Lufthansa Cargo saw its cargo volumes continue to slide with a 19.9 per cent drop in March from a year ago to 123,000 tonnes from 154,000 tonnes in March 2008. For the first three months of the year volumes are down 23.4 per cent to 328,000 tonnes. The cargo division cut capacity by 4.7 per cent and saw an 11.4 point drop in the load factor to 57.6 per cent. But the carrier has also recently launched a weekly freighter service between Frankfurt and Hanoi, along with a weekly MD-11 flight to … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Luft Cargo sees March slide but adds routes

Air France-KLM, Europe’s largest scheduled cargo carrier, has reported a continuing fall in cargo volumes, down 19.2 per cent in March compared to a year ago and the fourth consecutive month that its cargo traffic has fallen by around 20 per cent. The drop continued apace, despite an 8.9 per cent cut in capacity, excluding Martinair, the all-cargo and charter carrier that was consolidated in January. The cargo load factor, also excluding Martinair, fell 7.8 points to 61.4 per cent. … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: AF-KLM cargo slump continues in March

Air cargo has “all but collapsed,” according to the Association of European Airlines (AEA), who said traffic volumes were down by around a fifth for the first two months of the year, the worst figures on record. Passenger traffic plunged nearly five per cent in the first two months of the year and could fall another ten per cent in March as the economic downturn continues. It said it would normally expect a four to five per cent increase in traffic “so current levels are … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Decline continues for European carriers

Tree more cargo carriers – Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines and Asiana Airlines – have agreed to pay criminal fines totalling US$214 million for their role in a global price fixing conspiracy. Additionally, Asiana was charged with fixing the passenger fares on flights from the US to Korea from as early as 2000. Cargolux will pay a fine of $119 million; Nippon Cargo, $45 million; and Asiana, $50 million. In addition, three senior air cargo industry executives agreed to serve … [Read more...] about EUROPE & CIS: Three more carriers nabbed for price fixing

Boeing has announced the opening of its Boeing Research & Technology- India centre in Bangalore which will carry out continued collaboration with Indian R&D organisations, including government agencies and private sector R&D providers, universities and other companies. The centre will coordinate the work of more than 1,500 technologists, including 100 advanced technology researchers, from across India on projects that include aero structures, aerodynamics and electronic networks. … [Read more...] about INDIA: Boeing opens Indian R&D centre