Boeing’s autonomous aircraft prototype completes first flight [VIDEO]

A prototype autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV), developed by Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences under the leadership of the Boeing NeXt division, successfully completed its first test flight in Virginia this week. Although the PAV is designed for passenger transport, the technology presents major opportunities for the future of autonomous and remote pilot cargo operations. […]

• Caryn Livingston
• January 25, 2019

SF’s large-scale cargo drone moves closer to commercialization after successful flight

Shenzhen-based SF Express announced this week that its Feihong-98 unmanned large cargo drone completed a successful test flight at the company’s Baotou test facility in Inner Mongolia.  SF is preparing to launch small-scale commercialization of the drone within 3-5 years, according to local media sources. Developed in partnership with the China Academy of Aerospace Electronics […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• October 17, 2018

Boeing unveils its answer to last-mile deliveries with UAV prototype [VIDEO]

This week, Boeing unveiled and completed initial flight tests of its fully-functional unmanned cargo aerial vehicle (CAV) prototype; the first of its kind for the aerospace goliath. Although analysts have long predicted that drones were on course to transform the logistics sector, the larger issue has been receiving operational clearance from regulators. Boeing’s experience in […]

• Lewis King
• January 12, 2018

Who is flying this airplane?

Today, If you ask “Who is flying this plane?” the answer will be “Captain Smith and First Officer Jones.” And that will be true whether the airplane in question is carrying passengers or freight or both. Tomorrow? Probably the same. But the day after? Think about your last visit to a big airport. To get […]

• David Harris
• December 13, 2017

CAAC to regulate UAVs weighing over 25kgs

Civil aviation authorities around the globe are just starting to come to terms with how to regulate UAVs and drones. Most recently, the Civil Aviation Administration of China revealed that it would focus much of its attention on larger drones, weighing more than 25kgs. From a feasibility standpoint, UAV technologies will soon mature to a […]

• Charles Kauffman
• December 4, 2017

9 Things we learned during our trip to China – Part II

Yesterday in Part I of “9 Things we learned during our trip to China”, we offered a few insights on China’s domestic express and e-commerce markets. What follows is the second installment. We start with reason for optimism.  5. Cross-border trade and e-commerce are expected to be the main drivers for air cargo demand, and will fuel […]

• Charles Kauffman
• November 14, 2017

The technology of airfreight

Most of us have come across a colleague or friend bemoaning the air freight industry’s inability to “innovate” or “modernize”. If you have not, try bringing up electronic air waybill penetration during your next cocktail party – after more than a decade of pushing carriers to go paperless, adoption is still hovering 50%. But, jokes […]

• Charles Kauffman
• June 16, 2017

China’s number-two e-tailer launches 3PL division

Last week, Beijing-based JD.com announced it was moving forward with plans to formalize a logistics division, “JD Logistics” in support of the growing demand for express delivery services for its booming e-tailing business. Similar to Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program, the new division will provide third parties access to a wide range of supply […]

• Charles Kauffman
• May 1, 2017