The world’s largest B747 freighter fleet operator is about to get bigger with the addition of another three B747-8Fs. These are leased from BOC Aviation, which was eventually able to repossess them from AirBridgeCargo/Volga Dnepr following long court cases after the Russian invasion led to sanctions and grounding of the aircraft. Serial numbers 60117, 60118 and 60119 will enter into service for Atlas Air towards the end of fall 2024. Atlas Air is seeing ongoing strong global demand for dedicated main-deck capacity, especially when it comes to cross-border e-commerce shipping. It therefore secured long-term finance lease agreements with BOC Aviation for the three freighters, as it continues to count on the Boeing freighter variants for its business model – despite 4-engine aircraft being less welcome at certain airports across the world. Nevertheless, Atlas states that “The 747-8 freighter excels as the most capable, technologically advanced, and environmentally friendly widebody freighter on the market [and] the largest load capacity […], with a 20% increase in payload capacity over the 747-400F, along with 25% more capacity than the 777-200LRF. The 747-8 has a 16% reduction in fuel consumption compared to the 747-400F. Additionally, the 747-8 freighter is the only factory-built freighter with nose-loading capability, meeting the long-term demands of the airfreight sector.” To date, Atlas operates a total of 65 aircraft. Among them: 17 747-8Fs, 39 747-400Fs, 5 747-400s, and 4 Large Cargo Freighters (LCFs).

Michael Steen, Atlas Air Worldwide Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Atlas is the world’s largest operator of 747 freighters, and we are thrilled to expand our widebody fleet with these three 747-8Fs, following the four 747-400Fs we acquired and placed with customers under long-term agreements earlier this year. Our growth in this aircraft type underscores Atlas’ commitment to the 747-freighter platform and the value it provides our customers, including significant payload capacity and unique nose-loading capability. Demand remains strong for dedicated large widebody freighters, and with our robust pipeline, we will place these planes with customers under attractive long-term agreements. Through our ongoing investments in innovation and our fleet, we continue to create additional operational flexibility, providing world-class service and acting as a trusted partner to our customers.”

Steven Townend, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, BOC Aviation, said: “Atlas manages the world’s largest fleet of Boeing 747 freighter aircraft and is ideally placed to partner with us in the operation of these latest generation aircraft. As global airfreight volumes hit record highs this transaction highlights our ability to provide capacity solutions to a wide variety of airline customers.”

Head off to the Puerto Rico Life Science Air Community website, and the first thing you’ll read is “Puerto Rico is the number one bioscience manufacturing hub in the U.S by export volume.” And it continues to grow at an impressive rate. The Community recently published the statistics it received from its collaboration with air cargo consulting, data, and software specialist, Rotate. Rotate’s figures are also available on Community’s web site as one of the support initiatives of the free-to-join group which aims to increase standards and quality of the region’s life science cargo transportation. Overall, the results show an increase both in healthcare exports (+8% year-on-year 2023 to 2024) as well as an increase in available cargo capacity (+7%) between Europe and South America. Air cargo capacity on flights to Europe increased by 22%, whilst capacity on routes to South America was up 35% on last year. The overall integrator capacity has remained the same, however, Rotate’s data shows a lower dependency on integrator capacity – down 2% on 2023 to 64%.

Varlin Vissepó, Executive Director and Chairman of the Puerto Rico Life Sciences Air Cargo Community, stated: “The Rotate report offers essential insights into Puerto Rico’s air cargo landscape, providing our logistics community with the knowledge needed to stay informed and understand the dynamics of life sciences cargo movement. This data empowers the Puerto Rico Life Sciences Air Cargo Community to make informed decisions that strengthen our collective position in the industry. We deeply value the strong support from the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, which has been instrumental in advancing our shared initiatives. Together, we are making significant strides in positioning Puerto Rico as a key player in global life sciences logistics.”

Manuel Cidre, Secretary of the DEDC, commented: “The Rotate report is a testament to the significant progress made in establishing Puerto Rico as a premier life sciences airfreight hub in the Americas. The Department of Economic Development and Commerce is proud to support the Puerto Rico Life Sciences Air Cargo Community in its efforts to expand life sciences exports and attract new air cargo capacity. Our collaborative initiatives — including the IATA CEIV certification program, the development of a comprehensive industry dashboard, and incentives to enhance climate-controlled warehousing —have been instrumental in driving these positive results. The data clearly demonstrates that Puerto Rico is on the right path to becoming a global leader in life sciences logistics.”

Every now and again, a press release flutters in that warms your heart. This week, DHL Express wins that accolade with its report on flying a disabled chimp called Chocolat, from Kenya to her new, forever home at the UK’s Monkey World – Ape Rescue Center in Dorset. An infant victim of the illegal bushmeat trade in the Republic of Congo, Chocolat became an orphan when hunters killed her family. She suffered shotgun wounds, leaving her with a paralyzed right hand and foot. For the past 20 years, she lived with her original rescuer in Kenya, but was recently transferred to Monkey World – a 1987-established, 65-acre sanctuary that provides specialist care for more than 230 primates of 25 different species, who have been smuggled from the wild and/or suffered abuse or neglect. “To accommodate her needs, her new enclosure has been treated to upgrades such as lower platforms, new nesting areas, and cargo nets, all designed to make Chocolat’s new home as accessible as possible,” the release details.

