Tag: Air Transport

China Southern freighter expansion to lift Baiyun airport Move will force Hong Kong to rethink air cargo policy as dominance comes under threat, say analysts

Posted by | Feb 26, 2007 | |

China Southern Airlines, the biggest mainland airline by fleet size, plans to grow its freighter fleet to 14 aircraft from two by 2011.

Analysts say the move will mean more freight connections and volume for Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport, forcing Hong Kong to rethink its air cargo policy.

Like its mainland rivals, China Southern has been slow to develop its freighter business because of a long-standing imbalance between exports and imports.

Load factors for inbound cargo traditionally have been much lower than for outbound, keeping profit margins thin.

China’s airlines operate only 33 freighters with 7,700 tonnes of capacity. UPS and FedEx, the two biggest dedicated cargo carriers in the United States, between them operate 1,000 freighters.

However, China’s swift economic growth, spurring demand for such prime air freight commodities as high fashion, fine wines and delicate electronic products, means that imports and exports are coming into a better balance.

Chinese airlines have begun forming cargo alliances with international carriers.

Shenzhen Airlines teamed up with Lufthansa to form Shenzhen-based Jade Cargo Airlines which operates two Boeing 747s and plans to expand the fleet to six aircraft by next January.

China Southern has a code-sharing arrangement with Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo.

By 2011, China Southern expects to take delivery of six Boeing 777s, which can stay in the air for 10 hours and six Airbus A300s which can be adapted for passenger and freight service. The first of the A300s, which are principally designed for use on regional routes, will be delivered at the end of this year.

Mr Dodwell said the Hong Kong government needed to update the import-export ordinance to facilitate more transshipment business.

And he said the efficient use of air space was being hindered by the conservative air spacing regime in Hong Kong and the refusal by the Beijing government to allow planes bound for or leaving in Hong Kong to fly through the mainland’s air space below 10,000 feet.

“I can see healthy growth of 5 per cent to 8 per cent a year in Hong Kong for the next five years,” said Matthew Ma, vice-president of Cargolux, an airline based in Luxembourg. “It is a performance-based industry; it’s not only capacity that counts.”

Mr Ma said Guangzhou could not match Hong Kong for reliability and just-in-time management. However, Hong Kong still needed to embrace the “open skies” concept and address the issue of high service charges, he said.

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UPS, Airbus Revise A380 Agreement

Posted by | Feb 23, 2007 | |

UPS and Airbus signed an agreement yesterday that sets out a timetable for deciding the status of UPS’s order for the freighter version of the A380. The agreement specifies changed delivery dates for the A380F and provides for possible termination of the original purchase agreement by either party later in 2007.
Deliveries of UPS’s first 10 A380s were originally scheduled to begin in 2009 and run through 2012.
“UPS’s decision to purchase the A380 freighter was based on a lengthy evaluation of our future network needs to meet customer demands across a variety of global trade lanes,” said Bob Lekites, UPS’s vice president of Airline and International Operations. “Those needs still exist and UPS has been carefully evaluating various options since Airbus announced production delays late last year. This agreement will provide us additional time to evaluate our network requirements and make a decision once and for all as to how best to ensure service to our customers.”

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Pilots strike over Europe Airpost sale

Posted by | Feb 7, 2007 | |

Pilots and ground staff at Europe Airpost are on strike following news that France’s La Poste is to sell the mail, cargo and passenger airline.

The employees started the action at 18.00 on Monday, causing delays to night post and, during the day, passenger transport. They are due to return to work tomorrow, Thursday, at 05.00.

La Poste director general Jean-Paul Bailly confirmed the pending sale of Europe Airpost, first revealed by pilots’ union SNPL last week, in a letter to board members, the contents of which were published by newspaper Les Echos yesterday.

Bailly wrote that La Poste had decided to sell the company and move the transport of mail to TGV high-speed trains under a plan to set up a joint subsidiary with national rail operator SNCF.

Talks had opened with several potential buyers of the airline, Bailly said, although one had been selected for exclusive negotiations in the months to come.

Les Echos reported that, according to its information, La Poste’s preferred buyer is the South African holding group, Imperial, owner of the leasing company Safair, which is already running two Airbus A300s for Europe Airpost’s cargo operations.

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DHL launches domestic airfreight service in China

Posted by | Jan 26, 2007 | |

DHL announced the launch of the DHL Domestic Airfreight service in China. To date, DHL Global Forwarding, one of DHL’s business units providing air and ocean freight services, is the first international forwarder to obtain the CATA (China Air Transport Association) domestic airfreight license, allowing them to operate within 17 Chinese cities. This is certainly a key milestone for both the company and the domestic logistics market, previously served only by Chinese state-owned and local companies. DHL Global Forwarding Domestic Airfreight is part of DHL Global Forwarding’s earlier announcement on the USD20 million investment plan to further enhance the company’s network infrastructure, human resources development, as well as products and services to meet anticipated business growth in China. With this launch and its First in China strategy, DHL is the only international logistics company offering both Domestic Express and Domestic Airfreight services.

The Chinese logistics market consists of various segments: international airfreight, and ocean freight, domestic airfreight, international and domestic roads, international and domestic rail and inland waterway and warehousing. According to the latest Boeing’s World Air Cargo Forecast, the domestic airfreight market has grown at over 20% every year since 1990, and is expected to double its current size and reach a ca. EUR 2.6 billion in 2010. China’s domestic air cargo market has become the second largest in the world with an annual growth rate forecast of 10.8% over the next 2 decades.

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DHL Express eyes acquisitions for Turkish growth

Posted by | Jan 23, 2007 | |

DHL Express is looking at acquisitions in Turkey to increase its growth in the country, according to reports in Turkish media.

The company, which claims a 50% percent of the Turkish express market, grew 30% in 2006 compared to an original target of 18%, the Dunya Gazetesi newspaper reported. Total revenue figures were not disclosed.

According to the Referans newspaper, DHL is in discussions with Aras Cargo, one of the leading Turkish logistics operators, about a strategic investment. The newspaper cited Enis Karsloglu, general manager of Aras Cargo, as saying that the company was in talks with three foreign investors, including DHL, about international growth plans.

DHL Turkey’s communications director Seda Susal was quoted as saying that DHL wanted to extend its operations in Turkey through acquisitions and was in talks with some companies.

Aras Cargo, a family-owned company, claims to be one of the largest freight transport groups in Turkey. According to information on its company website, it has 7,300 employees, 2,500 vehicles and 1,300 service points. Products include a nationwide next-day delivery service for small goods.

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