Volume 15, Issue 21 3


THE WE EKLY NEWS PAP ER FOR THE AIR CARGO PROF E S S IONAL GSSA develops its


Latin America presence


6


WESTERNAssociates Group, one of Japan’s leading air cargo general sales agents, has established a new com- pany, Gateway Partners, to provide dedicated representation of bellyhold space for Virgin Atlantic Cargo. In support of its new contract with


Virgin Atlantic, which is effective this month (May), Gateway Partners has put together an experienced team of cargo sales and marketing specialists that will devote their time to working with the airline’s customers in Japan. This team will focus on maximis-


ing freight, courier and express rev- enues for shipments carried on Virgin Atlantic’s daily widebody flight from Tokyo’s Narita International airport to London Heathrow. Dan Parker, vice president com-


mercial at Virgin Atlantic Cargo, pointed out: “The appointment of Gateway Partners Inc (GPI) gives us a sales team in Japan that will focus only


Singapore Airlines struggles against weak freight demand


SINGAPORE Airlines Cargo flew a total of 94,300 tonnes of freight in April, down by 5.4 percent on the same month of 2011. Traffic, as measured in cargo


tonne-km, was down by 8.8 percent and capacity by just 4.6 percent –


hence the load factor fell by 2.9 per- centage points to 62.6 percent. In other news, Singapore Airlines


has confirmed that it will suspend services to Abu Dhabi and to Athens. The airline blamed “sustained weak performance” for the cancellations.


The final widebody flights to both


destinations are expected to take place near the end of October, mark- ing the end of a connection to Athens that dates from as far back as 1972 and to Abu Dhabi that goes back to 2006.


Merger of


IT solution providers benefits all


7


on Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s business and customers.” He went on: “As part of Western


Associates Group, GPI has a strong domestic network across Japan and we believe this additional coverage will help us achieve the best possible results from our Narita gateway.


Brazil:


confidence in future prospects


9 “I also want to express my grati-


tude to our former partner in Japan, IAS, for their support since we began operating from Tokyo,” he added. As Virgin Atlantic Cargo prepares


to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of its services linking Tokyo and London, Parker noted: “Japan is an extremely


important market for Virgin Atlantic and after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck north-east Japan in 2011, we have seen some im- provement in recent months. “Exports to the UK and Europe re-


main challenging but cargo bound for the US has increased significantly.”


28 May 2012


Growth


continues at Dubai


Airports Virgin Cargo goes Western in the East He concluded: “The recovery of


the Japanese automobile market and the carriage of specific electronics products such as solar energy equip- ment are encouraging signs and we are confident GPI will also give us a fresh outlook and approach in the market.”


Screening: TSA sets December deadline


THE USTransportation Security Adminis- tration has set a new deadline date of 3 December for passenger carriers to fully screen 100 percent of cargo carried on international flights coming into the country. All the freight carried on those flights


must be checked for explosives but, TSA said, it has “worked closely with other governments, international organisations and industry partners to increase the se- curity of air cargo without restricting the movement of goods and commerce”. The new US air cargo security environ-


ment will incorporate additional risk- based, intelligence-driven procedures into the pre-screening process, TSA added, to determine screening protocols on a per-shipment basis. “Harmonising security efforts with our international and industry part-


Pistole: “harmonising security efforts with our international and industry partners”


ners is a vital step in securing the global supply chain. By making greater use of intelligence, TSA can strengthen screening processes and ensure the screening of all cargo shipments without impeding the flow of commerce,” commented TSA administrator John Pistole.


WORLD NEWS P3, 4 & 6 ● PEOPLE P4 ● INDUSTRY TALK P10 ● TRADEFINDER P11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12