Chocolat’s journey required thorough planning to ensure minimum transit times. She left Nairobi Airport on 15AUG24, touched down briefly in Bahrain, and then continued on a 7-hour flight to East Midlands Airport, arriving on the morning of 16AUG24, then carrying on by road feeder to Monkey World to meet her new family of 6 other chimpanzees. “Throughout the journey, DHL Express provided Chocolat with VIP service, transporting her in a custom-built crate supported by a team of specialist keepers, aircraft engineers, cargo handlers, security personnel, and pilots.” Catering too, was top class: “Chocolat snacked on fresh fruit, nuts and sweet potato.”

Dr Alison Cronin MBE, Director at Monkey World, said “We’re so happy to welcome Chocolat. The reason we exist, is to offer a nurturing environment for chimpanzees and other primates and to give them back a fraction of what has been taken from them by humans, providing them with a family again. Companionship of their own kind is vital to chimpanzees’ wellbeing, as they are social, intelligent animals. Living in family groups in as natural an environment as possible is the best kind of rehabilitation we can provide to chimpanzees like Chocolat. Her integration will be gradual, but her journey has been very smooth, thanks to the support of DHL and so far, she is settling in well.”

Cain Moodie, EVP Network Operations for DHL Express in Europe, said: “It has been an honor to help Chocolat, the chimp, relocate to her new home at Monkey World. The logistics of transporting her were quite challenging, but our team of experts, in collaboration with Monkey World and her carers in Kenya, took every possible measure to ensure her journey was safe and comfortable. It’s a real pleasure for everyone at DHL when we can use our skills and network to contribute to projects such as this.”

Given that China is already Saudi Arabia’s main trading partner for commercial goods, it makes sense that the cargo airline places its focus on highlighting its shipping expertise to the country. The value of Saudi exports in 2023 totaled around 3.8 billion EUR (16.1 billion SAR), and a 17% share meant that almost 1 in 5 shipments was headed for China – a trend that is growing and with Saudia Cargo’s ‘Landing in China in 24’ campaign, is intended to be accelerated. “This initiative underscores Saudia Cargo’s commitment to empowering Saudi exports and ensuring they gain a strong foothold in the competitive Chinese market, opening doors to substantial growth and expansion opportunities,” the release explains. It is in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which focuses on diversifying the Kingdom’s exports and revenue streams. It builds on the Kingdom’s ‘Made in Saudi’ initiative, launched by the Saudi Export Development Authority to promote the country’s quality products, and aims “to deepen trade ties between Saudi Arabia and China by positioning Saudi products prominently in one of the world’s most vital markets, thereby driving economic growth.” Currently, the cargo airline operates 18 weekly cargo flights to Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. It also offers belly capacity on Saudia’s ten weekly passenger flights to Guangzhou and Beijing.

Marwan Niazi, Vice President of Commercial at Saudia Cargo, stated: “Through this campaign, we aim to enhance our shipping capabilities and broaden our export scope to the Chinese markets by optimizing export operations and providing advanced logistic services that align with the growing global market demands and commercial connections. We have focused on facilitating the access of Saudi products to the Chinese markets and showcasing our logistical capabilities and operational efficiency. The campaign has generated substantial engagement across social media platforms from partners and related sectors, including the National Competitiveness Center, the National Livestock and Fisheries Development Program, the Saudi Export Development Authority, and the General Authority of Foreign Trade. This demonstrates the widespread interest and support for the campaign.”

IAG Cargo’ largest hub now has a brand new ‘London Operations Control Centre’ which is capable of managing over 2,000 freight movements per day. Equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual and data visualization technology, the LOCC, located at London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), uses real-time data to monitor and forecast operations, and proactively steer any possible service risks. While every team member has all details at the touch of a button on their workstation, a new digital wall has also been set up to “improve the control team’s coordination, situational awareness and visualization of key operational data”. All this should result in greater operational efficiency, since it enables “teams to quickly view real-time positioning of all freight and equipment across the vast London Heathrow hub, as well as key data from various operational systems, all within a centralized platform”. In addition, IAG Cargo has introduced six new senior management roles to lead the LOCC’s day-to-day, 24/7 operations. The design of the department was the result of active input from all who work there.

David Rose, Director of London Operations at IAG Cargo said, “The opening of our new London Operations Control Centre is the latest example of IAG Cargo’s investment in our commitment to be a customer-led and operationally efficient business and a great place to work for our teams. This brand-new facility represents a major leap forward for our operational management in London and will totally change how we oversee our day-to-day operations, giving our teams the tools to boost our operational quality and equip them with technology that allows us to anticipate and mitigate potential issues before they arise. This is a significant step forward as part of our broad and ambitious transformation plan at IAG Cargo.”

In other news this week: in early AUG24, IAG Cargo supported aid efforts to Grenada following Hurricane Beryl (01JUL24), by deploying a B777 to transport critical aid such as tents and covers, hygiene supplies, first aid kits, water purifying equipment along with bedding and food supplies, to Grenada’s Maurice Bishop International Airport. John Cheetham, Chief Commercial Officer of IAG Cargo, stated: “IAG Cargo is committed to swift action during humanitarian crises. Leveraging our global network, we are proud to collaborate with charities to deliver essential aid to Grenada and I’m thankful to our team who have worked to support this effort.”

High Commissioner for Grenada, Her Excellency Rachér Croney, thanked everyone involved: “Without the efforts of Grenadians in the diaspora answering the call and rising to the challenge this could not have been possible and we certainly could not have done it without the partnerships and philanthropic contributions of international organizations such as IAG Cargo. We are thankful for their assistance and generosity during our time of need.”