Air Cargo World articles from February 2004

Air Cargo World archives from February 2004

Politics.(Editor's Note)(important points in the speech given by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California )(Editorial)
February 1, 2004... There was plenty to debate about last month's State of the Union address, but to us the most dispiriting moment came not in the address itself but in the Democrats'-rebuttal. It's been a long time since anyone brought up cargo transport...

Elevating air security concerns.(News Updates)
February 1, 2004... Heightened aviation security in the United States that led to a spate of canceled international flights has non-U.S. airlines worried about potential diversion of cargo heading to and from the country. The security-related flight cancellations...

Normal, finally.(News Updates)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Given recent history, predictions of normal growth sound positively ebullient in the cargo industry. Air cargo operators are looking for freight traffic growth levels to return to "normal" in 2004 following the sharp pullback over the last...

Mail dispute.(News Updates)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The U.S. Postal Service is attacking the last remnant of regulated cargo rates in the airline business, claiming air carriers are charging several times over their true costs for international mail transport. In a formal complaint to the...

Converting 400s.(News Updates)(Boeing freighter conversion program )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Boeing has a launch customer for its 747-400 freighter conversion program and says more airlines are "in the pipeline" as the aircraft manufacturer looks to the all-cargo market to regain some of its lost luster. Cathay Pacific Airways...

Repeat losses.(News Updates)(Delta)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... A narrow improvement in cargo revenue did little to help American air carriers in 2003 as most of the troubled airlines reported continuing big losses even as some reported slim gains in traffic. Analysts estimated that the U.S. airlines...

DHL push.(News Updates)
February 1, 2004... DHL's use of AStar Air Cargo and ABX Air to carry freight in North America appears to be headed for Department of Transportation approval, clearing the way for the European express giant to compete head-to-head with FedEx and UPS in the United...

Asia meeting set.(News Updates)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Senior transport officials from the governments of Singapore and the United States will deliver opening keynote addresses at the Air Freight Expo 2004, a conference in Singapore Feb. 25-26 focusing on trade and air services issues. Peter...

KLM slips.(News Updates)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... KLM Royal Dutch Airlines saw its cargo revenue fall 10 percent and yield fall 11 percent in the last three months of 2003 as part of a broad decline in the freight side of the carrier's business, The slide came as the airline pulled its...

Express copying: FedEx sees costly Kinko's acquisition as buying access to a growing and potentially lucrative customer pool.(North America)
February 1, 2004... The $2.4 billion price tag of FedEx's acquisition of office services provider Kinko's raised a lot of eyebrows. Critics question why the express delivery giant would make such a large investment in a "non-core" business. "It seems a bit...

China Cargo Airlines, a subsidiary of the China Eastern Airline Group.
February 1, 2004... China Cargo Airlines, a subsidiary of the China Eastern Airline Group, started three-times weekly MD-11 freighter flights between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Shanghai....

Concert Group Logistics.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Forwarder Concert Group Logistics opened an office in Dallas with the managers who opened the expanding company's station in San Antonio in the middle of last year....

San Francisco International Airport.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Cargo tonnage at San Francisco International Airport fell 15.5 percent in November and was off 4.4 percent through the first 11 months of 2003, with a 15.7 percent drop in international imports offsetting an 8.6 percent gain in domestic...

Towne Air Freight.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Air freight trucker Towne Air Freight upgraded its technology to provide proof of delivery reports to customers electronically minutes after a shipment is delivered....

Samuel Shapiro & Company.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Maryland-based forwarder Samuel Shapiro & Company started a Bioterrorism Registration Service to assist domestic and foreign shippers required to register facilities with the U.S. government under anti-terror regulations....

Minesota-based Orion Air Cargo signed an agreement with BAX Global.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Minnesota-based Orion Air Cargo signed an agreement with BAX Global for next-day delivery that will allow the forwarder to extend its guaranteed, next-day delivery to 100 U.S. cities....

March Global Port.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Southern California's March Global Port industrial airport formed a ground handling unit, March Ground Services....

Interpool.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Interpool, the cargo container leasing company under a federal financial investigation, delayed filing its restated 2000 and 2001 financial statements and its 2002 annual report.

New Europe: integrating new EU members into the continent's trading market won't bring new traffic overnight.(Europe)
February 1, 2004... Taking a swipe at Iraq-war naysayers in France and Germany last year, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld suggested that a divergence was emerging between "old" and "new" Europe. It is debatable whether such faultline actually exists, but...

TNT change.(Regional Reports)(change in employees and it's influence on TNT Post Group)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... TNT Post Group is downplaying the significance of the change at the top of its express unit but analysts caution that the abrupt departure of Alan Jones creates uncertainty in the marketplace. Jones was managing director of TNT Express, one...

