Falling rates out of Asia are putting pressure on SAS Cargo's freighter cooperationsin the region. Ulrik Marschall, the carrier's head of corporate communications, admits that it is fi nding it harder to profitably fi ll the capacity it takes on Air China's thrice weekly B747F from Shanghai and Beijing to Copenhagen, which was launchedlast September. "We had a very good start to the service, and there was defi - nitely a real need for it," he says. "But while there is still plenty of … [Read more...] about ASIAN AIR CARGOS SUPPLEMENT – Falling rates put pressure on SAS in Asia
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FLUSH BEFORE YOU GO
We hear that China Southern Airlines has calculated that it takes a litre of fuel to fl ush the toilet at 30,000 feet so it now is urging passengers to go to the toilet before they board. China Southern’s latest strategy is to encourage passengers “to spend their pennies before boarding the aircraft”, a report by Xinhua news agency said. “The energy used in one fl ush is enough for an economical car to run at least 10 kilometres,” Captain Liu Zhiyuan was quoted as … [Read more...] about FLUSH BEFORE YOU GO
DUMB BUREAUCRATS
Still on contentious issues, we hear that the European Aviation Safety Agency has approved the use of mobile phones on board commercial aircraft, just months after the FAA in the US announced that it would continue its ban on cellphones. Previous condemnations of the use of cell phones on board aircraft by yours truly have apparently not reached the desks of the EASA folks, or perhaps the bureaucrats are too dumb to listen to ordinary long-distance travellers, who are already agonising over the … [Read more...] about DUMB BUREAUCRATS
BELLY ACHE
Aramex, the active Middle East logistics and express provider headed by one of the nicest guys in the industry, Fadi Ghandour, recently held its 25th anniversary conference for its worldwide senior managers at the Dead Sea Convention Centre in Jordan. The event was inaugurated by Jordan’s King Abdullah II while Queen Rania Al-Abdullah participated as a session moderator. Picture shows the senior managers all dressed in the company’s house colour red. Here’s to the next 25 … [Read more...] about BELLY ACHE
UPSOVERCHARGEDME.COM
Someone who only wanted to be known as "a regular Payload Asia reader for ages", reacted to an article in our Express pages last month, which reported that UPS was facing a law suit over the use of inaccurate measurement systems for packages. The Regular Reader claimed that the article missed the critical point and basis of the suit, and alleged that "UPS was using optical technology measurement hardware that is not certifi ed as accurate by local weights and measures … [Read more...] about UPSOVERCHARGEDME.COM
WEIGHTWATCHERS
Who says those guys at Boeing don’t have a sense of humour? The UK’s Financial Times reported that when Virgin Atlantic recently signed a deal for 43 787 Dreamliners, wags at the US aircraft manufacturer inserted a secret clause in the contract stipulating that Virgin chairman Richard Branson and his Boeing counterpart Jim McNerney both had to lose a stone (14 pounds, or 6.4 kilos) by the time the fi rst aicraft was delivered in four years time. The idea is that this would reduce … [Read more...] about WEIGHTWATCHERS