The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals Volume: 16


Issue: 36 9 September 2013 Market forces Qantas 747 freeze


747-400F. It has been operated on behalf of Qantas by an uniden- tified third party and the leasing agreement for it was coming to an end.


Q


antas Freight’s total revenue for its finan- cial year 2012-2013 increased by 4 per cent over its 2011-


2012 results, to AUS$43 million ($39.2 million), due to a business disposal. However, the freight division’s


earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was $36 million, a drop of 20 per cent, $9 million, compared to its 2011-2012 results. Qantas


explains this 20 per cent drop as being due to an 11 per cent decrease in international capacity and the fact that the sale of Qantas’ StarTrack freight business to Aus- tralia Post was not included in the EBIT figure. With its results Qantas also announced that the planned leas- ing of a Boeing 747-FRF freighter is not to go ahead. The aircraft was to start operating by the end of the year and replace an older Boeing


The new -400ERF would have had Qantas livery and been operated by Express Freighters Australia, a wholly owned subsid- iary of Qantas Freight. The freight division has 13 freighters, includ- ing three 747-400F, one Boeing 767-300F, four Boeing 737-300CF, four BAE Systems BAe146 and one Saab 340. Qantas Freight also car- ries freight on Qantas and Jetstar domestic and international pas- senger services. The Australian airline says that the decision not to lease the 747 will not impact on Qantas Freight’s services. The decision was taken because of what Qantas describes as, “recent soft international air- freight market conditions” and that as, “the airfreight industry is cyclical, Qantas will re-examine options when the markets have


strengthened.” Qantas group chief executive officer Alan Joyce says of the com- pany’s situation: “While freight market conditions are challenging, the steps we took during [fiscal year 2013] will strengthen our position both domestically and internationally,” referring to the StarTrack sale. He added that the integration


of Australian air Express, which should be completed by June 2014, “will create Australia’s leading independent air freight provider”. Combined with Qantas Freight this new business will service more than 50 international destinations and 80 domestic des- tinations. Qantas also claims it will be Australia’s largest cargo ground handling company. For the group’s cargo strategy,


Joyce expects that Qantas “will benefit from a partnership with Emirates’ SkyCargo division”. Qan- tas’ results statement describes the environment as “challenging”.


TIACA backs ICAO as the body to tackle emissions


Support for a global solution to aviation emissions, agreed through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), has been reaffirmed by The Inter- national Air Cargo Association (TIACA).


Endorsement of a single mar-


ket-based measure being sought by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also been announced by TIACA. The call comes less than a month before the triennial ICAO Global Assembly, with TIACA urg- ing ICAO members to agree such an approach at the assembly. “We have repeatedly empha- sised that aviation and air cargo


sectors have made significant progess over many years to imple- ment ‘green’ solutions partly because of the responsibility we all have to protect the envi- ronment, but also because such efficiencies are vital in terms of cost efficiency,” says secretary general of TIACA, Douglas Brittin. TIACA’s championing of ICAO as the body to pursue the issue of aviation carbon emissions has been long-standing. Following the postponement of the inclusion of aviation into the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme, it asked the European Commission to use ICAO to pursue a global agreement on the issue.


AEROFLOT BLOSSOMS AS IT REACHES 90


BREGIER TAKES A350 REIGNS


7


FESTIVE PERIOD TO SAVE CHARTERS?


CANADA IS INSULATED BUT NOT DIVORCED


Airbus to assist in modernising China


A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) has been signed between China’s Air Traffic Managment Bureau (ATMB) and Airbus to co-operate on modernising China’s air traffic management system. The agreement, which will also include the implementation of the latest air traf- fic management technologies, is aimed at improving capacity and efficiency. In total, four projects will be developed over the course of the agreement. These are: air traffic flow management; airport collaborative decision making; Chengdu airport capacity assessment; and the improvement of instrument landing sys- tems at Beijing Capital Airport. Director general of China’s ATMB,


Wang Liya, says: “We are pleased to launch the co-operation programme with Airbus. The four projects will pave the way for a broader co-operation between us and Airbus in the future.”


“We call upon global govern- ments, through ICAO, to play their part by reaching a single, simple and sustainable agreement to help aviation achieve carbon neutral growth,” adds Brittin. Under the Kyoto Protocol, ICAO


was the body designated with the authority to set international avia- tion’s greenhouse gas policy. In April, TIACA and ICAO signed a declaration of intent to strengthen co-operation on tech- nical matters.


President of Airbus China, Eric Chen, adds: “We are delighted to launch the programme in air traffic management. Air traffic management modernisation is key to making air transportation more efficient. It is also key to help aviation grow capacity efficiently. China is set to become the largest domestic civil avia- tion market in the world.”


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