PLA Editor

Gateways

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Three large composite fuselage sections for the 787 Dreamliner were delivered to the Boeing plant in Everett last month via the Dreamlifter, a specially modified 747-400 used to transport 787 major assemblies. Sections 47 and 48, wrapped in black, are the two aft composite sections of fuselage for the Dreamliner, while the all-composite forward section was wrapped in white. … [Read more...] about Gateways

Overcapacity tempers air cargo

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The announcement last month of the establishment of a new air services agreement between the US and China, which will more than double the number of passenger fl ights by 2012 and offer airfreight operators “greatly expanded commercial freedom” constitutes, for the air freight part of the deal, a lot of hot air. “It is absolutely historic,” declared US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters in a conference call after reaching agreement with her counterpart, Chinese … [Read more...] about Overcapacity tempers air cargo

Lack of infrastructure hampers India’s air cargo growth

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India’s Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel recently promised a blueprint for the air industry’s expansion by 2020, including plans for a series of airport upgrades by 2010. A prime project is a cargo centre at Nagpur due for completion next year, which Patel hopes will boost India’s nascent air cargo market.“We hope to see that Nagpur becomes...something like Memphis, a major hubfor cargo in India,” Patel said Tax incentivesare one tool the Indian governmentis … [Read more...] about Lack of infrastructure hampers India’s air cargo growth

Champ's ULD Manager exploits ULD's value as an asset

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There are over a million of them in use, with a collective value of over US$ 1 billion, and every year airlines spend over US$ 200 million maintaining, repairing and replacing them. It’s the Unit Load Device, and despite its familiarity and ubiquity it’s actually a very valuable asset that needs to be managed. Managing global ULD inventories is a major challenge for airlines, but the benefits of effective managementare many and varied: • Stock levels at stations are controlled … [Read more...] about Champ's ULD Manager exploits ULD's value as an asset

India's Postal Department incurs losses

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In the past five years, the Department of Posts’ (DoP) mail traffic has registered a decline of nearly 50 percent due to increased competition from private couriers and other new modes of communication, especially the value-added services in the telecom sector, The Hindureported. According to a recent DoP’s performance audit report, DoP had failed to improve its operational efficiency, reduce staff costs and modernise its operations to render better services to the customer. … [Read more...] about India's Postal Department incurs losses