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The Cargo Letter
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Top Story: U.S. West Coast Crisis |
Section A: Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News
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Section B: FF World Air News |
Section C: FF World Ocean News | Section
D: FF in Cyberspace |
Section E: The Forwarder Broker World
Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs
- U.S. & Hong Kong Reach Semi-Open Skies ........
as aviation
regulators agreed Oct. to give airlines from both sides more access to each
other's markets. The deal, negotiated for 3 years, will eliminate
restrictions on the U.S. cities that can be served by Cathay Pacific Airways,
Hong Kong's de facto carrier, while giving U.S. lines -- both passenger
carriers & cargo -- more rights to fly into Hong Kong, with after rights to
other points. It clears the way for more intense competition in the Pacific
between the world's biggest carriers -- U.S. rivals American & United --
United being far bigger in the region. The deal falls short of the so-called
"open skies" agreements the U.S. has reached elsewhere, but critics say such
arrangements have been unfairly tilted toward U.S. airline interests. Cathay
will be allowed to sell seats on American flights into U.S. cities beyond its
Int'l gateways such as San Francisco -- services it cannot operate with its
own jets & crews because of U.S. regulations. American Airlines does not fly
to Hong Kong but has indicated it would like to launch services between Hong
Kong & its Chicago hub, particularly if it gets a Codeshare deal with Cathay.
American's arch rival United flies between Hong Kong & the U.S. and operates
from Hong Kong to Tokyo & Singapore. The agreement is also seen favorable for
cargo giant UPS.
- War Jitters ........
as Lufthansa has raised its air cargo security
surcharge by 50% to the Middle East.
- French Pause ........
as it will hold off for 6 months to a year
before privatizing Air France due to poor market conditions & tensions over
Iraq.
- We're Losing Our Ass-ets ........
as the Int'l Air Cargo Assn. says
that results from a survey of 500 air cargo senior executives taken at
TIACA's forum & exposition in Hong Kong last month found that declining
yields, followed by over-regulation, were the biggest problem facing their
industry. Security & overcapacity were the next-ranked headaches. When asked
how long they thought the present downturn would last, 28% of respondents
said one year longer, 41% said 2 years, & 30% said 3 years or longer. Some
83% of the air cargo executives said that all new security measures should be
harmonized internationally, & 43% said shippers should pay for them. Only 14%
said airlines & forwarders should bear the extra costs of security. For the
future, 51% said that electronic transfers would replace most or all current
air cargo documents in the next 3 to 5 years. 385 said they would not ride
Amtrak.
You're In The Wrong Business ......... as IATA has strongly complained at
what it labeled as 'profiteering' by its partners -- airports, air traffic
control & computer reservation systems -- who glean their income exclusively
from the air industry. Airline Business, in a survey covering 2000 & 2001,
showed that the operating margins of the different industry sectors were as
follows:
* Airports 27.6%
* Selected ATS providers 23.4%
* Top CRS's 14.7%
* Major manufacturers 11.8%
* 4.8% for the top 150 airlines.
Profits for some airports that are truly amazing:
* Auckland 57%
* South African Airports 50%
* London-Heathrow 41%,
* Frankfurt 32%
- UPS Leads ........
as the UPS Foundation, charitable arm of United
Parcel Service, has awarded nearly US$3M to high-impact organizations as part
of its Region/District Grant Program. The annual program encourages UPS
employees around the world to offer funding recommendations based on the
needs they see in their communities every day. Through the Region/District
Grant Program, UPS provides annual funding at the local level for each of
UPS's 10 domestic regions plus facilities in Asia, Europe, Latin America &
Canada. Grants are awarded in amounts of up to US$100,000. For example, to
"Children Today" of Chester, UK - - a US$25,000 grant will help provide
specially adapted medical equipment for disabled children not otherwise
available through local health authorities or social service departments.
