IAM is the acronym for Ireland’s largest GSSA: International Airline Marketing – a family business that was founded in Dublin, back in 1989, by Sean McCool. Now run by his son, Ian McCool, the GSSA is responsible for more than 25% of Ireland’s annual air cargo exports. Its central office is located in Stoneybatter, 15 minutes away from Dublin Airport, and near to Dublin’s main freight agents. IAM has Senior Sales Representatives in Cork (serving Cork & Shannon), and Belfast, and over the years has grown to include a trucking division (since the mid-1990s), as well as handling support and air cargo dangerous goods training (since early 2000’s). It began as an Air Canada representative and now serves more than 15 international carriers. IAM has well established connections to all freight agents across Ireland.

On 16OCT23, ECS Group and IAM signed an acquisition agreement, bringing IAM into the world’s leading GSSA network, and increasing ECS Group’s Irish market share to 30%. The press release emphasizes “The familiar faces that have been the bedrock of IAM’s success will remain at the forefront, ensuring a seamless continuation of relationships with both customers and suppliers, with the added bonus now of a direct link into a truly international and highly respected partner network offering new opportunities, products and services.”

Adrien Thominet, Executive Chairman of ECS Group, commented: “IAM is the absolute leader in the Irish market, with more than 30 years of experience and an outstanding reputation. It is the perfect example of a family business that has remained true to its founding credo of ‘Service excellence and continuous improvement through innovation and professionalism’ – one that very much aligns with our ECS Group philosophy. We share commercial synergies too, in the companies represented across our network, and similar business acumen. When two winners join forces, everyone wins – in this case, our joint customers.”

Ian McCool, Managing Director of IAM, stated: “Our rapidly changing air-cargo industry landscape demands a solid global presence and innovative and flexible service solutions. In ECS Group, IAM sees a partner with an international reputation as a market leader, and one that recognizes the importance of growing its global business via a network of well-established local market representative offices. We are proud to become part of a group that is forward-looking, technologically advanced, and known to be a highly supportive business partner that is committed to promoting sustainability in the industry.”

Again, because this time it is the service partner’s cargo facility at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) that was awarded the IATA Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) standards. certification on 28NOV23. AMS is now the fifth facility within Menzies’ international network to become IATA CEIV accredited. The other airport locations are: Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), London Heathrow (LHR) and Budapest (BUD) airports. All five locations have proven themselves capable of meeting the rigorous requirements outlined in the audit paper, that ensure the professional handling of high-value, time-sensitive, and temperature-controlled pharmaceutical products, thus ensuring their integrity and quality along Menzies’ responsibility within the overall supply chain.

AMS operates a team of 250 employees at its 37,000 m² airport cargo warehouse, and annually handles around 300,000 tons of cargo. As per CEIV Pharma, training, compliance to processes, and adequate equipment/facilities must be available and documented. “Prior to being awarded the certification, Menzies implemented a series of IT upgrades to ensure all relevant pharmaceutical checklists were digitized and correct handling was guaranteed. This ensures all Menzies operations meet the industry’s need for compliance, standardization, accountability, and transparency across the air transport supply chain,” the press release underlines.

Miguel Gomez-Sjunnesson – Executive Vice President Europe, Menzies Aviation, said: “Receiving the IATA CEIV Pharma accreditation is testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence in air cargo services, and recognition of our dedication to ensuring the utmost quality and integrity in every step of the supply chain journey. We’re delighted that Amsterdam joins the list of Menzies’ CEIV Pharma approved facilities. At a time when our cargo network is expanding globally, it’s important that our facilities and processes meet the high standards of pharmaceutical handling that this accreditation demands.”

… At the UK’s boutique airport, Bournemouth, that is working on carving a name for itself in the world of air eCommerce. And that is precisely the focus of Maersk Air Cargo’s China-UK flights. The carrier has opted for Bournemouth Airport (BOH) as its UK gateway in a pilot route from China, that will initially run until the end of 2023, and has been created to cover the seasonal peak, for now. Should it go well, the press release points to the “potential to continue thereafter”. Bournemouth, referred to informally as London’s seventh airport (after Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick, Luton, Southend, and London City airport), given that it is located just 160 km southwest of the capital, has the benefit of not suffering the saturation that its larger international peers face. And it is this flexibility that the airport is seeking to exploit as it focuses on building up its cargo operation, marketing itself as an alternative gateway outside London. Together with Cargo First, which operates the Cargo First Logistics Park (set on a site that offers 93,000 m² of warehousing development potential) at the airport, Bournemouth Airport is part of the UK’s privately-owned Regional and City Airports (RCA) group.

