China Southern to add two 777Fs, a sign combination carriers are hungry for freighters?

After a four-year period during which Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines’ twelve-unit 777F freighter fleet remained stable, growth has returned. China Southern converted an existing order with Boeing for the purchase of two 777-300ERs to the 777F freighter variant, the company announced in a notice that appeared on the Shanghai Stock Exchange today. Both aircraft will […]

• Charles Kauffman
• March 1, 2019

Oslo Airport fortifies role as seafood export hub with extra CAL Cargo service

Beginning tomorrow, Israel-based CAL Cargo Air Lines will double its capacity ex-Oslo Airport (OSL) with the addition of a second scheduled weekly 747-400 freighter service between OSL and Tel Aviv (TLV). CAL had previously operated one weekly service on Tuesdays, and the new Friday service is expected to add 3,500 tonnes of capacity per year for seafood […]

• Caryn Livingston
• February 28, 2019

Dutch State to match France’s stake in Air France-KLM

In a move that came as a surprise to Air France-KLM’s Board and the French government, the Dutch State acquired a 12.68% stake in Air France-KLM Group, valued at US $774 million. In the near future, the Dutch Finance Ministry plans to match the French Government’s 14.3% stake in the holding company through the purchase […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 27, 2019

Juneyao Air already adding widebodies, are freighters next?

Last year, Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines added the first of at least five, and up to ten, 787-9s it has on order with Boeing, marking a significant divergence from an operation built around narrowbody operations. Leveraging the bellyhold capacity on the incoming widebody aircraft will define the carrier’s next phase of cargo growth, but further ahead, […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 21, 2019

ASL Aviation Holdings acquired by private equity firm, will rapid fleet growth continue?

Ireland-based ASL Aviation Holdings, no stranger to acquisitions, announced its intent to be purchased by private equity firm Star Capital Partnership LLP for an undisclosed amount. In recent years, the ASL Group, which owns or holds stakes in cargo and passenger airlines based in Europe, Africa, and Asia, has grown rapidly by gobbling up complementary […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 13, 2019

US House committee considers bill to fund FAA during shutdowns

Today, the US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation held a hearing to discuss H.R. 1108, the proposed “Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019” that would fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the event of a partial government shutdown like the one ended late last month. The hearing examined how the […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• February 13, 2019

Cargo Facts EMEA 2019: Are all-cargo carriers warming up to digitalization?

FRANKFURT – In a first for a roundtable panel discussion at a Cargo Facts event, a senior executive from an all-cargo carrier participated in a frank discussion with innovative startups and other air cargo stakeholders about the air cargo industry’s need to advance digitalization initiatives. The result? Though past efforts to abandon analog practices and […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 8, 2019

Kalitta Air files complaint over slot allocation at AMS

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) reported a 2.5% decline in freight volumes and 10.4% drop in full freighter movements year-over-year for 2018, as freighter traffic at the airport has been challenged since 2017, when AMS began enforcing a rule requiring operators to keep to scheduled operational time “slots” 80% of the time or risk losing them. […]

• Caryn Livingston
• January 31, 2019