought a 51 percent stake in Colitel, a French express forwarder and logistics service provider which owns several parts centers.

Atlasair.(road service in Europe)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Atlasair, a British forwarder owned by United Parcel Service, began road service to 18 destinations in Europe and plans to open new offices at Prestwick Airport in Scotland and at Carlise in northeast England.

GeoLogistics.(joint venture with Pohl and Co for paper products distribution)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... GeoLogistics formed a joint venture with German forwarder Pohl & Co. to handle the distribution of paper products from mills in Europe, Canada and Asia to wholesalers and end users worldwide.

Shelling out: when clawing into new markets, lobster shippers take to the air.
February 1, 1999... When clawing into new markets, lobster shippers take to the air Sitting beside cold Atlantic Ocean waters in a remote region served by just a handful of air cargo carriers hasn't prevented Nova Scotia seafood merchants from reaching...

Out of balance: for North America's western airports, slow growth is better than no growth at all.
February 1, 1999... More and more, runways at North America's western airports are heading in only one direction. Once gateways to the world's fastest-growing markets, airports across the West Coast have become windows to a regional economic crisis and its...

Seoul searching.(Oregon-Seoul route abandoned by Delta Air Lines)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Poor passenger business out of Asia is starting to cut into the cargo capacity at Portland International Airport, part of the ripple effect of Asia's economic troubles. Delta Air Lines is suspending service between the Oregon airport and...

Russia's hard landing: why shippers may not be able to fly over Russia's crumbling infrastructure much longer.
February 1, 1999... For companies trying to send goods into the former Soviet Union, the only solution to the region's many problems on the ground has been to fly over them. But even as the air cargo carriers that make that possible try to weather Russia's...

Expanding Panalpina.(Swiss freight forwarder)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Swiss forwarder Panalpina appears to be shrugging its shoulders at Russia's economic woes with expansion plans that include new scheduled freighter service this year between North America and the Russian Far East. Wolfgang Meier, the...

Stable Central.(good air freight business in Commonwealth of Independent States)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Although trade in and out of Russia has been hit hard by that nation's economic troubles, the other Commonwealth of Independent States seem to be weathering the storm. The currencies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and other central Asia...

Gaining ground: with shippers looking to shrink supply chains, express choices aren't always up in the air.(express carrier)
February 1, 1999... There may be no one better than a frustrated shipper to spot an opening in the express delivery market. Some of the biggest competition to express carriers in the United States is coming from the ground, and Rob Ukropina and Douglas Schneider...

Cheap feed.(customer service by road feeder companies)
February 1, 1999... Most shippers proclaim air freight service and speed are more important than price, but many still reverse that equation on the ground. "When a customer approaches us, the most important thing is price first, service second," said Keith...

Arrow Air.(Eric Williams named vice president of sales and marketing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The Miami-based all-cargo airline named Eric Williams vice president of sales and marketing. Williams had been a senior manager at the Fritz Cos. and his 28-year career includes stops at FedEx and Emery Worldwide.

World Airways.(Gilberto Duarte named chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... World Airways operated a DC-10-30 freighter between Miami and Central American points during the fourth quarter for Grupo TACA.

Schenker International.(Gary Elsesser named chairman)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The German forwarder named Gary Elsesser chairman of the board for the Americas. Elsesser was president and chief executive of Thyssen Haniel. He will move the chairman's office from Germany to Miami.

ConData Logistics.(return of Jerry Ragsdeall as president)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... Jerry Ragsdell, a founder of the company and its original president, rejoined ConData as its president. Ragsdell, who left ConData in 1978 to launch Transportation Data Management and sold that operation to Rand McNally, plans...

Towne Air Freight.(Michael Cole new president and chief executive officer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The Indiana-based air freight trucker named Michael Cole to replace Steve Lutz as president and chief executive officer. Lutz has been moved to a post overseeing the traffic department and pricing strategies.

Pony Express Delivery Services.(Craig Stack named vice president of operations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 1999... The company promoted Craig Stack to vice president of operations in the Southwest and Ken Hoglund to vice president for its Atlantic region, while hiring Myron Staroschuck as account representative for western Pennsylvania....

Forwarders must separate hype from reality.(freight forwarders)
February 1, 1999... Business, like fashions, run in cycles. There was the conglomerate phase of the 1970s, the leveraged buy-out craze of the 1980s. Now, the fashion is back to basics. How many times have we read in newspapers and the trade press that...