The top 10 most-read Air Cargo World articles in 2018

With 2019 just a few days away, we at Air Cargo World would like to pause to reflect on this mostly positive but tumultuous year in air cargo – a year of airfreight traffic booms, labor concerns and a strong peak season, tempered by the chill winds of global protectionism and looming Brexit worries for the U.K. and Europe. Looking back on what readers clicked on the most, the dominant theme was how to handle the crush of e-commerce traffic, both on the ground and in the air – and even in the cockpits of the aircraft. Seven of the 10 most-read stories this year involve Amazon, FedEx or one of the major integrators and their efforts to handle the surge in online-ordered airfreight volumes. Here’s a quick countdown of the top 10 stories, in reverse order, that attracted the most interest from our readers in 2018: [caption id="attachment_64879" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Yeti Semcon[/caption] #10: Winter storm in U.S. causes widespread freight disruption at FedEx’s Memphis hub In early January of 2018 – too late for peak season, but just before the rush of the Chinese New Year surge – a cold front moving east across the American Midwest region caused extensive snowfall and flight disruption at FedEx’s nerve center, Memphis International Airport (MEM). FedEx said at the time, “potential delays are possible for package deliveries across the U.S.” Despite the weather, the integrator scheduled its regular 250 flights for Jan. 12, the day after the storm, as crews worked to keep the runways clear. FedEx also said its Express money-back guarantee was suspended for U.S. domestic packages and shipments inbound into the U.S. from international locations on Jan. 12, 2018, but did not report any significant delays. Still, many Air Cargo World readers remained riveted throughout the day. #9: FedEx’s David Cunningham to retire, be replaced by Raj Subramaniam Toward the end of this year, just a few weeks ago on Dec. 7, FedEx again grabbed readers’ attention when it announced FedEx Express’ president and CEO, David Cunningham (left), would be retiring from the company after 36 years of service, to be replaced by Raj Subramaniam (right), executive vice president, chief marketing and communications officer, at FedEx Corp . Subramaniam has been with FedEx for more than 27 years and has held various executive-level positions at the integrator, including senior vice president of marketing and communications for FedEx Services. Cunningham served as regional president of one of the company’s fastest-growing divisions – Asia-Pacific – from its headquarters in Hong Kong, between 1999 and 2015, before being promoted to the role of chief operating officer and president, international, which he held for two years. He was promoted to his current and final role at FedEx in January 2017. He is still expected to finish the year and step down officially this coming Monday, Dec. 31, 2018. [caption id="attachment_61882" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Amazon Air's fleet of 767s parked at CVG.[/caption] #8: Amazon Air and DHL Express drive infrastructure development at CVG After a late-September visit by Air Cargo World to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) to view the progress of the hub’s new cargo-handling expansions, many readers were interested in our Oct. 1, 2018, story on how Amazon Air and DHL Express were still cooperating on the project, even though they are planning separate facilities and operations in the coming years. “They have this great relationship happening right now, but I’m sure both plan for growth,” said Mindy Kershner, senior manager of communications and community affairs at CVG , adding that DHL may need some of its facilities back. DHL had recently completed the construction of a new ramp for additional parking, which both companies now use as they continue to bolster their presence at the airport. “Amazon is working out plans to build something… perhaps similar,” Kershner continued. “I know there will be a sortation building, more ramp space for aircraft parking, vehicle parking lots as well as local roadway improvements.” #7: FedEx rolls out ‘Purple Runway’ training program in face of pilot shortage Over the years, any stories involving labor negotiations for pilots have proven wildly interesting to readers, so when we posted this April 3 piece on a FedEx-sponsored pilot training program, named Purple Runway, to address the coming pilot shortage, readers responded in droves. Purple Runway, in conjunction with two U.S.-based feeder operators for FedEx, Empire Airlines and Mountain Air Cargo, was created to recruit pilots in training from universities and aviation colleges, and to ensure that the carrier will have a steady stream of talent in a market in which qualified pilots are increasingly scarce. While few details about the program were shared in the April article, FedEx said in October that it was dedicating US$2.5 million to the Purple Runway Aviation Scholarship program to help mentor college students interested in piloting careers at FedEx and to help pay the costs of flight training. The funds were made available to participants from the University of Memphis, Delta State University, University of North Dakota, Indiana State University, Tennessee College of Applied Technology and Arkansas State University Mid-South. #6: Amazon Air confirms 767 delivery schedule for 2018 While attending a September media event in Seattle to raise awareness for cancer research, Associate Editor Nina Chamlou was able to confirm from normally tight-lipped Amazon officials the service-entry schedule for the remaining freighter-converted 767s that Amazon Air had contracted to operate via Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW) and Air Transport Services Group (ATSG). The resulting article gave Air Cargo World another spike in readership, as it revealed that Atlas Air would be putting three more aircraft into service for Amazon during the following week, bringing the number of aircraft in operation for Amazon to 38. The last two of the 40 committed aircraft (one of which is pictured above), the magazine learned, would be entering into service with Atlas before Thanksgiving. A few months later, Air Cargo World learned through its Cargo Facts sister publication that the Amazon Air fleet would grow again, with at least 10 additional freighters in the next two years, leased from ATSG, with options for even more 767Fs in subsequent years. #5: Thar she blows! Airbus unveils first BelugaXL Sometimes, just a picture is enough to nudge the needle into top 10 territory. This image, first published on June 29, depicted the unveiling of the newest version of Airbus’ super-wide freighter. In a companywide contest, more than 40 percent of the employees at Airbus voted on the livery of the heavily modified A330-200F, nicknamed the “BelugaXL.” Citing a ramp-up in capacity requirements, Airbus rolled out this even larger version of its original great white whale, the Beluga A300-600ST, which was designed for inter-company use of oversized aircraft parts from factory-to-factory. The unmistakably goofy cetacean grin was enough to place this photo in the No. 5 spot on the list of the most clicked-upon articles of 2018. #4: The Ace of Amazon Air: Sarah Rhoads is the Air Cargo Executive of the Year Amazon was the star subject, yet again, of our Air Cargo Executive of the Year profile. The December/January cover feature on winner Sarah Rhoads, director of Amazon Air, drew the fourth-highest readership of 2018, documenting her career, from a successful fighter pilot and flight instructor for the U.S. Navy, to a management of operations role at Amazon and finally to control of the e-commerce giant’s entire own-controlled network of 40 freighters – soon to reach at least 50 freighters in the next two years. For maintaining control of the stick at Amazon Air during this year of intense activity, for service to her country, and for her role in helping reinvent air cargo logistics, Air Cargo World’ s readers and editors recognize Sarah Rhoads as Air Cargo Executive of the Year for 2018. #3: World’s oldest 747 completes final service Another aircraft was popular enough to earn a bronze medal in our Air Cargo World popularity contest – and it wasn’t even a freighter. Last month, on Nov. 26, we published this image of a KLM 747-400 passenger jet, known as the “City of Bangkok,” and retiring as the oldest operational 747 then in service. The photo was taken after its final Los Angeles (LAX) to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) run, completing more than 29 years of service, 134,000 flight hours and 36,000 take-offs and landings. The end of an era – in this case, the reign of the four-engined widebody – tends to make even the toughest of aviation veterans wistful, and readers showed that with their clicks. It will be a slow goodbye, however. Today, KLM has eleven 747-400s left in its passenger fleet, all to be replaced by 777s and 787s by 2021. #2: Emirates seeks to recruit U.S.-based pilots due to shortage The care and management of cargo pilots appeared again near the apex of our top 10 list with this June 12 story on an Emirates Airlines program to attract pilots from the Unite States to operate its vast Dubai-based fleet. The article outlined the carrier’s tour schedule through the U.S., dubbed the “Emirates Pilot Roadshow,” in hopes of recruiting pilots in person with promises of added benefits, including paid housing and “pick up and drop off” to and from the airport. The roadshow stopped at several U.S. cities, including Houston, Fort Lauderdale, Boston and Seattle. The e-commerce-driven increase in cargo traffic in 2017 and early 2018, Emirates said, has made the ongoing pilot shortage in the industry more acute for airlines that intend to capitalize on the greater demand. And the No. 1 most-read story in Air Cargo World during 2018 was… #1: UPS, FedEx suffered high late-delivery rates during 2017 holiday season Surprisingly, this seemingly modest Jan. 19 piece on the track record of integrators during the hectic peak season on 2017 struck a nerve in our readers, prompting more clicks than any other story in 2018. While the story did not single out any one express carrier for lateness, the post-holiday analysis of deliveries performed by LateShipment.com found that both UPS and FedEx had some last-mile problems while they tried to process record-high delivery volumes. LateShipment’s CEO, Sriram Sridhar, said that ground shipments for UPS and FedEx suffered the greatest delays and “alarmingly high late delivery rates during the holiday season, with many major common shipping types performing two to three times worse” between Nov. 27 and Dec. 24, 2017, than at “other time periods during the year.” Sridhar’s analysis, however, differed from most of the post-holiday assessment. For instance, Bloomberg’s Michael Sasso wrote that, “United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. delivered almost all of people’s presents by Christmas Day, with the former company finishing strong after a bruising late November.” The jury’s still out on whether the 2018 peak was handled any better by the integrators. But you can bet our readers will be more than eager to find out next month, when Air Cargo World returns to analyze the results in the new year.

The top 10 most-read Air Cargo World articles in 2018

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