MAB Kargo tonnage grows in Q1 but it suspends Chongqing freighter

MAB Kargo chief executive officer, Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi (pictured below) says business has been good and riding on the momentum of the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2016 and in Q1 tonnage was up five per cent on Q1 in 2016. “The restructuring was done back in 2015. Our operations has since been stabilised and […]

Second cargo airline leaves Brussels Airport due to noise fines

Freighter carrier Air Cargo Global is stopping all its operations at Brussels Airport because of the Brussels’ noise fines – which follows the departure of Chinese carrier Yangtze River Express in February this year. The airport also says Magma Aviation has indicated that it will leave Brussels if the uncertainty is not removed in the next […]

ACE: Emirates SkyCargo and Cargolux Airlines pen strategic partnership MOU

Emirates SkyCargo and Cargolux Airlines have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together operationally as part of a strategic partnership. The MOU was penned at air cargo europe in Munich today and will see the two carriers work together to utilise aircraft capacity. Emirates SkyCargo will utilise capacity on the Boeing 747F aircraft […]

FTK rise in April for Icelandair

Icelandair’s freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) grew by one per cent in April this year compared to the same month last year. The Iceland carrier carries freight on two Boeing freighters and has an expansive belly operation and FTKs were 8.7 million in the month, up on the 8.6 million in April last year. In the […]

Turkish Cargo starts seafood freighter service from Izmir to Tel Aviv

Turkish Cargo has added a freighter route to its growing network and started a scheduled service from Izmir to Tel Aviv on 29 April using an Airbus 310 Freighter. The freighter will be carrying payloads of seafood to meet increasing demand for exports as  it says three of the four fishes in the world’s total export of fishery products are […]

Freighters drive strong month and Q1 for Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport continued its strong growth in March as cargo tonnage grew 15.3 per cent on March 2015 fuelled by freighter services. The Belgian gateway is comparing its monthly figures to March 2015, which was a record month – as in March 2016 the airport was closed for a period after a terrorist attack. Brussels handled 50,474 […]

Brussels aiming for 500,000t after strong start

The strong growth seen in the second half of 2016 has continued this year, and Brussels Airport head of cargo, Steven Polmans (pictured below) is confident of hitting the 500,000 tonne mark. He tells Air Cargo Week’s staff writer, James Muir Cargo volumes grew 1.1 per cent in 2016 to 494,637 tonnes, with freighters posting […]

Cargo up 7.7% at Brussels Airport in February

Brussels Airport’s cargo tonnage grew by 7.7 per cent in February compared to the same month in 2016, which was fuelled by the freighter segment. The gateway handled 40,696 tonnes, up on the 37,771 tonnes handled in the same month in 2016. Freighter traffic few by a significant 42.4 per cent to 13,822 tonnes, up […]

IATA WCS 2017: freighters going nowhere according to Boeing’s Crabtree

Freighters are “here to stay” – Boeing Commercial Airplanes regional director and airline market analysis for marketing and business development, Tom Crabtree told delegates yesterday at the International Air Transport Association’s World Cargo Symposium in Abu Dhabi. He explained in a session how air cargo demand would affect the freighter market that freighters are essential […]

UK must adapt or miss out on vital trade opportunities

While the UK waits for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airports Group (MAG) says it is its duty to help the UK grow and thrive internationally, head of cargo and business aviation Conan Busby (pictured) tells Air Cargo Week (ACW). The UK government announced its backing for a third runway at Heathrow Airport […]

China Eastern sells off China Cargo Airlines shares

China Eastern Airlines has sold its shareholding in loss-making freighter operator China Cargo Airlines. The carrier has agreed to a deal to sell its 100 per cent shareholding to Eastern Logistics, which owns 83 per cent of China Cargo Airlines. Eastern Logistics itself has been bought by Eastern Airlines Industry Investment Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary […]

Massive 21% freight rise at Brussels in January

Brussels Airport saw a huge 21 per cent increase in cargo volumes in January compared to the same month in 2016 – which it puts down to growth in the freighter and integrator segments. The airport handled 44,952 tonnes, which was significantly up on the 36,964 tonnes in January last year and a welcome start to […]

Kalitta Air uses CHAMP to boost its load planning

CHAMP Cargosystems has completed Kalitta Air’s implementation of its Weight & Balance application used to manage its load planning more effectively. The US all-cargo carrier has a fleet of Boeing 747 Freighters and B767Fs, and recently obtained Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for use of CHAMP’s application with its freighter fleet. Kalitta Air operates freighters to Afghanistan, Argentina, […]

The Far East drives Luxair Cargo tonnage in 2016

Freighter rotations were up 9.7 per cent to 5,400 turnarounds in 2016 for Luxair Cargo at Luxembourg Airport (LUX), which helped drive tonnage. Executive vice president, Laurent Jossart (pictured) says 821,000 tonnes were handled last year, an uplift of 8.2 per cent compared to 2015, with the third quarter up eight per cent and last […]

Freight tonnage rise of 1.1% in 2016 at Brussels Airport

Cargo traffic at Brussels Airport rose by 1.1 per cent in 2016 compared to 2015, despite the impact of the terrorist attacks. The gateway handled 494,673 tonnes, a 1.1 per cent increase on the 489,303 tonnes in 2015 as the second half of the year made up for performance in the first half. Full freighter cargo […]

Partnership set to be expanded between MAB and Silk Way

EFW re-delivers first A330P2F to Altavair for MasAir Cargo operation

MAB Kargo is set to expand its partnership with Silk Way West Airlines as it looks to increase the agreement it has on services. In March, the Malaysian Airlines cargo arm penned a memorandum of co-operation with Azerbaijan-based Silk Way West that sees both leverage on each other’s aircraft fleet and network in different regions […]