- United Retreats ........
as the airline has submitted a 2nd round of
cost-cutting measures that are expected to improve profitability by
approximately US$120M annually, the company said. United said it will be
closing 4 Int'l stations & by shifting to smaller aircraft in several
markets. In combination, the U.S. domestic & Int'l cost-cutting initiatives
are expected to improve the carrier's profitability by approximately US$220M
annually. As of Jan. 7, 2003, United will close stations in Caracas,
Venezuela; Santiago, Chile; & Dusseldorf, Germany. On January 22, 2003,
United will close its station in Milan, Italy. Last flights will depart
Dusseldorf, Caracas & Santiago on Jan. 6, 2003, & will depart Milan on Jan.
21, 2003. Additionally this quarter, United will close down 1 of it's 3
Boeing 757 maintenance lines at its Indianapolis maintenance center,
resulting in the furlough of 250 mechanics from Indianapolis. Because of a
25% year-over-year drop in call volume to United's reservations line, the
company on Jan. 4, will close its reservation offices in San Francisco, Long
Beach & Indianapolis. This will result in the furlough of 686 employees.
- Kitty Hawk Charges ........
as it has emerged from Chapter 11
bankruptcy effective Sept. 30, 2002. In May 2000, Kitty Hawk, Inc. and its 9
subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for protection under Chapter 11 of the
Bankruptcy Code. The petitions were filed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, No.
District of Texas.
- Please Note Exit Doors Over The Wings ........
as Delta Air Lines
is reducing staffing by another 7,000 to 8,000 jobs from its workforce,
including management. Delta hopes that a significant number of these
reductions will come through voluntary programs. In the current environment,
with a high number of available seats & a low level of passenger demand,
traffic continues to be stimulated primarily by fare sales that have driven
revenue down to levels last seen in 1995, Delta said.
- China Consolidation Continues ........
as the China Southern
Airlines (CSA) Group is set to take on all of China Northern Airlines &
Xinjiang Airlines equities & liabilities. The 2 commercial airliners are set
to merge with China's largest airline, which is based in Guanzhou. The deal
represents 1 of 3 major mainland aviation consolidation deals reached
recently.
- Let's Not Go There ........
as U.S. regulators have fined Asiana
Airlines US$750,000 on Oct. 17 for carrying passengers & freight between U.S.
destinations, the largest penalty ever levied for unauthorized service. The
U.S. Dept. of Transportation found that Asiana, South Korea's 2nd largest,
broke the law between July 1998 & May 2002 by carrying passengers & cargo
between Guam, a U.S. territory, & Saipan, 100 miles N. of Guam in the
Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth. Asiana was also found to have
provided air service between cities in the continental U.S. & Seoul. U.S. law
prohibits foreign airlines from carrying passengers between places within the
U.S. without authorization. Asiana consented to the penalty without admitting
the violations. The penalty will be halved if the airline doesn't commit
similar violations within 3 years, according to the settlement reached.
Asiana was fined previously for carrying cargo on flights between Guam &
Seattle with a connection in Seoul.
http://dms.dot.gov/reports/reports-aviation.asp notices
- High Point Real Estate At High Point ........
as FedEx Express has
signed a 25-year lease with Piedmont Triad Int'l Airport to build & operate a
US$300M Mid-Atlantic air-cargo package-sorting hub. The High Point, N.C. hub,
which will be one of 6 regional FedEx hubs, is scheduled to open in 2006 or
2007 & will employ about 1,600 people. FedEx Express said it selected the
Piedmont Triad airport over airports in Charlotte, Kinston and
Raleigh-Durham, N.C. and Columbia & Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
- Taking Part ........
as DHL Worldwide Express Inc. take a 30% stake in
Cathay Pacific Airways' cargo unit, Air Hong Kong.
- Taking It All ........
as Deutsche Post will acquire the 24.45 of DHL
Int'l Ltd. that it doesn't already own for more than 400 million euro: 23%
from Chester Investment & Exeter Investment and 1.4% held by Japan Airlines.
Deutsche Post is also the parent company of the forwarding and logistics
group Danzas.
- Moving Forward ........
as Forward Air Corp. has been ranked in Forbes
Magazine's listing of the "200 Best Small Companies in America." According to
Forbes, over the last 5 years, the Company has produced average revenue
growth of 22%, average earnings per share growth of 28% & average return on
equity of 27%. Forward Air is one of only 22 companies that have made the
annual list for 4 or more years.
