air cargo

Atlas Air rode the rising tide for air cargo to higher profits in the third quarter.

The airfreight market is gaining strength as trade and e-commerce grow, but the disappearance of most international air travel is hurting airlines. And the situation appears to be worsening with new waves of COVID in Europe and the U.S.

With passenger planes all but out of commission earlier this year – and still lagging considerably in the fourth quarter – shippers had significantly fewer options for moving their products across the world.

Danish third-party logistics services provider’s bottom-line benefits from easing COVID-19 during summer months.

Air freight demand for COVID-19 vaccines will be massive, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

COVID vaccines will be the highest priority for air cargo companies, and that means other types of shipments could sit in warehouses waiting to catch a flight if space is short.

The Airbus A321 is a ubiquitous people-hauler, but now Australia Post has the first freighter version of this popular aircraft.

The challenges of delivering a coronavirus vaccine to 8 billion people are immense, but over time more logistics companies will be able to participate as shipping tolerances ease.

Ground handling companies, with the help of Trump administration officials at the Treasury Department, took CARES Act aid designed to keep workers employed and still terminated many of them.

Airline industry experts are just guesstimating when they say 8,000 big freighter planes will be needed to rush COVID vaccines to the public. Until we know more about the shipping requirements and packaging logistics, folks will still be in the dark.

American Airlines achieved a $77 million quarter-over-quarter gain in cargo revenue thanks to stepped-up cargo operations and favorable market rates.

How do you prepare for the Super Bowl if you don’t know who your opponent is? That’s how airlines and freight managers feel about preparations for transporting a COVID-19 vaccine when one is approved because manufacturers aren’t freely sharing shipping details.

U.S. Transportation Command has teamed with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to develop “rapid transportation through space.”

The A321 has a lot of potential in the air cargo market because of its efficiency and payload. Companies are beginning to convert passenger planes into cargo freighters.

Alibaba is taking on Amazon around the world. Its latest move is in South America, with a new dedicated air service to speed up shipments.

Michael White has been carrying the flag for air cargo in the U.S. for more than two decades. He will retire at the end of the year.

National Airlines – not National the car rental company – is adding three 747s to its freighter fleet at a time when shippers are desperate to find airlift.

The air cargo industry is operating with an anchor tied around its waist: The absence of strong passenger service.

Emirates SkyCargo’s flight to Guadalajara, Mexico, will include automotive components, fresh produce and other general cargo.

President Donald Trump is trying to fast-track a COVID-19 vaccine and appears ready to mobilize military assets. A possible scenario involves an airlift with Air Force cargo jets, which offer two advantages: speed and cold storage.

Radiant Logistics achieves a couple of records during the recent quarter. Moving PPE and other aid paves the way to a large earnings beat.

From trucking, security and data exchange to customs and civil aviation permissions, the Amsterdam airport is covering all the bases for rushing out approved coronavirus vaccines.

French ocean carrier CMA CGM is diversifying into a multi-modal transport and logistics company, dipping its toe into the air cargo market after buying a huge third-party logistics company last year.

Companies have to spend more time trying to find cargo space for their goods with more than half the global passenger fleet still grounded by the coronavirus. The good news is carriers and logistics companies continue to add services.

The U.S. government is coordinating with the private sector how to quickly deliver a COVID-19 vaccine, but under one scenario officials are contemplating the military could deploy giant cargo planes to carry refrigerated trucks full of vaccines.

The freight-forwarding arms of DHL and DB Schenker are adding air capacity by leasing aircraft from all-cargo operators. The new services and features from DHL and FedEx are designed to meet growing demand associated with COVID and greater temperature requirements.

Amazon is pushing the envelope on fast delivery, increasingly replacing long-haul trucking with air transport. A new report shows how the retail giant is expanding its Air wing to do that.

1969: The system will cut baggage delivery time by at least 50% while protecting luggage from loss and damage.

New medicines and life science products are more valuable and temperature-sensitive than before, requiring special storage and transportation conditions. Will there be enough of this infrastructure to handle a COVID vaccine?

Amazon has outsourced aircraft operations again to long-standing vendor Air Transport Services Group. But Amazon is diversifying how it operates, adding an owned aircraft to its fleet.

No part of United Airlines was spared from job cuts announced Wednesday, but the cargo division’s roughly 50 job losses are far fewer than those in other parts of the company.

