Can airfreight ever be really green? 10 aircraſt


More fuel-efficient aircraſt, including new designs of planes, bigger


with increased


cargo capacity, and the use of bio fuel should be implemented to improve the carbon footprint for the airfreight industry, said Luſthansa executives at a recent green airfreight conference. Executive board operations of


Luſthansa Cargo, Dr Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht, pointed out at the carrier’s Climate Care Conference in Frankfurt that airfreight, by its very nature, leads to carbon emissions and pollution, but the industry “cannot sit back and relax, but must take responsibility for its actions”. Luſthansa has identified about


50,000 processes which can be improved to reduce emissions, including 500 measures to reduce fuel burn. In May it will have a ‘clear out’, in which it looks at the parts on any aircraſt which can be removed – such as spares not needed in flight.


“If we can reduce the weight by


10 kilos, we can save 100 tonnes of CO2 per year,” Rupprecht points out.


The airline is also relying it its


new B777s, due for delivery later this year and early 2014, to provide a 20% fuel saving and therefore a 20% drop in emissions. The B777 can take more cargo and, because it is a longer range aircraſt, can cover the same routes with fewer stops, which also helps reduce emissions. Collaboration between all


parties in the airfreight chain will help lower the industry’s carbon footprint, Rupprecht believes. DHL, which wants to reduce emissions by 30% by 2050, keeps an ecology score card for its carriers, with points given for different achievements on each trip. Siemens’ supplier management programme evaluates the carbon footprint of all its service suppliers, allowing it to make better informed choices


Issue4 2013


///AIRFREIGHT FOCUS NEWS ROUNDUP


AIRFREIGHT & EXPRESS


Swiss International Air Lines chief cargo officer, Oliver Evans and Schiphol senior vice president cargo Enno Osinga are to head The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA). They were elected as the new chairman and vice chairman respectively at the Association’s AGM in Dallas on 23 April. Oliver, who has been vice chairman for the last two years, succeeds Michael Steen, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Atlas Air Worldwide.


Dr. Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht: industry must take responsibilty


over which carriers to use. Professor Mojib Latif, head


of the Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics Research Division of the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Germany, called for new propulsion systems based on renewable energy to be developed. Hellmann Worldwide, which


won Luſthansa Cargo’s customer award for climate care for its use of LPG in road vehicles, is buying five new LPG vehicles and installing its own LPG pumps.


Bio-fuel may help - but is it


enough? And will it work for aircraſt? As Professor Dr Volker


Gollnick, director of the Institute of Air Transportation Systems, German Aerospace Centre, pointed out, there will be no new aircraſt types available until at least 2030 and those delivered up until that date have a 30- 50 year lifespan, which means there will be no chance of even testing aircraſt using more eco- friendly fuel until at least 2060.


Industry cannot do air security on its own


Countries should not pass the buck on to the air cargo industry to interpret, raise awareness of or enforce new air cargo supply chain security measures, warned the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG). The Group says it is concerned


that inconsistent implementation of new security measures could increase red tape and costs, as well as unintended non-compliance. GACAG says there have been significant


recent implement increases in


the number of countries seeking to


new security


measures. GACAG chairman Michael


Steen, said: “On too many occasions in the past, the air cargo industry has been leſt to manage the communication and implementation of new security measures with very little support from regulators. Some authorities also seek to further secure the air cargo supply chain by releasing ad-hoc directives without


adequate time for consultation, resulting in regulations that the industry may not be able to fulfil. Whilst we are encouraged by the increasing level of collaboration between regulators and the air cargo industry, much more work needs to be done at a national level to ensure that, in this case, changes to security measures achieve their intended aim and do not overburden our industry.”


In its position paper


‘Communications to industry from regulators regarding implementation of new security measures,’ GACAG says countries seeking to introduce air cargo security measures should follow the requirements of ICAO Annex 9 (Facilitation) and Annex 17 (Security) to ensure the adoption of common global standards. In non-emergency situations


when there is sufficient time prior to such changes taking effect, new security measures should only be deployed and become mandatory when key conditions have been met, GACAG says. This should include dialogue with all air cargo supply chain stakeholders so they understand in advance what will be required of them and, where appropriate, there should be joint industry-government pilots.