German industrial giant Siemens and forwarder Schenker set up a joint venture called Schenker Industrial Logistics to handle contract logistics.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... German industrial giant Siemens and forwarder Schenker set up a joint venture called Schenker Industrial Logistics to handle contract logistics. Schenker will hold 51 percent and Siemens the rest in a company that will pool warehouse management...

British Airways.(The Real Flower Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... British Airways will work with logistics operator Christian Salvesen to expand handling of fresh and cut flowers at London Heathrow Airport following the installation of automated equipment at the Perishable Cargo Handling Centre to speed up...

Kuehne & Nagel.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Kuehne & Nagel opened a Paris logistics center aimed at the high-tech industry with capacity for more than 20,000 pallets.

Elan Transport International.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Dutch trucking and logistics giant Frans Maas took a 63 percent stake in Moroccan forwarder Elan Transport International and said it would increase that to 100 percent as it set up stronger links to handle trade between Morocco and southern...

TNT Express.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... TNT Express plans to distribute up to 24,000 Microsoft mobile communications devices to its workforce over the next three years

Swiss WorldCargo signed an agreement.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Swiss WorldCargo signed an agreement to have Unitpool provide ULD control and pooling services.

German third-party logistics operator Rhenus AG leased a 129,780-square-foot facility in Stuttgart.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... German third-party logistics operator Rhenus AG leased a 129,780-square-foot facility in Stuttgart from ProLogis to run a distribution center for DaimlerChrysler.

easyJet and Menzies Aviation Group created a joint venture company.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... easyJet and Menzies Aviation Group created a joint venture company to perform all of easyJet's passenger and aircraft handling at London Luton Airport.

Lithuanian Airlines.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Lithuanian Airlines increased its 737 flights between Vilnius and London Gatwick from seven to 10 times weekly.

El Al Israel Airlines.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... El Al Israel Airlines posted a third quarter net profit of $61 million, up from $42.8 million for the same period the year before.

Schenker Industrial Logistics and Siemens launched a 51/49 joint venture.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Schenker Industrial Logistics and Siemens launched a 51/49 joint venture to pool warehouse management for spare parts, promotional material and production logistics at 17 locations in Germany.

Maersk Logistics.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Maersk Logistics will handle inbound supply chain management of goods from Asia and Europe for U.K. retailer Poundstretcher.

British forwarding giant Exel bought the Pharma Logistics Group.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... British forwarding giant Exel bought the Pharma Logistics Group, the pan-European pharmaceutical logistics specialist based in Belgium and Italy, and its related operations.

CSA Czech Airlines began using a freight handling system in Prague developed by ALS Advanced Logistics Systems.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... CSA Czech Airlines began using a freight handling system in Prague developed by ALS Advanced Logistics Systems that includes transfer system for ULDs to road feeder connections.

Chinese expansion? China's major airlines have set up separate cargo businesses, but they are not talking yet about international expansion.(Pacific)
February 1, 2004... The Chinese air cargo industry underwent significant change in 2003 with the nation's three major airlines establishing their freight operations as stand-alone subsidiaries. The industry reordering sparks speculation that China is on the verge...

Chinese officials offered to give Taiwanese airlines unlimited one-way charters to major Chinese cities this year.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Chinese officials offered to give Taiwanese airlines unlimited one-way charters to major Chinese cities this year if Taiwan grants China's carriers rights to two-way charters in 2005.

Korean Air.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... In the fifth straight month of double-digit growth, Korean Air cargo traffic increased 13.9 percent in November and was up 12.1 percent in the first 11 months of 2003.

Cathay Pacific Airways.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Cargo traffic at Cathay Pacific Airways grew 12.3 percent in December and actual freight tonnage was up 9.9 percent on a 12.4 percent gain in cargo capacity. For the full year, Cathay's cargo traffic was up 2.3 percent.

Korea's Asiana Airlines launched three-times-weekly freighter flights between Seoul and Taipei.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Korea's Asiana Airlines launched three-times-weekly freighter flights between Seoul and Taipei using a Gemini Air Cargo MD-11 with 75 tonnes of capacity and ACP Worldwide as its general sales agent. Asiana also added seven weekly passenger...

Outsized cargo specialist Volga-Dnepr named general sales agents in four Asia-Pacific countries.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Outsized cargo specialist Volga-Dnepr named general sales agents in four Asia-Pacific countries: Ican Transport International in Thailand; Worldwide Airline Resource Mgt. in the Philippines; and Singapore-based Pacific-Airlift for Malaysia and...

Phoenix International Freight Services.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Illinois-based forwarder Phoenix International Freight Services opened a logistics office in Ningbo, China, a major port site.

