On Air with Air Cargo Next

Following his recent cover story, “Immunity by Air,” which dives into how stakeholders across the air cargo supply chain are working to prepare for vaccine distribution, Senior Editor Charles Kauffman spoke with Matt Castle, C.H. Robinson’s VP of global forwarding products and services, about how the 3PL is planning for the task ahead.In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, Kauffman and Castle discuss the current state of the pharma cold chain, how C.H. Robinson is making contingency plans for existing customers as vaccine information eventually emerges, and how vaccine-adjacent commodities are already being transported in advance of an approved vaccine.

In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, Senior Editor Charles Kauffman discusses the contingency planning that is underway at Amsterdam Airport (AMS) with Maarten van As, managing director of Air Cargo Netherlands, the country’s industry association. While many developed countries are well-equipped to distribute a vaccine, Van As discusses the potential role global hubs such as AMS, may play in extending the cool chain, and delivering vaccines to developing countries.  This episode of On Air with Air Cargo World was created from an early October interview with van As, who provided us with insights into how regulatory agencies and customs are working with airport stakeholders to prepare for a vaccine distribution scenario still plagued by unknown factors and potential bottlenecks.Read the full feature story in the digital issue of Air Cargo World.

Despite cost-cutting measures across the logistics industry, air cargo operators and freight forwarders have largely stayed the course in their pursuit of lower emissions and sustainable logistics. The August feature story “Greener on the other side” highlights some of the initiatives and companies targeting more environmentally friendly operations. In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, we continue the focus on sustainability with Neil Cloughley, founder and CEO of U.K.-based Faradair Aerospace, which six years ago introduced the concept for its bio-electric-hybrid-aircraft, or BEHA. Cloughley discusses Faradair’s concept for a hybrid-electric aircraft the company hopes will help pave the way for cleaner and quieter regional cargo operations, and the obstacles still standing in the way of industry-wide advancement toward sustainability.

This week, Air Cargo World published an overview of second-quarter results for major Asian cargo carriers, which held some surprising traffic results for Korean Air Cargo and Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Cargo. Meanwhile, some airlines are preparing for the eventual likelihood that airfreight will be utilized for widespread global distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. Finally, in U.S. election news, aviation PACs are tending more toward donations to Democratic political candidates than they have in a decade. 

The hospitality sector has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but some freight forwarders are optimistic that travel demand will return, and companies in this industry need to prepare their supply chains for the eventual recovery.In this episode of On Air with Air Cargo World, New York-based freight forwarder Sobel Network Shipping’s president and CEO Brian Wills speaks on the opening of the company’s Miami office and its new division launched in June, offering logistics services to cruise lines and hotels. 

This week, Air Cargo World launched the layoff tracker, covering air cargo logistics layoffs from the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been mitigated for now in the United States by federal relief programs, and this week, major cargo handler Swissport announced it had received $170 million in relief funds to support its U.S. payroll.Meanwhile, cross-border e-commerce demand has soared thanks to lockdowns that have turned the retail tide in favor of online shopping compared with brick-and-mortar. Cainiao, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has launched a new Hong Kong-Madrid route operated by Volga-Dnepr Group subsidiary AirBridgeCargo in support of cross-border e-commerce, with many more charters ahead for 2020.Finally, Latin America has been hit particularly hard by the lockdowns and passenger flight cancellations. With some service in the Americas beginning to return, cargo capacity is slowly returning in passenger aircraft bellies. Still, a forwarder with a large South American network tells Air Cargo World there is a long way to go in terms of reopening capacity.Find this and more in this week’s edition of the Weekly Wrap, featuring Editor Caryn Livingston and Publisher JJ Hornblass.

This week, Air Cargo World published its second June feature story on digital payment platforms, how airlines and forwarders view this emerging technology, and how ongoing lawsuits between the major players in this space could affect the future of this corner of air cargo digitalization. Meanwhile, other areas of digitalization are doing well despite the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating a shift in industry thinking about the importance of investments in technology. In express news, DHL opened its first U.S. company-owned retail store.

In this episode, Cathy Roberson, founder of Logistics Trends & Insights, and Caryn Livingston, editor at Air Cargo World, speak on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the evolution of technology and business across the air cargo industry. 

In this episode, Steve Smith, president and CEO at Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Airlink, speaks on how the organization and its partner carriers are working to support communities around the world battling the coronavirus pandemic.Airlink is a nonprofit organization working with aviation and logistics partners to transport relief workers and emergency supplies for reputable nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) responding to rapid-onset disasters and other humanitarian crises around the globe. Airlink’s network consists of more than 40 commercial and charter airlines and more than 100 international NGOs.

In this episode Stephen Harvey, vice president for cargo and general aviation at East Midlands Airport speaks on the airport’s strategic development in response to demand, particularly driven by the growing express market. Harvey also discusses the impact of global challenges, such as the novel coronavirus and Brexit, to global markets, as well as potential opportunities arising from these situations.  Stay tuned for this episode now.