Amazon petitions FAA for commercial drone ops exemption 

In addition to wide- and narrowbody freighters joining the Amazon Air fleet, Prime Air drones may soon begin delivering Amazon purchases directly to customer doorsteps. Next in the series of the broader air cargo industry’s commercial drone saga, Amazon Prime Air submitted a petition to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) yesterday that, if approved, would enable the carrier to conduct commercial delivery […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• August 9, 2019

Air France-KLM traffic declines continue into July 

Today, Air France-KLM released its preliminary figures for July traffic, marking a continued decline in demand seen during June.  Traffic for the European carrier declined by 5.8% y-o-y to 694 million FTKs. Both Air France and KLM saw similar declines in traffic of 5.7% y-o-y to 317 million FTKs and 5.9% to 377 million FTKs, respectively, […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• August 8, 2019

Delta Cargo traffic continues downhill slide in July

Delta Air Lines reported another decline in traffic for its cargo division during July. The carrier’s cargo traffic declined by 8.5% year-over-year during July, and 8.1% year-to-date. Traffic for July stood at about 180 million cargo ton miles, or 263 million freight tonne kilometers (FTKs). Although still down from July 2018, traffic declines have slowed […]

• Caryn Livingston
• August 8, 2019

Cathay Pacific Group’s cargo revenue, traffic, volumes decline during H1

In its interim results for 2019, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Group reported that cargo revenue and volumes declined year-over-year during the first half of 2019 for Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon. The company said its cargo declines reflect “weaker global trade brought about in part by U.S.-China trade tensions.” Cargo revenue for the first half […]

• Caryn Livingston
• August 7, 2019

Airfreight demand languishes in IATA June report 

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data today indicating that cargo traffic, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), decreased by 4.8% year-over-year in June. Year-to-date demand is down 3.6% y-o-y. The further decline in traffic from last month suggests the air cargo industry is still in the doldrums as political economic volatility slows worldwide trade.  Freight capacity […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• August 7, 2019

DP-DHL Group’s Q2 operating profit up, despite persistent drop in airfreight volumes 

While Deutsche Post-DHL Group reported an increase in its overall revenue and operating profits for the second quarter of 2019, compared with Q218, the company’s Global Forwarding, Freight (GFF) division saw airfreight volumes decline by 5.8% year-over-year for Q2 to 888,000 tonnes. For the first half of 2019 ending June 30, GFF saw a decrease in volumes by 4.9% compared to the same period the […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• August 6, 2019

Swiss WorldCargo plans new routes for US and Japan

Today, Swiss WorldCargo, the airfreight division of Swiss International Airlines, announced plans to launch nonstop services from Zurich (ZRH) to Osaka (ITM) and Washington D.C. (IAD) utilizing A340-300 and A330-300 aircraft, respectively. The flights are scheduled to begin March 2020.  Swiss WorldCargo will fly the route to ITM five times weekly. The IAD route will be operated daily during the carrier’s […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• August 6, 2019

DOT denies Transcarga’s request for US-Venezuela flights

On Aug. 1, the U.S. Department of Transportation denied Venezuelan carrier Transcarga’s request for an exemption to engage in charter cargo transportation between the United States and Venezuela. The DOT cited the Department of Homeland Security’s concerns over security in Venezuela as the reason for the denial. Transcarga requested an exemption from the DOT to […]

• Caryn Livingston
• August 6, 2019

Hong Kong flight disruptions increase: Airport strike update

Disruptions to flights in and out of Hong Kong worsened on Monday after protesters coordinated strikes to bring the city to a standstill. After dozens of morning cancellations, airport authorities said they would reschedule flights starting from 12 p.m. local time and reduce the volume of arrivals and departures. Pilot and flight-crew unions for Hong […]

• Bloomberg News
• August 5, 2019

India’s SpiceXpress launches domestic freighter routes

Yesterday marked the launch of new narrowbody domestic freighter service for SpiceXpress, the cargo division of Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet. According to an announcement from the company, the daily service will operate between Chennai Airport (MAA), Hyderabad (HYD), Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM) and Bangalore (BLR). SpiceXpress operates two 737-700 converted freighters and has plans to […]

• Caryn Livingston
• August 2, 2019

British Airways locked in negotiations to avert strike by pilots

British Airways is locked in talks with its pilot union in a last-ditch attempt to diffuse a dispute over pay and avoid a walkout by crew in the critical summer travel season. Management from the airline and representatives of the British Airlines Pilots Association, or Balpa, are meeting in London Friday at the U.K.’s state-backed […]

• Bloomberg News
• August 2, 2019

Japan Airlines, Kalitta Air enter freighter codeshare agreement 

Japan Airlines (JAL) announced the beginning of a freighter codeshare agreement with Kalitta Air. Under the agreement, Kalitta Air will operate three codeshare flights per week between Narita Airport (NRT) and Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) using 747-400F aircraft beginning today.   While JAL has chartered freighter flights based on seasonal demand in recent years, this new codeshare agreement with Kalitta Air establishes scheduled freighter service between Asia and […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• August 1, 2019

Trade war bites into Atlas’ 2019 income

During its earnings call today, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings CEO William Flynn revealed that “revenue and earnings in the second quarter were below our expectations, as air cargo volumes and yields were affected in the near term by the widely reported impact of tariffs and trade tensions.” The situation is unlikely to improve in the […]

• Caryn Livingston
• August 1, 2019

United Cargo expands TempControl network and services

Today, United Cargo announced that it would be expanding its TempControl services for shipping pharmaceutical, helathcare material and other temperature-sensitive cargo to Mexico City International Airport (MEX) through an interline agreement with AeroUnion.  Under the agreement, United Cargo will transport TempControl shipments to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which will then be transferred to AeroUnion’s daily widebody service to MEX. TempControl shipments going to MEX can depart from any certified handling location in the […]

• Brianne Ledda
• August 1, 2019