Lufthansa German Airlines.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Lufthansa German Airlines will resume flights to Malaysia in March with three-times-weekly 747 passenger service to Kuala Lumpur through Bangkok.

Qantas and Australia Post said they would jointly buy express road.(Star Track Express )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Qantas and Australia Post said they would jointly buy express road feeder operator Star Track Express for US$575 million.

GeoLogistics.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... GeoLogistics obtained a Class A forwarder's license in China, allowing it to expand its logistics services in the country.

Austrian Airlines.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Austrian Airlines will start three-times-weekly flights between Vienna and Shanghai in April and double Beijing flights to six.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will upgrade its Amsterdam-Beijing flights to daily in April.

Indonesian forwarder P.T. Internusa Hasta Buana, a partner of the Famous Pacific Shipping group.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Indonesian forwarder P.T. Internusa Hasta Buana, a partner of the Famous Pacific Shipping group, won renewal of its ISO 9001 quality accreditation.

Garuda Indonesia.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Garuda Indonesia says it expects its net profit to fall 80 percent in 2003.

Famous Pacific Shipping.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Famous Pacific Shipping opened a warehouse in Brisbane, extending the air and ocean forwarder's reach in the Queensland area of Australia.

China Southern Airlines took delivery of a 737-800 as part of a larger order.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... China Southern Airlines took delivery of a 737-800 as part of a larger order that will help the carrier add service to rural China through its Guizhou Airlines subsidiary.

Korean Air.(services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Korean Air, which suspended flights to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2001, resumed three-times-weekly 777 service.

Malaysian Airline System.(aircraft order)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The parent company of Malaysian Airline System firmed up a tentative order for six A380 passenger aircraft, which MAS will operate between Europe and Asia when deliveries begin in 2007.

Hainan Airlines.(service from Wuhai airport)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Inner Mongolia's Wuhai Airport opened in the region of Northern China and Hainan Airlines started three-times-weekly service from Beijing.

World Cargo Alliance.(China Global Logistics Network formed)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The World Cargo Alliance of regional forwarders formed a China Global Logistics Network to step up the group's recruitment of allied companies in China.

DFDS Transport.(freight forwarding )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... United Kingdom-based DFDS Transport, which has nine offices in China, obtained a class A freight forwarding license in the country.

Qatar Airways.(services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Qatar Airways began nonstop combination service between Doha and Singapore.

FTAA stagnation: nations focus on smaller scale accords with hemispheric-wide deal appearing unlikely.(Latin America)
February 1, 2004... Thousands of students, union members and other dissidents came to Miami in November to demonstrate against efforts by the trade ministers of 34 nations, including the United States, aimed at turning the long-designated Free Trade Area of the...

The definitions of cool: specialists in perishables transport say the air cargo industry is ripe for defined performance standards and certification programs.(Feature focus: perishables)(Cover Story)
February 1, 2004... When you take the temperature of a pallet of perishables, where do you take it? At the top or the bottom? From an outside box or an inside one? Do you put the probe into the pulp of the fruit? If so, how far? These may seem like arcane...

The Russian connection: cargo operators say Russia's most important commodity may be the air space it owns between Europe and Asia.(Region focus: Russia/CIS)
February 1, 2004... Rail has long been the primary mode for moving cargo between Russia and the Far East. The Trans-Siberian Railway, known to passengers for its mythic journeys spanning seven-time zones across snow-swept terrain, was originally built in the late...

New age logistics: forwarders say high-tech web-enabled tracking and processing are becoming essential.(Feature report: technology)(OAG Cargo)
February 1, 2004... Bill Reichman oversees a staff of 27 at forwarder AIT Worldwide Logistics but not one of them moves, handles or sells an ounce of freight. Instead, all are software developers and web-design experts who create and fine-tune Internet-based...

Lufthansa.(Airlines)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Lufthansa Cargo named Stephan Gemkow executive director, giving him oversight responsibility for finances, personnel and labor relations. He succeeds Heinz-Ludger Heuberg, who is moving to Thomas Cook. Gemkow previously served as director of...

Bmi.(Airlines)(BMI Cargo)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... bmi Cargo named John Ryan cargo manager for the Americas. A longtime senior executive at Virgin Atlantic Cargo, Ryan will work in partnership with the airlines' GSA in the United States, Air Logistics Group. He also will act as the bmi cargo...

British Airways World Cargo.(Airlines)(appointments)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The cargo division of BA named Ian Barringan area manager for the Middle East, Southern Asia and Australasia. Barringan will be based in Dubai. BAWC also named Lata Narayan commercial manager, Southeast Asia and Australasia, and William Shaw...

