Lufthansa is scaling back operations to Russia, as it discontinues three destinations from Frankfurt to Samara, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow Vnukovo as the routes have become unprofitable. The German airline will operate the last flights to Samara and Nizhny Novgorod in early September. The last Frankfurt-Moscow Vnukovo service is planned for August 30 and will continue to operate to Moscow Domodedovo only. Axel Hilgers, Lufthansa director-Russian Federation and CIS, said: “It was a hard … [Read more...] about Lufthansa ends three Russian routes

Swiss has appointed Ashwin Bhat as its new head of cargo. He will assume his new duties on 1 October. Bhat, who is currently head of global area management at Swiss WorldCargo, succeeds Oliver Evans, who has decided to step down from the post after some 13 years. Bhat, who is 46 and an Indian national, joined Swiss WorldCargo in 2002. After several years serving in various capacities within pricing, revenue management and controlling, he was appointed head of area management Asia, Middle East … [Read more...] about Swiss appoints new head of cargo

Virgin Atlantic Cargo has added Detroit to its list of daily flights to and from London Heathrow Airport. The daily A330 flight will offer more than 16 tons of capacity in both directions and the airline expects customers in the UK, Europe, India and South Africa that already use its daily Chicago services to welcome a second destination into the US Midwest air cargo market. John Lloyd, senior vice president cargo at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Transatlantic services have been our biggest market … [Read more...] about Virgin Atlantic adds Detroit

ASL Aviation Group has announced that its shareholding in Bangalore-based Quikjet Cargo Airlines through ASL subsidiary Farnair Switzerland AG is to increase to 72.59 per cent after being given the green light by India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The approval has come just months before the planned start of B737 scheduled domestic cargo services. Through Farnair, ASL Aviation group had held a 50.93 per cent shareholding in Quikjet and the approved increase to 72.59 per cent … [Read more...] about ASL to increase stake in India’s Quikjet

Kuwait Airways has taken delivery of its first A330-200, becoming a new operator for the type. In February 2014, Kuwait Airways announced the lease of 12 Airbus aircraft including seven A320neo and five A330-200s in addition to the purchase of 25 aircraft including 10 A350-900 and 15 A320neo Family aircraft marking the start of a major fleet renewal plan. “The delivery of our first A330-200 marks a key milestone towards enhancing our fleet,” said Al Rasha Al Roumi, Kuwait Airways chairperson. … [Read more...] about Kuwait Airways receives its first A330-200

Saudi Airlines Cargo has unveiled the launch of a new direct freighter service between Shanghai and New Delhi as part of the airline’s continued expansion strategy. The new direct service offers scheduled maindeck capacity using B747-400F aircraft, operating twice weekly directly between the two cities. “Our focus is to improve connectivity and provide a growing network of destinations and quality operations to our customers and the direct service between Shanghai and New Delhi, has been … [Read more...] about Saudia launches Shanghai- Delhi maindeck service