Maersk Air Cargo has already begun operating weekly flights from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) in Zhejiang province to Bournemouth (BOH), deploying a Boeing 767-300 freighter which offers 45 tons of cargo capacity. It collaborates with BOH’s in-house air freight business Cargo First. “For Copenhagen-based Maersk, the route is part of its growing air freighter network between mainland China, Southeast Asia, Europe and the US,” the release states. A Hangzhou connection to Billund Airport (BLL) in Denmark was established in MAR23, followed by a Hangzhou to Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD), US, service in APR23.

Gary Jeffreys, Managing Director of Maersk Area UK & Ireland, stated: “It’s fantastic to see Maersk Air Cargo landing in the UK. This represents our integrator strategy and demonstrates our product offering and capabilities across all modes of transport. Whether it be time critical, capacity challenges or product launches we have the capabilities to meet our customers’ demands.”

Steve Gill, Managing Director of Bournemouth Airport, said: “We’re delighted that Maersk has chosen Bournemouth for this new route as we grow our ambition to become the UK’s number one entry and exit point for time critical cargo. We now have 500 tons of weekly import capacity operating between China and Bournemouth as more customers take advantage of our location, lack of slot constraints and ‘One Team’ integrated approach across all airport and cargo handling operations.”

Who would have imagined, back in 2019, that a sea freight giant would begin operating its own cargo airline at some point? And yet, here we are in 2023, and Maersk Air Cargo has been actively flying since just over a year and has now selected dnata to handle its cargo over at Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN). The multi-year cargo contract wherein dnata agrees to provide quality and safe cargo handling services to the airline at CGN, was signed on 30NOV23. Maersk foresees around 6000 tons of cargo on board of its weekly flights between Cologne and Greenville (GSP) in the USA. They are operated using a Magma Boeing 747-400F aircraft and are set to increase in frequency and thus also available market capacity, soon. No problem for dnata, which already handles around ten times that amount at CGN Airport, where it exclusively manages the 12,000 m² Cologne Bonn Cargo Centre. dnata acquired the center’s operator in 2022, and now employees a team of 100 staff to serve its 20 airline customers. Maersk will be served by its own dedicated dnata team at Germany’s third largest cargo airport. Like Maersk Air Cargo, the airport, too, has potential for growth and the good fortune to be allowed to operate 24 hours a day, offers a good road connection and is conveniently located (Northwest Europe) to serve a number of key markets.

Stef van Binst, Managing Director, dnata Belgium and Germany, said: “We are proud that Maersk has chosen dnata as its trusted provider for safe, reliable, and efficient cargo handling services. This significant contract win is a testament to our Cologne team’s hard work and unwavering commitment to service excellence. We look forward to a successful partnership with our newest customer in Germany.”

When the world’s largest international cargo carrier says yes to an interline agreement, then you’re literally starting at the top and working down. Dronamics is already making serious headway in its strategic plan to commence commercial operations from early next year (in Greece, to begin with), since it became the first cargo drone airline to obtain IATA & ICAO designator codes earlier this year. That step which puts it on an equal aviation footing with other international airlines, was the foundation to this one, now with Qatar Airways Cargo, since, as a registered and recognized airline, Dronamics may issue air waybills to enable seamless bookings with its airline partners. The signing of the world’s first cargo drone Interline Agreement with Qatar Airways Cargo, “is a crucial next step in Dronamics’ plan to establish a cargo drone airline network with worldwide reach,” the release emphasizes, going on to point out that “the partnership marks the first interline agreement between an international airline and a cargo drone airline. […] Dronamics can offer cargo services from any of its droneports, initially in Greece, to the wider Qatar Airways Cargo network – including destinations such as Singapore, China, including Hong Kong, and the United States (JFK). Qatar Airways Cargo is able to access remote locations that Dronamics serves, such as the Greek islands, on the Dronamics cargo drone network.”

Svilen Rangelov, Co-Founder and CEO of Dronamics, announced: “We’re very excited to have the world’s largest air cargo carrier as our partner for the first-of-its-kind interline agreement with our category-defining cargo drone airline. While currently less than 1% of global trade moves by air, the vast global reach of Qatar Airways Cargo and their world-leading capacity and service give us the perfect platform to massively expand air cargo accessibility to countless more communities worldwide, enabling same-day delivery for everyone, everywhere.”

