- Alaska Air Cargo started full cargo service March 2, with direct flights from Seattle to New Orleans using the bellies of 737-800s, said Kathy Denker, director of cargo sales and postal relations, during the AirCargo 2015 conference in New Orleans. Six months earlier, the U.S. carrier had begun daily direct passenger flights to the Big Easy.
- Hong Kong’s Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) has successfully completed its biennial IT disaster recovery drill on February 20. The drill re-created a total failure of the company’s primary computer facilities, disabling Hactl’s six operation-critical systems. The drill successfully proved that all systems could be fully resumed in a maximum of four hours, utilizing Hactl’s alternative computer facilities.
Flydubai Cargo has secured ACC3 EU certification, allowing it to carry cargo on its new European routes. The U.A.E.-based carrier said it had carried an average of 3,000 tonnes a month in 2014 had revenue growth of 11.8 percent, compared to 2013. During the year, flydubai also introduced electronic air waybills across its operations.
- Hangzhou YTO Express Airlines Co., Ltd., a Chinese startup cargo carrier, will open Shanghai Pudong-Incheon-Qingdao-Hong Kong-Shanghai Pudong charter route on March 10, marking it the first private cargo carrier in China operating international cargo service. The carrier received primary approval from Civil Aviation Administration of China in July 2014 and is licensed to operate domestic and international cargo services, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
- Freight volumes at Dubai International (DBX) continued an expected fall in January, following the shift in freighter operations to the U.A.E.’s Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) since May 2014. Volumes dropped 5.5 percent to 186,230 tonnes, compared with the January 2014 figures.
- Forwarder US Cargo Link is opening its first international office at London Heathrow Airport. The U.S. company, which began in Kent, Wash., and relocated to Dallas, also has offices in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. The company has 20 employees and a fleet of 20 trucks.
- International logistics group Logwin sold its subsidiary Logwin Solutions Media GmbH to logistics firm Ohl. Logwin Solutions Media specializes in providing forwarding services to Germany’s national newspaper and magazine publishing houses. Ohl was founded in 1946 and is a specialist for integrated logistics solutions for print, media and travel businesses, with 19 locations in Europe.
- AMI, an airfreight and express wholesaler, has installed a new Astrophysics XIS-1818DV, dual-view cargo X-ray machine at its flagship London Heathrow facility, as required by security regulations since January. With a 180 x 180cm tunnel aperture, the scanner can see through steel up to 80mm thick. AMI also has a similar new X-ray machine installed in its Manchester Airport facility.
- Aeronaves TSM plans to add its first DC-9-15F to its fleet of six DC-9-30Fs, three MD-82s and one MD-83 according to AeroTransport. The aircraft, formerly with Evergreen International Airlines, is currently in storage, waiting to be ferried to Mexico.
- Charter airline Coyne Airways, celebrating 21 years in the business, has appointed KIWI Logistics Cargo GSA, established in 2013, as its general sales agent (GSA) in Singapore. Coyne services the oil and gas markets around the Caspian Sea, including Aktau and Atyrau in Kazakhstan.
- Network Aviation Group has added a fourth MD-11 freighter frequency per week between Kenya and the U.K.’s London-Stansted Airport. The extra flight will allow the airline to ship up to 80 tonnes of time-sensitive perishables, such as fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers directly to the U.K.