Night flights are life-blood of British


The CBI urged the Government to maintain night flights at London’s three main airports - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – in its response to a Department for Transport consultation which closed on 21 April. It said that night flights play a key role in aviation and generate millions of pounds in investment and exports. Rhian Kelly, CBI director for


economy, says CBI business environment, said: “Night flights oil the cogs of the express delivery industry so freight arriving overnight can be shipped first thing in the morning. CBI argues that with the


current system working well, it makes no sense to make major changes when the independent Airports Commission is looking at the long-term future of


industry. CBI says that the UK express


delivery industry contributes £2.3bn to UK GDP in 2010 and supporting


82,000 full time


jobs - 38,000 of them directly. If night flights were to be further restricted, there would be a substantial impact not just on the sector but on the businesses that rely on these services.


MPs reject Boris Island plan


The House of Commons Transport Committee has rejected the idea of a new airport in the Thames Estuary – the so-called ‘Boris Island’ – and instead come down in favour of a third or even fourth runway at Heathrow. They cited the possible harmful effect of a new airport on wildlife in the Thames Estuary while closing Heathrow could also have


“unacceptable consequences.” But Mayor Boris Johnson said that


the suggestion that Heathrow should double its runways was “putting four fingers up to hundreds of thousands of Londoners. “London and the wider UK do


need a hub airport that can operate 24 hours a day without constraint and the only place that is possible is


to the east of London.” The Freight Transport


Association (FTA), while supporting the


Committee’s view that


expansion of capacity at Heathrow was essential to maintain London’s international hub status, said it was disappointed that airfreight had not been more fully considered in the report.


The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) agreed on 18 April to work more closely on air cargo and mail security. In a declaration of intent they pledged to speed up the move from paper to electronic processes, market liberalisation and safety. It follows the joint communiqué issued at TIACA’s International Air Cargo Forum & Exposition in Atlanta last October.


IAG Cargo says that its new fleet of 18 Airbus A350-1000 long-haul aircraſt due to come into service from 2018 - with options for a further 18 – will offer a payload of about 30 tonnes, along with enhanced features such as air conditioning in the cargo bays for temperature- sensitive freight such as pharmaceuticals.


IAG Cargo will offer more cargo space between London and Seattle this autumn following an increase in frequency of British Airways passenger flights. Three new flights will start from 27 October, operated by a Boeing 777-200, giving additional available capacity of 108 tons per week.


Allied Air Limited is introducing a weekly service from Ostend and Lagos to Freetown, Sierra Leone. The MD11 freighter operated service flies on Saturdays from 11 May.


Cargolux Airlines is to add weekly flights on Wednesday to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to its network of African destinations.


Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo is offering new connections from Istanbul in partnership with Turkey’s MNG Airlines. They are Tripoli (Mitiga airport) and Benghazi in Libya and Ekaterinburg in Russia and vice versa. Flights will be operated by B737 freighters. The French-Dutch carrier offers A300F freighter capacity from Paris CDG to Istanbul five times per week.


Etihad Airways is to take a 24% stake in Jet Airways of India. It includes the purchase of Jet Airways’ three pairs of Heathrow slots through a sale and lease back agreement, although Jet will continue to use them. Under the deal, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, the airlines will combine their network of 140 destinations, with Jet Airways establishing a Gulf gateway in Abu Dhabi and expanding its reach through Etihad Airways’ network.


IATA has suspended credit facilities for Zimbabwe-based all cargo carrier Avient following its filing for bankruptcy protection.


Virgin Atlantic Cargo has relaunched its seasonal services from London Heathrow to Chicago. They will operate daily until 26 October.


Virgin Atlantic Cargo has promoted Steve Hughes from regional sales manager, Continental Europe to regional vice president sales, for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Based at Heathrow, he reports to head of sales, Nick Jones.


Etihad Airways is to lease its first Boeing 747-8 freighter from Atlas Air Worldwide. The new plane will enter service with the UAE carrier in June and will have a payload of 138 tonnes, the largest in its growing freighter fleet. The delivery will take Etihad Cargo’s freighter fleet to nine aircraſt. Etihad Cargo’s nine-strong freighter fleet will operate additional frequencies from Abu Dhabi to Benghazi, Dhaka, Frankfurt, Guangzhou and Khartoum in its new 2013 summer schedule. A new weekly route to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, will also commence in June, complementing the existing weekly freighter service to Dammam. There is also a new weekly freighter routing to Vienna, and a twice weekly freighter operation to Singapore and Sydney.


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