NEWSWEEK IATA detects recovery E


urope and the Middle East have led the growth that saw a freight tonne kilome- tres (FTK) year-on-year increase of 1.2 per cent in July, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA).


Poland, Germany and France led European


growth, reflecting gross domestic product increases in the second quarter that emerged in the Eurozone. Italy, Spain and the Netherlands


saw contractions. The Mid- dle East had a very strong July compared to June, with a 2.1 per cent uptick. IATA states, in its July data report, that the region’s carriers had a year-on-year increase of 14.5 per cent in July and 12.7 per cent for June, when comparing it to the previous year. Pointing to global FTKs increasing 1.2 per cent


year-on-year in July, the Association’s comment on the overall trend is: “The rise in global FTKs over the month adds to the likelihood that the market might break out of the stagnation of the past 18 months.” IATA tempers this with a warn- ing that it is dependent on European growth. North America was described as “weak,” while Asia-Pacific had seen “no improvement”.


Major economies go slow


A moderate recovery is underway in the advanced economies, according to the Organisa- tion of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). North America, Japan and the UK are all seeing growth, while the Eurozone is, for the most part, out of its recession. The growth seen in the major economies is not expected to accelerate, the second half of 2013 being much the same as the first half. Reflecting an analysis by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) (see above), OECD deputy chief economic Jorgen Elmeskov, says: “The gradual pick-up in momentum in the advanced economies is encouraging, but a sus- tainable recovery is not yet firmly established.” The emerging economies, however, are seeing sluggish growth in the short term. China’s gross domestic product is expected to improve in the fourth quarter to about 8 per cent. In the third


and fourth quarters the US, Japan and Germany economic activity is predicted to expand to the equivalent of 2.5 per cent annual growth. France is expected to grow in the second half of the year at a rate that equates to 1.5 per cent per annum. According to the OECD, Italy’s growth is going to be “mildly negative”. The encouraging OECD analysis follows less


stellar results of an imports, exports study (OECD: G7, BRIC imports and exports shrink, 2 September 2013) by the organisation, which shows a contraction in world trade. While the OECD now identifies North America, Japan and the UK as leading the advanced econo- mies growth pack, in that import, expert study only the UK had positive figures for both. What data does correlate between the latest growth figures and IATA’s report is that the emerging economies are slowing.


US signals Delta, Virgin OK


THE US Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that it will propose to approve Delta Air Lines and Virgin At- lantic Airways’ request to operate a joint


venture flight between North America and the UK. The DOT concluded that the alliance will bring more competition and will not be anticompetitive. The DOT would award antitrust immuni- ty to the two carriers and their SkyTeam’s 19 partners, which in- cludes Air France, Kenya Airways, China Eastern, KLM, Korean Air and China Airlines. While the joint venture flights will initially be passenger fo- cused, Virgin Atlantic Cargo told Air Cargo Week: “There maybe more discussions [about cargo], some more conversations.”


It is heavy oil for Volga-Dnepr


ANTONOV An-124-100s have been used by Volga-Dnepr Airlines for the delivery of 180 tonnes of oil and gas equipment to Bratsk for the Talakan field, in Russia’s Yakutia region.


The equipment, two 40-tonne compres- sors and a 60-tonne gas turbine, had been transported to Saint Petersburg (Russia) from Milan (Italy) by sea.


The equipment was then flown from St


Petersburg. Two An-124-100s were used for the work, along with cranes with 100 to 200 tonne capacities to help load and un- load the cargo. Volga-Dnepr also used its own patent- ed handling equipment to reduce the time needed for loading and unloading. Once the equipment had arrived at Bratsk airfield it was transported to the oil field by ground and sea transportation.


ACW 9 SEPTEMBER 2013


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