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
Air Forwarding
Lack of infrastructure hampers India’s air cargo growth
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
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
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
Japan Post's mail delivery unit to enter direct mail service
The Japan Post group, to be born via privatisation in October, will consist of five companies, including the mail delivery company that plans to enter the direct mail service sector, which is the turf of private home delivery companies. The mail delivery company, which have more than 100,000 employees, expects to record modest profits. Japan Post’s privatisation plan, sent for approval on Friday to internal affairs minister Yoshihide Suga by Japan Post Corp., a privatization … [Read more...] about Japan Post's mail delivery unit to enter direct mail service
EGL accepts Ceva's bid
After months of haggling, USbased logistics provider EGL Inc. has accepted a US$2 billion bid to be acquired by the Ceva Group, which is owned by private-equity firm Apollo Management. Under the agreement, EGL shareholders will receive $47.50 in cash per share of EGL stock they hold at the time of the merger. CEVA also amended the “no-deal” fee, dropping the fee payable by EGL to CEVA from $30 million to $20 million, and increasing the fee payable by CEVA to EGL. The purchase … [Read more...] about EGL accepts Ceva's bid