Increasing perishables to Asia the main focus for Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways resumes Dubai flights

Kenya Airways (KQ) is looking to develop new Asian markets for the Africa countries flower-led perishables industry, acting general manager of cargo Peter Musola tells Michael Mackey. Some 70 per cent of the perishables market is Europe-bound Musola tells Air Cargo Week  and the Nairobi-headquartered carrier is looking to do something similar in China by […]

VIDEO: Mexico’s AeroUnion starts freighter service from Miami

Mexican freighter carrier AeroUnion began service at Miami International Airport (MIA) on 2 December with two weekly round-trip flights that will serve a triangular route between Mexico City, Mérida and Miami. AeroUnion will operate an Airbus A300 Freighter or Boeing 767-200 Freighter aircraft on the new route. Miami-Dade County Mayor, Carlos A. Gimenez says: “We proudly welcome AeroUnion and […]

GPS tracking device approved by Amerijet

Amerijet has approved Starcom Systems Kylos Air GPS tracking device for air cargo use aboard on its freighter aircraft. The carrier says it made the move after identifying the need for the latest in tracking technology to better serve its shipping clientele. Starcom Systems Americas designs and manufactures a variety of GPS-based tracking devices that […]

Second Turkish Cargo flight gives Billund a boost

Cargo volumes at Billund Airport have received a strong boost with the addition of a second weekly Turkish Cargo freighter service. Turkish Cargo started weekly freighter flights on 10 April and added a second service on 3 November 2016. The second freighter is compensating for the shortfall in capacity on Turkish Airlines’ passenger flights that […]

Freight traffic up 6.5% in October at Brussels

Brussels Airport saw its cargo volumes rise year-on-year (YOY) 6.5 per cent to 46,603 tonnes in October compared to the same month last year. Growth was driven by the full freighter segment which surged YOY by 28.8 per cent to 17,119 tonnes, mainly by Singapore Airlines Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo and Ethiopian Airlines. For the […]

Tonnage uplift of 5.3% for Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific Airways has posted an increase in the amount of cargo and mail uplifted in October compared to the same month last year. Cathay Pacific and Dragonair combined carried 172,385 tonnes of cargo and mail in October, a year-on-year (YOY) rise of 5.3 per cent on October 2015. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 1.6 percentage points […]

Atlas Air posts pre-tax loss of $7.5 million in Q3

Atlas Air Boeing 747-8F

Atlas Air Worldwide has announced a loss from continuing operations, net of taxes, of $7.5 million for the third quarter (Q3) ending 30 September 2016. Atlas says results for Q3 were primarily due to the impact of non-deductible expenses triggered by shareholder approval of warrants granted to Amazon in connection with long-term agreements to dry lease […]

NAC to operate charter freighters from Miami International

US freighter airline Northern Air Cargo (NAC) will operate four weekly charter cargo flights from Miami International Airport (MIA) from 1 November, 2016. This will include two weekly roundtrip freighter flights on a triangular route between MIA, San Juan and Saint Martin; one weekly flight that will operate between MIA and Santo Domingo; and one […]

Sri Lankan plans to lease ‘45-tonne’ freighter

SriLankan Airlines plans to make the most of overcapacity in the sector by leasing a freighter to tackle its own ‘big time’ capacity problems, reports Michael Mackey. SriLankan is looking for ‘a 45 tonner’ Chamara Ranasinghe, head of cargo tells Air Cargo Week adding that a converted Boeing 747 would be “too big.” The Colombo-based […]

ABC adds Seattle to its US freighter network

AirBridgeCargo Airlines Boeing 747F

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has launched twice-weekly Boeing 747 Freighter services from Moscow to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, its sixth route within the US. The carrier says Seattle is not only one of the biggest cities in the Pacific Northwest region – but also a major gateway for trade with Asia. The new flight from Seattle will […]

Tough July for cargo at Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport has seen cargo volumes plunge year-on-year (YOY) by 8.8 per cent in July to 39,689 tonnes, down on the 43,539 tonnes in the same month last year. The gateway says volume of all-cargo flights fell by 9.8 per cent compared with July 2015 and put the downturn down to various factors, including certain […]

US-based freighter operator Amerijet changes ownership

Florida-based freighter operator Amerijet has a new owner after being sold by private equity investment firm H.I.G. Capital (H.I.G.). H.I.G. has more than $20 billion of equity capital under management, and has sold Amerijet Holdings, to an affiliate of ZS Fund, a middle market focused private equity firm. No details of how much it was […]

Lufthansa Cargo: Perishable volumes might see fall

Flowers, fruits and vegetables volumes may fall as customers shift from scheduled freighters to charter services and belly flights, Lufthansa Cargo head of operations Fresh/td and cross functions, Oliver Blum tells Air Cargo Week. Blum says: “On the routes from Ecuador and Columbia, we have recently shifted from scheduled freighters services to our network on […]

FIA16: Bravo Industries to buy 10 Lockheed Martin freighters

An artists impression of a Bravo Industries Lockheed Martin Super Hercules

Bravo Industries is to purchase 10 LM-100J Super Hercules commercial freighter aircraft from Lockheed Martin. The deal was announced at the Farnborough International Airshow today. Bravo is a logistics and defense group with operations in and focused on Brazil. Bravo’s Logística division, which consists of Bravo Cargas and Bravo MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul), will […]