Elisabeth Oudkerk, SVP Cargo Sales & Network Planning at Qatar Airways Cargo, commented: “As a part of our VISION 2027 5-year strategy, we are committed to remaining at the forefront of our industry by embracing new disruptive technology. It is also within our DNA to support young ambitious companies like Dronamics, and we are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this exciting business. It is a significant milestone in the advancement of autonomous cargo drone transportation, and we are proud to be the first international airline to offer this service.”

It is all systems go over at Atlas Air, which has been firing out press releases this week – notably one confirming the appointment of its new CFO, as well as first on 28NOV23 announcing an order for two new Boeing 777-200LRF to meet widebody freighter capacity especially from the e-commerce industry, and then on 30NOV23, publishing that it had taken delivery of one new 777F which it would be operating for MSC’s Air Cargo Solution. First to the two new 777 freighters: they are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2024. Michael Steen, Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide, announced: “We are excited to add these aircraft to our leading world-class fleet. These come at a time when retirements of older widebody freighters will significantly increase and when the introduction of new widebody freighter capacity will be limited. We have a deep pipeline of prospective customers interested in these 777 Freighters, and we’re confident in our ability to place them under long-term agreements.”

The 777F that it took delivery of on 30NOV23, is the third in a 2021 order of four that Atlas Air placed based on a long-term ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, insurance) agreement with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA. The fourth 777 expected to be delivered this month. The new freighter will complement the existing weekly service and add an additional route from Hong Kong (HKG) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW).

Richard Broekman, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Sustainability, Atlas Air Worldwide, commented: “The delivery of this new 777 Freighter is a proud moment for Atlas […] We are proud to support the ongoing expansion of MSC’s air cargo solution by providing additional speed, flexibility and reliability to their existing network.” Jannie Davel, Senior Vice President, Air Cargo, MSC, added: “This latest 777 Freighter delivery accounts for a strategic addition to our MSC Air Cargo fleet, enabling us to address the market’s constantly changing demands and reinforcing our commitment to enhancing trade connections for our clients.”

Atlas Air Worldwide appointed Artem Gonopolskiy as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective 01DEC23, effective confirming the position since Gonopolskiy was serving as interim CFO since 15JUN23, already. An Atlas veteran of 18 years, he will now manage the company’s finance functions: strategic financial planning, accounting, reporting, internal audit, tax, treasury, and investor relations, and continues to report to Michael Steen, Atlas Chief Executive Officer.

Though not strictly an air cargo achievement, this aviation milestone is one to celebrate. A week after Emirates announced its first 100% SAF demonstration A380 flight (which actually turned out to be 1 of 4 engines running on SAF), Virgin Atlantic has now actually flown the world’s first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel commercial flight. The route: London Heathrow (LHR) to New York’s JFK Airport. The plane: a Boeing 787. The engines: Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. The SAF: a unique dual blend of 88% HEFA (Hydro-processed Esters and Fatty Acids made from waste fats) supplied by AirBP, and 12% SAK (Synthetic Aromatic Kerosene made from plant sugars) supplied by Virent, a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation. “SAK is needed in 100% SAF blends to give the fuel the required aromatics for engine function,” the release explains. The success is down to a Virgin Atlantic-led consortium of Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Imperial College London, University of Sheffield, ICF and Rocky Mountain Institute, all working together in partnership with the UK’s Department for Transport.

Shai Weiss, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Atlantic, said: “Flight100 proves that Sustainable Aviation Fuel can be used as a safe, drop-in replacement for fossil-derived jet fuel and it’s the only viable solution for decarbonizing long-haul aviation. It’s taken radical collaboration to get here and we’re proud to have reached this important milestone, but we need to push further. “There’s simply not enough SAF and it’s clear that in order to reach production at scale, we need to see significantly more investment. This will only happen when regulatory certainty and price support mechanisms, backed by Government, are in place. Flight100 proves that if you make it, we’ll fly it.” Today, SAF represents less than 0.1% of global jet fuel volumes, and fuel standards allow for just a 50% SAF blend in commercial jet engines. However, Flight100 demonstrates the possibilities if industry and governments seriously focus on building up SAF production.

Sheila Remes, Vice President of Environmental Sustainability, Boeing, stated: “In 2008 Virgin Atlantic and Boeing completed the first commercial SAF test flight on a 747 and today we will accomplish yet another significant milestone utilizing a 787 Dreamliner. This flight is a key step toward our commitment to deliver 100% SAF-compatible airplanes by 2030. As we work toward the civil aviation industry’s net-zero goal, today’s historic journey highlights what we can achieve together.”