Korean Air.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The carrier named Simon S.J. Yang managing vice president for Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, giving him oversight for the airline's passenger and cargo business in the region. Yang, who has been with Korean Air for nearly 27 years, had served as...

AStar Air Cargo.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... DHL's U.S. sub-service flier named Daniel Pon vice president of human resources. Pon, with AStar since 2001, has held human resource management positions at Etrade Financial Services, Providian Financial, and RH Macy. David Givens, AStar's...

DHL.(Integrators)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The express carrier named Uwe Doerken, a member of DHL owner Deutsche Post World Net's executive board, executive chairman of DHL USA on the departure of Carl Donaway. Donaway was head of Airborne Express when DHL bought the express carrier...

Mercury Air Cargo.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The freight division of newly-reconfigured Mercury Air Group named Paul Martins, the former director of UPS Air Cargo, chief operating officer. He replaces Mark Coleman. A 20-year industry veteran, Martins had been with UPS for 15 years and...

D.F. Young.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... John Luludis, who once headed the information technology operation at Air Express International, joined the logistics provider as vice president of information technology. Luludis was most recently senior vice president of information systems...

Exel.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The Exel Transportation Services U.S. logistics business hired Todd Thompson as senior vice president of business development and promoted Steve Bowers to senior vice president of operations. Thompson, who has more than 15 years of supply chain...

Menlo Worldwide Forwarding.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The global heavyweight forwarder, previously called Emery Forwarding, named Fernando Rimbano sales manager for South America. Rimbano was most recently the logistics manager with Niver Logistics in Sao Paulo, where he will be based for the...

Panalpina.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The forwarder named Alan Geraldi vice president and general counsel for its North America region. Geraldi most recently was associate general counsel and director of international legal affairs for Menlo Worldwide Forwarding.

Corrigan's Express Freight.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The Los Angeles-based forwarder named Haydee Kyle sales manager. She previously worked as a sales executive for Air-Sea Forwarders.

CLM.(Associations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The Florida-based First Coast Roundtable of the Council of Logistics Management named Russ Dixon of Vexure as its new president and Easwaran Sundaram of PSS World Medical vice president and program chairman.

IATA.(International Air Transport Association's appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The International Air Transport Association named Edward Davidson, a pilot and a former director of flight safety, government affairs and quality control at Northwest Airlines, to IATA's safety, operations and infrastructure division. Davidson...

Swissport.(appointment of operations manager )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Swissport UK named Michael Hannick operations manager for London Heathrow Airport. Hannick was Aer Lingus' general manager for the UK and Europe. Swissport also appointed John Hurley customer services manager and Stan Adamson ramp services...

AMB Property.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The facilities developer named Henk Folmer as vice president of customer alliances for Europe. Folmer had been an executive at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and at forwarder Kuehne & Nagel. He will work with European logistics firms and airports...

Airbus.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Airbus North America named Doug Greco vice president of sales finance. Greco will be responsible for managing all sales finance activities for Airbus in the United States and Canada. Greco joined Airbus North America in September 1992.

Cessna.(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The light and mid-size business aircraft manufacturer named Jack Pelton president and chief executive officer, replacing the retiring Charlie Johnson. Pelton had been acting chief executive while Johnson, a 20-year Cessna veteran, was on...

Towne Air Freight.(Trucking)(appointment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based air freight trucker hired Lisa Oswald as a national account manager based in the Chicago area and Thad Jones as an account executive for Indianapolis.

Events.(Calendar)
February 1, 2004... Feb. 25-26 Singapore: Air Freight Expo 2004, at the Swissotel, the bi-annual event takes place as part of the sprawling Asian Aerospace air show and will have high-level government speakers, including Michael Reynolds of the U.S. DOT and...

AirCargo the bottom line.(Illustration)
February 1, 2004... Cargo Airports Cargo traffic at top 30 airports through first nine months of 2003 and percentage change from same period in 2002. (in metric tonnes) RANK AIRPORT TRAFFIC % CHANGE 1. Memphis (MEM) ...

The mathematics of passenger aircraft minus cargo isn't a calculation that works.(Networks)
February 1, 2004... Here's a word/math problem for you. At 11:54 a.m., a passenger aircraft leaves Baltimore-Washington International bound for Los Angeles International. At the same time, another flight departs Chicago Midway en route to Philadelphia...

Opening.
February 7, 2004... BYLINE: Robert W. Moorman U.S. and European Union representatives will resume "open skies" negotiations this month in Washington. There is plenty riding on these long-running talks for air cargo carriers and shippers. But there''s little...

News Updates.
February 7, 2004... Billing for Security The U.S. Congress is moving toward requiring greater screening of air cargo and the only questions for the freight industry are just how much cargo will have to be inspected and what impact that will have on...