- World's Newest Airline ........
as Metro Int'l Airline, Malaysia's
newest carrier, will next month start flying twice a day between Jakarta &
Kuala Lumpur.
- On Target ........
as Target Logistic Services Inc., the freight
forwarding & logistics services company owned by Target Logistics Inc., has
acquired the assets & certain liabilities of Cassady Air Transportation Inc.,
a freight forwarder providing services in the Columbus, Ohio market. This is
Target Logistics' 3rd acquisition of a freight forwarder in the past year &
is expected to add approximately US$4M in annual revenues to Target. The
company will retain all of Cassady's employees.
- Lighter Than Bankruptcy ........
as the European Commission has
approved a rescue loan of US$4M by the German state of Brandenbourg to
CargoLifter AG, the German heavylift airship venture. Active in the
development, construction & marketing of large cargo airships for the
worldwide transportation of large & heavy goods, CargoLifter filed for
bankruptcy in June. The company was in serious financial difficulties, the EC
reported.
www.cargolaw.com/airships.index.html
- Mr. Boeing Has A Heart ........
as when an airline customer takes
delivery of a new airplane from Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, all
or a portion of the plane's cargo space is available on the flight home. This
means, for example, a B-747 Freighter flying empty has approximately 20,000
cubic feet (566 cubic meters) of space going unused. Fortunately, there is a
program at Boeing that takes advantage of this available cargo space to help
ship much-needed supplies to charitable organizations worldwide. The process
begins when Boeing receives a request from a qualified relief agency looking
for help transporting cargo to a specific country. Boeing then checks the
plane delivery schedule & contacts an airline that will be flying an airplane
to the area. The program began in 1992 when TACA Airlines carried antibiotics
& medicines to El Salvador. Since then, Boeing has coordinated 128 relief
flights to areas around the world, totaling 2 million pounds of medicine,
food, clothing, educational materials & other items. Noteworthy relief
flights include:
-- 1998: Six Air China 747 flights carrying US$5M worth of pharmaceuticals
to flood victims in China;
-- 1999: Two Turkish Airlines 737 shipments of relief supplies for victims
of the devastating earthquake in SE Turkey;
-- 1999: Four Aeroflot 767s filled with basic necessities & 10,000 pounds of
dehydrated potatoes for orphanages in Russia; and
-- 2000: A Linhas Aereas de Mocambique (LAM) 767-200ER (extended range)
delivery that carried 9.9 tons of supplies from Johannesburg to Maputo for
flood victims.
- Big Lift ........
as Emirates SkyCargo's Dubai says it has achieved
a record breaking 123-ton gross uplift on it's Boeing 747-400 freighter
flight from Dubai to Amsterdam. Making this achievement even more remarkable
was the fact that the team had only 3 hours in which to complete the vast
majority of the build-up.
- Volumes ........
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol volume for Sept. 2002 rose 6.8%
to 101,489 tons compared with same month last year. Hong Kong Air Cargo
Terminals volume rose 19% in Sept., while Hong Kong based carrier Cathay
Pacific Airways transported 76,324 tons of freight in Sept., an increase of
12.9% over Sept. 2001 -- likewise, Macau Int'l Airport's cargo traffic
increased 28.9% in Sept. to 8,600 tons. -- all just on rumors of coming U.S.
West Coast ports trouble.
- Nike Misadventure ........
as passengers were evacuated from part of
Boston's Logan Int'l Airport after crew members found a pair of "beeping"
athletic shoes in the overhead luggage area of a plane parked there, Oct. 17.
Discovery occurred on board a Delta flight that had not yet begun boarding &
was due to fly from Boston to Atlanta, Massachusetts State Police said. The
shoes face a 5 year sentence.
Please click below for other sections:
Top Story: U.S. West Coast Crisis |
Section A: Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News
|
Section B: FF World Air News |
Section C: FF World Ocean News | Section
D: FF in Cyberspace |
Section E: The Forwarder Broker World
Written from wire stories, the Associated Press,
Reuters, Hong Kong Shipping News Lloyds & other world sources.
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