In a significant development in the Indian aviation industry, IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, has placed an order for 30 Airbus A350 wide-body aircraft. These aircraft are the Airbus A350-900 variant. IndiGo’s A350 fleet will be powered by the Rolls Royce Trent XWB engine, as the company has also made agreements with the Rolls Royce. In addition to the 30 Firm A350-900 order, IndiGo has Purchase Rights for an additional 70 Airbus A350 Family aircraft, based on its choice, according to the official release by the airline. After placing the order for the A350 aircraft, IndiGo h ..read more

American passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversion company Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. (AEI) has redelivered an AEI B737-800SF freighter to Serve Air, headquartered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This Air's Serve Air's acquisition of its second AEI B737-800SF aircraft solidified its position in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company anticipates expanding its fleet to encompass six AEI B737-800SF freighters in the forthcoming years, as stated in a recent official release. The conversion process, including all touch labour and maintenance, was expertly conducted by the authorised ..read more

There has been a reversal of traditions across fronthaul and backhaul air freight corridors between the Middle East and Europe since the start of the year. This has been driven by significant developments on the Middle East to Europe air cargo trade – usually considered to be a backhaul route, according to the latest update from Xeneta. "In the week ending April 21, the average spot rate on this trade hit $1.86 per kg. This is a 39 percent increase since a market low at the beginning of 2024 and the highest rates have been since early April 2023." A series of geopolitical events have been pu ..read more

Singapore Changi Airport registered 475,000-tonne airfreight throughput from January to March 2024, an increase of 14 percent compared to the same period last year. "This marks the first quarter of year-on-year growth after seven consecutive quarters of decline," reads the release. The growth was largely attributed to strong transhipment performance, especially for flows with China. For this period, Changi’s top five air cargo markets were Australia, China, Hong Kong, India and the United States of America. Changi Airport welcomed two new freighter airlines – Shandong Airlines and Air Incheon ..read more

Lower yields saw American Airlines report a 16 percent decline in cargo revenue at $187 million for the first quarter of 2024 compared to $223 million in Q12023. Cargo yield per tonne mile (cents) was down 27 percent at 38.64 as against 52.75 in Q12023, according to an official release. Cargo tonne miles increased 15 percent to 484 million from 422 million in the first quarter of 2023. Total operating revenue was marginally higher (three percent) at $12.6 billion, and net loss came in at $312 million as against a profit of $10 million in Q12023. The company generated operating cash flow of $2 ..read more

Honeywell announced today that its hydrocracking technology could produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from biomass. This technology would help energy companies make sustainable fuel that is 90% less carbon intensive than traditional fossil-based jet fuels. Honeywell’s latest technology produces 3-5% more SAF by utilising proprietary SAF selective Honeywell UOP hydrocracking and hydro-isomerisation catalysts. As a result, it allows up to 20% cost reductions and a significant reduction in by-product waste streams compared to other commonly used hydroprocessing technologies. “Honeywell’s Fis ..read more

 IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group (IAG), has completed a transition from diesel to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for its 160-strong ground vehicle fleet at London Heathrow. "HVO is a drop-in replacement for white diesel, made from plant waste and fully renewable materials, meaning that it has a significant impact on net carbon emissions," says an official release. For IAG Cargo, the transition to HVO will reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 percent and significantly reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), the release added. "Th ..read more

 Air Charter Service (ACS) has appointed Arthur Guibert as the new CEO for its Swiss office in Geneva. Chris Leach, Chairman, Air Charter Service says: “After working for several years in the hospitality and aviation sectors in France, Belgium and the U.K., Arthur joined a private jet specialist in Switzerland in 2017, rising to the position of Head of Business Development at the company three years ago. He brings with him a wealth of experience, across Europe, in both private jets and customer service, and will enhance our charter offering and bring the kind of leadership to take our Ge ..read more

Swissport International continues to grow at Liège Airport, Belgium, adding a third air cargo centre at one of Europe’s major gateways for international air cargo. The extension is driven by additional capacity for e-commerce and forwarder handling, expanding the overall capacity by 17 percent to 27,000 square metres, says an official release. "Located in a second line just behind its existing two air cargo centres, the terminal expansion enables Swissport to offer a wide range of handling services at unparalleled capacity. In a step aligned with Swissport’s global cargo strategy, the product ..read more

Kuehne+Nagel, one of the leading logistics providers for the automotive industry, is now managing a 170,000m² spare parts fulfilment and delivery centre in Wallersdorf, Germany. "From this location, spare parts are supplied to BMW markets worldwide," says an official release from K+N. "Here, Kuehne+Nagel is responsible for the physical receipt of goods, pre-packaging, the management of packaging material and empties as well as the loading of goods onto shuttles for dispatch to all BMW parts distribution locations." At the Dingolfing and Bruckberg sites, Kuehne+Nagel now also ensures the logis ..read more