- Cathay Pacific Airways will begin new regular cargo service to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, starting Nov. 23. The twice-weekly service will be the first entrance in the Cambodian market for the Hong Kong-based carrier and will operate on a Hong Kong-Singapore-Penang-Phnom Penh-Hong Kong route. “This new service to Phnom Penh will boost the flow of garments and other manufactured products out of Cambodia,” said James Woodrow, Cathay Pacific’s director of cargo.
- Delta Cargo is rolling out IATA’s single-process electronic air waybill (e-AWB) to its customers. The new program enables customers to transmit data on each shipment electronically, regardless of the routing, and eliminates cumbersome paperwork. By using the e-AWB, customers also will be able to view and track the status of all active shipments at their convenience.
- Air cargo services firm HAE Group has been appointed to represent 2Excel Aviation UK Ltd as it begins commercial freighter operations with its fleet of 727-200 freighters. Based at Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster, U.K., 2Excel recently secured the contract to support Oil Spill Response Ltd., a cooperative that provides emergency response services for the oil and gas industries.
- Swiss WorldCargo launched a new app that enables customers to access its interactive services from their smartphone or tablet. The Swiss WorldCargo App, available free of charge from the App Store or Google Play Store, lets customers check their shipment status by air waybill number, monitor the timetables for all connections and find contact information for the carrier’s offices worldwide.
- The Baltic Air Charter Association (BACA) named Volga-Dnepr Airlines the “Best Cargo Charter Airline” during its annual awards luncheon in London. Volga-Dnepr has now been given this honor by BACA for the fifth time, following earlier wins in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Dmitry Grishin, sales director of Volga-Dnepr, accepted the 2014 award on behalf of the airline.
- Kenyan cargo carrier Astral Aviation is now a member of the Frankfurt-based association BARIG e.V. (Board of Airline Representatives in Germany), which represents about 100 national and international airlines in Germany. Nairobi-based Astral Aviation, currently the only privately owned cargo airline in Africa, was founded in 2000 and operates an inter-African transport network serving 50 destinations. Operating aircraft include a 747-400F and two DC9s. Astral also holds interline agreements with roughly 25 international airlines, such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Lufthansa Cargo.
- Japanese airfreight-handling systems manufacturer Murata Machinery Ltd., a.k.a. Muratec, has acquired Cimcorp Group, a supplier of logistics services for the tire industry and a variety of retail and distribution customers. With the acquisition, Finland-based Cimcorp and its subsidiaries have become members of the Muratec Group, but both Muratec and Cimcorp will continue their businesses as independent companies.
- Ruslan International, the Russian joint-venture company that manages 17 An-124 freighters for Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr Airlines, has partnered with German charter broker Karpeles Flight Services (part of DB Schenker) to move a 60-tonne AgustaWestland AW101 helicopter from London Stansted Airport (STN) to an undisclosed location in Africa. To fit the AW101 through the An-124’s 4.3-meter-high, nose-loading cargo door, AgustaWestland technicians partially dismantled the chopper and rebuilt it over a three-day period upon arrival.
- Freight forwarder Platinum Cargo Logistics Inc. opened a new licensee office on Oct. 13 in Chandler, Ariz. The new Phoenix Regional Office, as it is known, is now being run by James P. Bowman, owner of the Chandler-based Above and Beyond Delivery courier service, and an entrepreneur with 18 years of experience in the technology, logistics, mining, human resources, women’s apparel and real estate sectors.