China Southern Airlines has launched a four flights a week connection between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) in China and Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha, Qatar. The carrier is operating the connection, which launched on April 22, with Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. This new China Southern link complements Qatar Airways’ flights to seven locations in China – Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Xiamen as well as Guangzhou. China Southern has become only the second Chinese carrier to serve DOH – the other is Xiamen Airlines. It is the fourth airline to ..read more

Express services giant UPS recorded consolidated revenue of $21.7bn in the first three months of this year, a 5.3% fall on its performance in the first quarter of 2023. Consolidated operating profit was down further, by 36.5% year on year to $1.6bn (and down 31.5% on an adjusted basis). The company’s Supply Chain Solutions division experienced a 5.3% decline in revenue, attributed primarily to ‘market rate declines in forwarding’. Operating profit in the Supply Chain Solutions segment was also down year on year, although a profit of $132m was made. The operating margin in the division was 4.1 ..read more

Colombia-headquartered freight carrier Avianca Cargo has stopped using conventional plastics in its pallet covers, instead turning to biodegradable plastics. The biodegradable plastic now being used is produced by BioNatur Plastics. It is manufactured with a 1% load of an organic, food-safe proprietary additive that allows anaerobic bacteria to digest the plastic within a landfill site. According to Avianca Cargo, which said the investment is the latest phase of its Sustainable CargoLab initiative, it has so far purchased more than 1,000 boxes of biodegradable plastics, thus avoiding the equiv ..read more

Finland’s flag-carrier Finnair has blamed lower cargo revenue and yields as among the reasons for declining overall revenue earned in the first quarter of this year. The airline made €46.3m in revenue in the first quarter of 2024 from cargo, down from €53.4m in the same period of 2023. Finnair’s revenue cargo tonne-km figure actually increased by 11.6% year on year, while total cargo tonne volumes carried increased by 11.9%; the cargo revenue fall of 13.3% year on year was due to the lower cargo yields. The Asia sector accounted for €32m of the €46.3m cargo revenue. Finnair made €192m from car ..read more

Both airfreight-related turnover and profit fell year on year in the first quarter of 2024 for Kuehne+Nagel (K+N), contributing to some disappointing results across the business. Across K+N, turnover was down by 18% over the first quarter of 2023, gross profit by 13%, and the figures for K+N’s Air Logistics segment were somewhat representative of the decline across the business. Net turnover of Air Logistics in the first quarter of 2024 was just less than CHF1.6bn, with an earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) figure of CHF94m. However, K+N handled 491,000 tons of airfreight over the three ..read more

Maersk has appointed John Wetherell as the global head of airfreight forwarding. This is a new role that creates a defined focus on leadership of Maersk’s airfreight forwarding business, said Maersk. Since taking up his new role on April 8, Wetherell’s responsibilities have spanned commercial carrier management, procurement, strategic network planning and design, operational excellence, and growth. He has 30 years of experience in the 3PL industry and expertise in product management, honed through leadership roles in large regional and global air product teams across North America, Europe and ..read more

German conversion firm Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), Centre of Excellence for Airbus Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversions and MRO Japan (MJP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate in passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions. Under the MoU, MJP will act as a subcontractor for EFW in P2F conversions and provide third party conversion services for the latter’s Airbus A320P2F/A321P2F programmes. With this collaboration, MJP will become Japan’s first conversion site for the new-generation Airbus narrowbody P2F aircraft. Takashi Takahashi, MJP chief executive, said: “We are ..read more

WestJet Cargo is hoping to capitalise on the addition of extra weekly bellyhold flights between Calgary and Paris CDG. WestJet has announced that it will increase the number of times it flies between Calgary and the French capital to five-times-per week in the winter and daily in the summer from last year’s four flights in the winter and five in the summer. The service is operated using WestJet’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which offer around 18 tons of cargo capacity per flight. The route supports a “diverse cargo base” and offers connections to various locations in France and beyond, t ..read more

Ukraine is planning to “confiscate” a Volga-Dnepr-owned AN-124 aircraft that has been grounded at Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport since the start of the war in the country. The move is part of a new package of Canadian sanctions against Russia following a visit to Canada by Ukraine’s government to meet prime minister Justin Trudeau and deputy prime minister Christa Freeland, said Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal on April 16. Shmyhal’s update noted: “A new package of sanctions against Russia from Canada. In particular, against the Volga-Dnieper company. Preparing to confiscate the AN-124 ..read more

Emirates SkyCargo has cleared the vast majority of the cargo backlog created as a result of last week’s flash floods, while the latest data shows capacity has returned to previous levels. In its latest customer update, the Dubai-hubbed cargo carrier said that as well as working its way through most of the backlog it had begun to lift special cargo restrictions. “Following the adverse weather in Dubai last week, Emirates SkyCargo can confirm that we have now cleared the vast majority of the backlogged cargo and resumed scheduled operations,” the airline said. “With operations restored, we have ..read more