- Airbus’ A350 XWB MSN3 development aircraft (pictured above) completed cold weather trials in Iqaluit, Canada. Temperatures reached -28 degrees Celsius (-18 degrees Fahrenheit). The scope of the trials included engine starts after cold soak, verifying system behavior, low-speed taxi and rejected takeoffs.
- Boeing rolled out the first 787 Dreamliner built at the rate of 10 airplanes per month. The airplane, a 787-8 and the 155th Dreamliner built, will be delivered to International Lease Finance Corp. for operation by Aeromexico. The new 10-per-month rate is the highest ever for a twin-aisle airplane. The 787 program has increased its production rate three times in just over a year.
- Southern Air is extending its partnership with DHL Express through a new Flight Services Agreement for the continued operation of four 777 freighters that Southern Air flies in support of DHL’s international air express network.
- Express Air Freight Unlimited, an airfreight forwarder, opened a new facility in the San Francisco Bay area to serve a growing customer base in Northern California, the Central Valley and Reno, Nev., area. The San Francisco office is the 12th facility in Express’ network.
- Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines partnered with two non-profit organizations, Seattle Alliance Outreach and Evangelical Africa Mission Outreach, to transport 7,300 pounds (3,311 kilograms) of medical and educational supplies to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on a newly-delivered 777-300ER airplane. The 777-300ER, delivered to GE Capital Aviation Services for lease to Ethiopian Airlines, was loaded with medical equipment and supplies for the Black Lion Hospital, the largest general hospital in Ethiopia, along with more than 100 computers donated by the Bellevue, Wash., school district for use at Ethiopia’s Goba High School.
- Turkish Cargo increased the flight frequency on three routes. Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia flights will be increased from four weekly flights to six as of March 31 and to seven as of April 28. Istanbul-Budapest flights will be increased from 14 flights per week to 21 as of March 30. Istanbul-Tallinn, Estonia- Vilnius, Lithuania flights will be increased from three weekly flights to six as of April 28.
- Airbus welcomed the news that the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation approved the operations of the Airbus A380 in India. A booming economy, a growing middle class, migration, urbanization and tourism are all factors pushing India to become one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets.
- LuxairCARGO become the first European Good-Distribution-Practices (GDP)-certified freight handler. It is now expecting to handle 30,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical products at Luxembourg Findel Airport in 2014. The GDP certification incorporates all the official recommendations and guidelines concerning the transportation and distribution of pharmaceutical products for human use.
- CargoSphere, a cloud-based global rate management service for the ocean and air transportation and logistics industries, announced the completion of Blu Logistics’ integration with CargoSphere. Blu Logistics previously outsourced freight rate and contract management, but now it has changed to a self-managed system.
- Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ fourth-quarter revenue for 2013 increased by 4 percent to US$14.7 billion (10.7 billion euros) and full-year revenue for 2013 increased by 8 percent to a record US$53 billion (38.7 billion euros) on higher delivery volume. Commercial Airplanes booked 465 net orders during the quarter and 1,355 during the year.
- C.H. Robinson opened an office in Innsbruck, Austria. Chucko Beslic, a nine-year transportation industry veteran, will lead the new office.
- Airbus and key Malaysian partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding to assess local resources for sustainable biomass production in Malaysia. The aim is to determine the most suitable feedstocks to ensure that any future jet fuel production in the region is sustainable. The first assessment is expected to be completed by December.
- More than 200 logistics industry representatives attended Lufthansa Cargo‘s two-day conference, Lufthansa Cargo in Dialogue. The airline awarded the e-Award to Ipsen Logistics and Kuehne + Nagel. This award looks at factors such as the percentage of electronic bookings and the use of E-freight. Lufthansa also named the winners of the Lufthansa Cargo Quality Award for the German market: MT Logistik and SDV Geis. Two further awards went to Quick Cargo Service and SDV Geis.