12


Issue 3 2013


///AIRFREIGHT FOCUS


Airline alliances are outmoded, says Etihad chief


Traditional airline alliances are out of date, Etihad Airways’ president and chief executive officer, James Hogan told the International Aviation Club in Washington on 3 April. Instead he commended the Abu Dhabi-based carrier’s business model, based on a combination of organic growth, codeshares and minority equity investments. “The traditional airline alliances


have evolved into slow-to-respond, bureaucratic


organisations


which struggle to deliver added value to their member airlines, many of which are no longer compatible with each other,” said Hogan. Moreover, he added, the consolidation currently occurring


throughout the airline industry was fragmenting the alliances. Etihad Airways has minority


stakes in airberlin, Air Seychelles, Virgin Australia and just under three per cent of Aer Lingus, along with 42 code share relationships around the world. (Etihad recently gained US Department of Transportation approval for a codeshare deal with Aer Lingus’


transatlantic services


out of Dublin.) Minority shareholdings had


allowed Etihad to enter markets within local foreign investment limits and, therefore, without the complexities, approvals


or


expense attached to mergers or larger investments, adding: “It is easier, faster and far more cost


effective to grow through one-on- one partnerships with established, respected carriers than it is to rely totally on our own resources, and to start from scratch in every market we serve. Later, Hogan announced Etihad Cargo’s best-ever start to a year,


with revenue of US$193 million for the first quarter of 2013, up 17% on the same quarter in 2012. Tonnage was up 20%, at 101,776 tonnes, vindication, said Hogan, of the Middle East airline’s strategy of organic growth and strategic equity investments.


Heathrow is filling up fast


Property developer Segro reports that the Stockley Close estate at London Heathrow airport is now fully let, following freight management company UTi Worldwide’s decision to take two units totalling 34,000 sq ſt on a 10-year lease. The new space will be used for freight forwarding and other global supply chain activities. Alan Hollandof SEGRO added:


“Securing this agreement with UTi Worldwide is great news. This deal means that the Stockley Close estate is now fully let. The popular estate remains an ideal location for airport related businesses due


to its high quality accommodation and proximity to Heathrow.” Stockley Close in West Drayton


is close to the M4 and M25 and has good access to Heathrow airport, says Segro. Segro has a number of other


estates in and around Heathrow, mainly occupied by airlines and cargo operators. But it says that demand for larger 60-70,000 sq ſt buildings in the area is outstripping supply. UTi’s air freight director Colin


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Reynolds said: “It is essential for our business that we are located very close to Heathrow. These facilities will allow us to continue


to offer high quality service to our global customer base.” Meanwhile, Toll Global said, at


Forwarding a


groundbreaking ceremony on 9 April, that it will move to a new UK headquarters building near Heathrow Airport in October, The new facility – on a secure


2.65 acre compound on the North Feltham Trading Estate, close to Heathrow’s cargo village – will include 50,000 sq ſt of warehousing, eight truck docks, a cargo handling system, storage for 1200 pallets and a large, multi- zone chiller for perishables, along with 20,000 sq ſt of offices.


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Feltham, and at Skyport Drive in Harmondsworth, which Toll acquired with the purchase of WT Cargo in 2011. The facility is being developed by Airport Property Partnership (APP), a


joint venture partnership


between SEGRO (as asset manager) and Aviva Investors (as fund manager). Toll Global Forwarding’s


regional MD (EMEA), Hakan Bicil, said: “This new base at Heathrow will provide us with better access to the airport’s cargo terminals, improve our operational efficiency and enhance our customer service levels. It will also deliver a striking flagship headquarters for


our growing UK operations.” fast-


Etihad is much fleeter footed than its rivals, says Hogan


BIFA welcomes e-AWB move


The British International Freight Association (BIFA) has welcomed the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Federation of Freight Forwarders (FIATA)’s recent approval of the multilateral electronic


air waybill. The


agreement removes an anomaly whereby it was necessary for airlines and forwarders to sign a new agreement every time they used an e-AWB. Airlines and forwarders can


sign once with IATA and in effect enter into e-waybill agreements


with all other parties to the agreement, says BIFA. BIFA director general Peter


Quantrill said the move would help improve e-AWB take up. But he pointed out also: “Nothing in the agreement changes the airlines’ conditions of contract, nor mandates that either airlines or forwarders that participate in the multilateral agreement are obliged to conduct e-AWB activities with each other. It simply provides the platform to do so when the parties mutually agree to it.”


IAG Cargo goes back to Sri Lanka


IAG Cargo says it will offer a full range of cargo services when it reinstates passenger flights from Colombo, Sri Lanka in mid-April aſter a 15-year absence. The new route, which includes a stopover in the Maldives, will be operated three times per week using a Boeing 777 aircraſt. Sri Lanka is an important


manufacturing and growing region for a wide range of goods including high-end retail, fruits and vegetables and rubber. From the Maldives the main export commodity is fish. IAG Cargo’s area commercial


manager for South Asia, Pravin Singh, commented: “We have always had a strong bond with the Sri Lankan market and our flights will provide much needed direct liſt into the UK with quick access to our vast network.” He added: “Customers in the region tend to ship garments, perishable


freight, valuables and other specialist cargo. We are capable of catering to a wide variety of commodities.” According


to UK Trade


& Investment, ongoing reconstruction and restructuring programs, particularly in the North and East of the country mean that there is good potential for UK firms in Sri Lanka, although it points out that most major project


contracts have


so far been won by Chinese or Indian companies. Promising areas include


Education and training IT, renewable energy, water distribution, roads and bridges, port and airport development.


IAG has confirmed an order


for 18 Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraſt. They will go into service from 2017, replacing the carrier’s 747-400 aircraſt.


Luſthansa bulks up with B777s


Luſthansa Cargo is strengthening both its network and its Frankfurt hub with the purchase of five B777 cargo aircraſt and the opening of a new cargo centre. The B777s, which will be


delivered from the end of the year, have a 20% better fuel efficiency than the current MD11 fleet, as well as being quieter. It is not yet known whether they will replace the MD11s or serve as additional capacity. “The B777s are a good


foundation to help us become more competitive,” says Karl Ulrich Garnadt, chairman and CEO. Luſthansa Cargo has been


cutting capacity over the past year in response to market conditions. Although no destinations have been cancelled - and, indeed, some, like Guadalajara, have been added - by reducing frequencies on some routes, the airline believes it has gained greater control of its costs and been able to improve service levels.


Service will be improved


further when the new cargo centre, currently known as LC Neo, opens in 2018. Work begins at the end of this year. Although LC Neo is 20% smaller than originally planned, it will still be able to handle 1.6m tonnes of freight. The fact that it is being built


at all is a bonus, as it was nearly cancelled due to the night flight ban at Frankfurt, which has led to a loss of Euro 40m for the airline.


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