A shortage of air cargo capacity has hindered the export of the Kutchi Kesar variety of mangoes in the Bhuj border district in the Indian state of Gujarat. “There is no air cargo service from Ahmedabad to West Asia and the western world. Even if we send 1,000 boxes by road from here to Ahmedabad, the passenger planes lift only 300 to 400 packets for want of space,” said mango exporter Batusingh Jadeja, who was quoted by Daily News & Analysis (DNA). According to Jadeja a … [Read more...] about INDIA & MIDDLE EAST: Air cargo shortage hinders mango exports

An Antonov 124-100 freighter with a payload of up to 120 tonnes belonging to Maximus Air Cargo, the UAE’s largest all air cargo operator, became the largest civilian aircraft to touch the tarmac at the recently launched Dubai World Central — Al Maktoum International Airport recently. This was another significant milestone for cargo operations at Dubai’s new airport, which was launched by Dubai Airports on 27 June. The first phase of the airport has a capacity for … [Read more...] about INDIA & MIDDLE EAST: Heavyweight debut for Maximus at Dubai World

In early July Emirates kicked off its daily non-stop passenger service to Prague, Czech Republic using an A330- 200 aircraft with 16 tonnes of available belly capacity. Trade between the Czech Republic and the UAE has leapt from under US$26 million in 1993 to US$678 million in 2008, according to the Czech Foreign Ministry. Nearly 30 per cent of exports to the UAE are glass products including Czech-made Bohemian glass, which can be seen in chandeliers and other decorative features in … [Read more...] about INDIA & MIDDLE EAST: Emirates daily to Prague with belly capacity

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has announced that it has coordinated the first ever charter on Qatar Airways Cargo’s latest addition to their fleet — a new Boeing 777 Freighter, recently delivered to the Doha-based airline. The global aircraft charter specialist coordinated the movement of 87 tonnes of telecommunications equipment from Stockholm-Arlanda (ARN) to Dhaka (DAC) for the inaugural charter flight on behalf of its client Heavyweight Sweden AB. “We are … [Read more...] about INDIA & MIDDLE EAST: First charter on Qatar B777F for C-F

Dubai’s Emirates Airline has placed an order with Boeing for an additional 30 777-300ER aircraft, worth approximately US$9.1 billion at list prices. The new order adds to the fleet of 71 777-300ERs previously ordered, of which 53 aircraft are currently in service. The 777-300ER offers an additional cargo payload of 20.1 tonnes. The order adds to an already substantial order book that is set to soon place Emirates as the largest airline in the world by fleet size. In addition to … [Read more...] about INDIA & MIDDLE EAST: Emirates marches on with $9B in new orders

Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of Lion Air, Boeing recently delivered two Next-Generation 737-900ERs to the Jakarta-based carrier. Lion Air, which operates an all-Boeing fleet, was the launch customer of the 737-900ER and is currently the largest operator of the airplane. With today’s deliveries, the Lion Air fleet consists of 36 B737-900ERs and two B747-400s. Lion Air plans to carry 20 million passengers this year to destinations within Indonesia as well as to Malaysia, … [Read more...] about INDONESIA: Lion Air takes on two more B737-900ERs