Many postal services were underfunded prior to the coronavirus pandemic and now have extra demands for their service. UN agencies involved in air transport and postal operations want governments to help postal logistics with financial aid and operational flexibility.

The air cargo market continued its recovery in July from the depths of the COVID pandemic, but is still far below last year’s results. Demand is expected to shoot up in the next few months because the holidays are coming.

You’ll have to hold your nose if you crush a stink bug. More than a nuisance, the stink bug is a destructive pest that can damage many crops. Australia has put tight measures on air and sea freight to keep the bug out of the country.

Price inflation has tapered off for many – not all – air cargo markets during the second half of August. Shippers shouldn’t get used to it.

If you’re an airline with the name Scoot, you’ve got to move fast. The Singapore carrier did that when it transitioned to cargo flights and removing passenger seats.

Hurricane Laura’s onslaught has begun to disrupt air logistics in Texas.

Airfreight exports from China slowed a bit in mid-August, allowing shippers to take back a tiny bit of pricing before rates shoot up for the next few months in as retailers build inventory for the holidays.

United Airlines’ early commitment to quasi-freighter operations as the coronavirus crisis grew has paid off financially. The airline is ramping up cargo operations even further during the third quarter.

Tensions between the U.S. and China are high on a number of trade, diplomatic and security fronts but are easing when it comes to air travel. Both governments are now allowing more flights from each country.

2020 is a much different bull run in trucking than in 2018.

Shipping by air got much more expensive when the coronavirus pandemic exploded in March. After moderating earlier this summer, another price spike is brewing.

Delta Air Lines is stripping — seats that is. Removing seats from passenger aircraft adds capacity for lucrative cargo.

There was a marked difference in how Canada and the U.S. reacted to the opportunity of transforming passenger aircraft into twin-deck freighters by removing the seats. One country moved very fast. The other was slow to the party.

Emirates says it will deploy dozens of all-cargo planes to Lebanon with humanitarian aid in response to the port explosion in Beirut.

Shippers are facing delays at Sydney Airport in Australia because cargo terminals are buried in cargo.

Amazon Air is expanding in Hawaii to keep up with Amazon’s fulfillment center push.

Cargo has always been a top priority at Cathay Pacific, a combination carrier with a fleet of passenger and cargo planes. But the airline is adding some leadership muscle to gain more logistics customers.

Mesa Airlines flies small regional jets on small routes for mainline carriers. Now it’s stepping up a size to the Boeing 737 so it can haul cargo for DHL. Find out how they are getting ready for the new era of cargo.

Qantas Freight got permission to bring back employees in Melbourne after they were sent home a week ago to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Cathay Pacific has been flying passenger planes on cargo missions for months, but only in the last couple of weeks did it revert to pulling seats to create more cargo capacity. The new cargo capability comes with additional safety requirements and operational challenges.

Korean Air is a unicorn among passenger airlines. It made a profit in the second quarter, a remarkable feat given the depressed state of the airline industry.

Beirut is in a state of emergency following a giant chemical blast. Governments are sending cargo planes with basic necessities to help the survivors.

Atlas Air Worldwide’s big cargo planes have been in flying full tilt since the novel coronavirus metastasized in March. Combine that with high rates and you’ll understand why r revenue and profit grew so much in the second quarter.

Air Transport Services Group

Company one of 12 airline contractors under loan scrutiny.

The FAA recently gave Pemco Conversions approval to convert 737 passenger jets into freighters, with the added flexibility of carrying pallets and passengers in the main cabin area at the same time.

UPS pilots are seeking protections from aggressive health safety measures in Hong Kong but aren’t going as far as their counterparts at FedEx.

Rickenbacker Airport, a low-hassle alternative to some big airports, set cargo records in June handling COVID supplies.

It’s not an accident that United Airlines’ cargo business in the second quarter dwarfed that of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.

Southwest Airlines wrote its second-quarter results in red ink — $1.5 billion to be exact. It is not alone. All airlines are suffering financially from the coronavirus crisis.

United Airlines lost $1.6 billion in the second quarter. Given that a pandemic has hammered passenger travel, that’s relatively good. Company officials say maintaining capacity discipline for the foreseeable future is critical to get back to profitability.

An Ethiopian Airlines plane suffers extensive damage in a fire at Shanghai Pudong airport.

Critics argue proposal does little to address global warming.

