- Emirates SkyCargo for the first time reported a revenue over US$3 billion for the 2013-2014 financial year, reaching the US$ 3.1 billion mark, a 9 percent increase over last year. Emirates SkyCargo contributed 15 percent of the airline’s total transport revenue. The carrier’s tonnage increased by 8 percent to reach 2.3 million tonnes. Freight yield per freight tonne kilometer decreased by 1 percent.
- Thomas Cook Airlines will begin service in May 2015 between Miami International Airport and Manchester, England, using an A330-200 aircraft. The new service to Manchester will mark MIA’s 17th destination in Europe and its second destination in the UK.
- Lufthansa Cargo had an operating profit of 21 million euros (US$29 million) in the first quarter of 2014, which is down 25 percent from 28 million euros (US$39 million) in the first quarter of 2013.
- China Southern Airlines conducted the first pilot, with a shipment of 8 tonnes from Amsterdam to Guangzhou, China, for a new customs clearance procedure. It took only three minutes for customs release upon arrival. Compared to the traditional way, the new procedure, which allows declaration before flight arrival, has shortened the import customs clearance time by three hours. The new policy of Guangzhou Baiyun Airport Customs started on April 21.
- Boeing and Lufthansa celebrated the delivery of the airline’s 75th 747. Lufthansa’s first 747 – a 747-100 – was delivered in 1970. The airline was also the first to order the 747-200 freighter.
- Matheson Flight Extenders, which provides ground support and terminal handling services, is hiring 77 new employees to staff positions at four newly acquired markets across the U.S., resulting in an overall staffing increase of 15 percent in five months.
- Emirates completed the validation process for the European Union’s ACC3 security regulation. The ACC3 validation ensures Emirates SkyCargo’s uninterrupted services into the EU.
- CEVA’s revenue for the first quarter of 2014 was down 8.9 percent year over year, as continuing weakness in airfreight and oceanfreight affected Freight Management
- performance, where revenues decreased 11.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
- CargoSphere, a cloud-based global rate management service, announced the completion of Dachser’s global implementation of CargoSphere’s contract and rate management service.
- Cargolux Airlines International S.A. and Cargolux Italia S.p.A. have been awarded the status of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO). As AEO operators, both airlines can offer simplified customs access for shipments throughout the European Union, using electronic messages instead of paper documents.
- Air Transport Services Group, Inc. announced an agreement with Amerijet International, Inc. that calls for Amerijet, which dry-leases three Boeing 767-200 freighters from ATSG’s subsidiary Cargo Aircraft Management Inc. (CAM) under long-term agreements, to dry-lease two larger, extended-range Boeing 767-300 freighters from CAM, under six-year agreements beginning during the third quarter of 2014.
- The UK leads the world in e-commerce, with growth now coming from increased frequency of online purchasing, according to The Logistics Report 2014 from the Freight Transport Association.
- Melbourne Airport welcomed the Victorian Government’s budget commitment to fund an airport rail link and oversee widening of the Tullamarine Freeway to support Victoria’s growth. The airport said the funding commitments are a boost for the airfreight industry and support Victoria’s status as Australia’s cargo state.
- Atran Airlines, part of the Volga-Dnepr Group, contracted Fokker Services in the Netherlands to upgrade its Boeing 737-400SF freighter aircraft with the latest version of the Traffic Collision Avoidance System.