- Boeing kicked off expansion of its 737 Commercial Delivery Center at Boeing Field in Seattle. The project more than doubles the space that will be available for customers and groups supporting increased 737 deliveries.
- Beginning March 31, Finnair Cargo will add a third weekly frequency on its Hanoi, Vietnam, route. Finnair also starts June 2 seasonal passenger flights, which will offer increased cargo capacity to/from Hanoi onboard Airbus A340 three times per week until Sept. 23. With these six weekly flights, Finnair Cargo’s total cargo capacity from Europe to Vietnam is doubled from 155 tonnes to 315 tonnes, with 270 tonnes carried by a MD11F freighter and 45 tonnes by an A340.
- Italian airline Alitalia extended its contract with Jettainer. The provider for outsourced ULD services will continue to be responsible for the worldwide governance and maintenance of Alitalia’s ULD fleet. In addition, Jettainer is now introducing eco-friendly lightweight containers for Alitalia.
- Airbus has started final assembly of the first A320neo at its final assembly line in Toulouse, France, with the join-up of the forward and aft fuselage sections that recently arrived from St. Nazaire, France, and Hamburg, respectively. The first A320neo flight will take place in the fourth quarter of 2014 and first delivery in the first quarter of 2015.
- Steer Davies Gleave and Strategic Aviation Solutions International formed a collaboration agreement to jointly promote aviation consultancy services across specific geographies.
- US Airways Cargo has joined American Airlines Cargo’s operations at JFK International Airport. While the two carriers continue to operate independently, the shared facility allows American and US Airways customers to tender and recover both 001 and 037 air waybill shipments in one location. The shared cargo facility is the first of 155 across American’s combined network. On April 1, American will relocate its cargo operations to US Airways’ facility at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
- Walker SCM, LLC, a logistics firm, expanded into the European market with the launch of Walker International (Transportation) Netherlands BV, based in Amsterdam. Walker’s Netherlands location at Amsterdam Schipol Airport offers airfreight, oceanfreight, warehousing, distribution and customs clearance services.
- Turkish airline Pegasus Airlines PC offers daily flight connections from Frankfurt to Istanbul-Sabiha Cögkcen served with Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320-200. For its cargo handling, the airline has chosen Fraport Cargo Services GmbH as its partner.
- Boeing and Comair Limited announced an order for eight 737 MAX 8s. It is the first 737 MAX order announcement for an African operator. The order was booked in December 2013 and was previously unidentified on the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website.
- Four helicopters bound for Heli Expo in Los Angeles, the world’s largest helicopter show, crossed the Atlantic onboard one of Volga-Dnepr’s An-124-100 freighters. The helicopters were loaded at Italy’s Milano Malpensa Airport for AgustaWestland, a helicopter manufacturer. Volga-Dnepr also organized road transport to deliver the helicopters from Los Angeles Airport to the exhibition site.
- IAG Cargo is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its express cargo service, with the first recorded package having been delivered from Jersey to London Heathrow in 1984. The product, now named Prioritise, was launched by British Airways to help accelerate supply chains.