British Airways’ decision to retire its fleet of 747 jumbo jets is a loss for aviation lovers, but businesses that ship goods by air will benefit from using more modern aircraft.

Tim Strauss is leaving Air Canada Cargo to lead Miami-based Amerijet.

With safety and travel logistics in mind, the annual AirCargo Conference, which draws up to 800 attendees, will take place online in 2021.

Recipe for disaster: a pilot who made serious mistakes, panicked, had a history of reacting poorly under stress and lied about it to his employer – Atlas Air.

Pilots don’t want to fly to Hong Kong because of mandatory crew tests for coronavirus. Some airlines have hit the pause button on flights to avoid crews getting trapped in long quarantines.

When it comes to airports and cargo, bigger isn’t always better. Shippers are finding the benefits of airports that fly under the radar.

Lufthansa Airlines is transforming itself into a smaller airline, while its Cargo division settles on a single company to manage its central warehouse.

American Airlines is downsizing. That means the new cargo president and her team are taking on expanded roles.

The air freight market appears saner in recent weeks, with less competition among shippers for transport services. But the shape of the recovery is anyone’s guess and a possible demand spike for face masks and surgical gowns could create a hyper-market again.

A Bermuda-based airline sees a business opportunity with the COVID pandemic and is jumping into the cargo market.

Delta Air Lines was closed for most cargo business at Chicago O’Hare airport. Now it has a schedule for reopening.

Glass half empty – cargo business and finances are bad for the airlines. Glass half full – they’re not as bad as they were two months ago.

Big cargo planes are dumping cargo faster than O’Hare, LAX and other airports can process it. That could mean a longer wait for your new favorite gadget.

Anthony and Zach talk to rail and intermodal expert Mike Baudendistel about some interesting signals from that sector as well as connecting the dots between modes.

DHL Express continues to adjust its airline network amid changing shipper needs in the COVID era.

The U.S. is loosening restrictions on flights by Chinese airlines after China partially reopened its aviation market to U.S. carriers.

The platform moves toward customization based on job function.

“Our forte is turning freight from plane to truck and getting it on the road to its end user quickly,” said Bryan Schreiber of Columbus Regional Airport Authority (CRAA).

For specialized industries such as health care and aerospace, the stakes of supply chain interruptions and service failures have never been higher.

At least two governments, Australia and New Zealand, are helping to correct distortions in the airfreight market.

Chris McMillin of AIT Worldwide Logistics addresses how advanced technology can deliver supply chain solutions.

Shanghai Pudong Airport is getting crushed by heavy cargo volumes. Add to the mix a lot of red tape for export clearance and shipments are experiencing long delays and missed flights.

Want to ride a “ghost flight” for fun? You can’t. They’re only open for freight and Delta Air Lines is flying lots of them from Asia to the U.S.

Amazon will occupy a huge air cargo facility being built at San Bernardino Airport as it expands its private airline and air delivery network.

Brett Hart served six months in 2015-16 as interim CEO of United Airlines while CEO Oscar Munoz recovered from heart surgery.

Emirates SkyCargo’s business fell in fiscal year 2019-2020, but the airline division is experiencing strong demand for its services during the coronavirus crisis.

British Airways and its sister airlines are taking some comfort from increased cargo business and helping keep global supply chains intact, but the dominant passenger business is at least three years away from getting back to pre-crisis levels.

United Airlines isn’t sugar-coating the airline industry’s economic reality. United expects to survive the coronavirus crisis, but business will be slim for months to come.

Manufacturing supply chains in for prolonged distress; U.S. oil rates in limbo; global air cargo facing severe capacity crunch.

There are more ways to help businesses struggling during the coronavirus crisis than loans and direct payments. The Australian government has operationalized an international airfreight support program to restore supply chains for perishables that were broken by the pandemic, threatening to kill business for many exporters.

The Executive director of The Airforwarders Association, Brandon Fried, speaks with FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller on the importance of the air freight industry and how it has adapted to accommodate the needs of a nation in crisis.

American will penalize shippers who don’t show up or cancel a booking at the last minute, while Delta is adding more capacity for its scheduled cargo routes to Asia.

The WHO is trying to reduce the chaos of countries competing for coronavirus medical supplies by acting as a logistics control center.

Problem-solving supply chain bottlenecks is the way to build customer loyalty, freight experts say.