In January 2022, the seaports of Ukraine increased the number of processed vessels by 2.2 times compared to the same period last year, or by 563 vessels to 1,035 vessels. This is evidenced by the data of the State Enterprise “Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine” (AMPU).
The seaports, in particular, handled the following number of vessels:
- Ishmael – 279;
- Mykolaiv – 168;
- Chernomorsk – 147;
- “Southern” – 101;
- Odessa – 96;
- Reni – 85;
- “Olbia” – 48;
- Mariupol – 44;
- Kherson – 42;
- Berdyansk – 24;
- Skadovsk – 1.
According to AMPU, seaports in 2021 increased the number of processed vessels compared to 2020 by 4.4%, or 479 vessels – to 11,330 vessels.
Source: ports.ua
In 2021, the company announced the construction of eight container ships powered by green methanol with a capacity of 16,000 TEU each. Now four more have been added to them, which should be built at the facilities of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in 2025.
The first vessel out of twelve is scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024. It is expected that its operation will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 million tons per year.
A definite problem for Maersk may be insufficient production of green methanol. At present, they amount to about 30,000 tons per year, while operating a fleet of 12 container ships requires at least 450,000 tons per year. But the company emphasizes that green methanol is not the only fuel being considered for the company’s future ships. Depending on the segment, region of operation and demand, Maersk is considering building ships that would also use other carbon-free fuels.
Source: The Maritime Telegraph
Eurocontrol named the largest airports in Europe. Istanbul ranked first in terms of the number of flights in early February with 893 departures and arrivals per day, said Eurocontrol CEO Eamon Brennan. This organization brings together dispatchers throughout Europe and in some countries outside of it.
In second place is Schiphol Amsterdam with a score of 826 flights per day, in third place is Barajas in Madrid with a score of 778 departures and arrivals per day.
The top 10 largest air harbors also included Frankfurt, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Heathrow in London, Sabiha Gokcen in Istanbul, Munich, Barcelona and Lisbon.
Eurocontrol has compiled a rating based on the average number of flights per day from January 30 to February 5, 2022. It included all departures and arrivals, including small business aircraft, and did not take into account passenger traffic.
The rating included the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Asia, but European airports in Russia were not included. This is due to the fact that Turkey is a member of Eurocontrol, while Russia is not a member of the organization.
Eurocontrol
Eurocontrol is the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, founded in 1960. Its main goal is to develop a pan-European air traffic management system within the framework of the Single European Sky project.
Eurocontrol is working on a “seamless”, pan-European air traffic management system.
This is a public organization and currently 41 states are its members; its headquarters is in Haren, Brussels.
Source: CTS
The cargo division of the German airline Lufthansa received the first Airbus A321 converted under the P2F (Passenger-to-Freight, passenger-to-cargo) program.
The first LH Cargo Airbus A321P2F landed on January 30 at Munich Airport after a 16-hour flight from Singapore, where the aircraft was undergoing conversion at Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering.
The aircraft is currently awaiting final painting. The carrier plans to start its scheduled flights in the coming weeks. The German airline has leased two A321P2F aircraft from BBAM, citing growing demand for transporting e-commerce goods.
Now Lufthansa must obtain the necessary approvals from the German Federal Aviation Administration in order to then carry out the technical transfer of the aircraft to Lufthansa Cityline, which will be the official operator. The second plane is due to arrive in Germany in the second half of this year.
The Airbus A321F (A321P2F) is the cargo version of the A321. It has a large capacity and could easily replace its predecessor, the veteran cargo aircraft, the 757F. Another distinguishing feature of the A321P2F is a new cargo door, as well as moving the front door closer to the nose of the aircraft.
EFW is a joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering. Her specialization is the reconstruction and re-equipment of airliners, as well as their subsequent maintenance. Despite the fact that the main office is located in Dresden, the main activity is carried out in Singapore.
Source: Air Cargo News
The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has announced its entry into the oversized cargo transportation market. Now one of the two leaders in this segment is Antonov Airlines, which use An-124 Ruslan and An-225 Mriya aircraft.
To work in the new market, Airbus created a separate airline and began transferring Beluga aircraft of the previous generation, BelugaST, to it. ST stands for Super Transporter in the model name.
The Europeans created these airliners on the basis of the A300-600 aircraft in the early 1990s. For this, a large-volume fuselage was built up from above, and the cockpit was shifted down. The aircraft got its name for its resemblance to beluga whales.
The planes were needed by Airbus, since its factories are concentrated in four European countries at once – Germany, France, Great Britain and Spain. Belugas delivered the assembled parts of the airliners to the final assembly lines.
BelugaST: key features
Airbus produced five BelugaSTs in total. According to the announced plans, the new subsidiary airline will receive two of these super transporters in 2022. In 2023, the fleet will increase to three BelugaSTs, and in 2024 to five BelugaSTs.
According to Airbus, these airliners will be able to fly for another 20 years. The company decided to use them in commercial transportation, as it has already released an updated BelugaXL for its business of delivering aircraft parts to factories.
“The BelugaST’s cargo bay has the world’s largest internal section of any transport airliner and can accommodate oversized cargo up to 7.1 meters wide and 6.7 meters high,” Airbus said.
For comparison, in the An-124 the width of the cargo compartment is 6.4 meters and the height is 4.4 meters. However, the aircraft has an advantage in terms of the maximum weight of cargo that it can carry in one flight. For the An-124, this figure ranges from 120 to 150 tons, depending on the modification, for the BelugaST – 40 tons.
Source: Avianews
Boeing reported a $4.16 billion loss for the fourth quarter as the financial fallout of production flaws in one of its best-selling planes, the 787 Dreamliner, grew much worse.
The aircraft maker took a charge of $3.5 billion to cover additional delays in delivering copies of its 787 jetliner and compensation for airlines that are still waiting to get their planes.
The company said manufacturing problems with the 787 will add $2 billion in unusual production costs, double an earlier projection.
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Boeing is coming off a year in which aircraft sales rebounded after a slump caused by the grounding of its 737 Max airliner and a pandemic that crippled air travel. The Chicago-based company still finished far behind European rival Airbus in delivering new planes last year, partly because of the 787.
The two-aisle 787 was grounded for more than three months in 2013 by overheating lithium-ion batteries. After design changes, the plane became a hit with both airlines, which appreciated its fuel economy on long flights, and travelers, who liked the bigger windows and more comfortable cabin.
Boeing halted deliveries, however, in late 2020 because of production flaws including gaps where panels of the carbon-composite fuselage are joined. Shortly after resuming deliveries, Boeing stopped them again in May 2021 as other problems emerged, including faulty titanium parts from a supplier, and the company has been unable so far to win Federal Aviation Administration approval for its fixes.
“The rework process is going well — it’s long, it’s disciplined, but it’s going well,” CEO David Calhoun told CNBC. “Our mechanics are learning a ton in the process.”
Airline customers
Boeing’s failure to resume deliveries is causing headaches for airline customers.
Without the 787s that it expected to receive by now, American Airlines has dropped some international flights planned for next summer. American officials say Boeing has agreed to pay penalties for missing deadlines, and they say there could be negotiations over additional compensation if delays drag out much longer.
Source: CNBC
On January 21, 2022, JAL formed a joint venture with Yamato Holdings, Yamato Transport.
The field of activity of the new company is air cargo transportation. Initially, they are supposed to be sold only in Japan.
According to plans, the company will start operations in 2024 and will operate three A321P2F aircraft. They will fly from Tokyo-Narita and Haneda to Chitose, Kitakyushu, Naha and Sapporo. They will replace some of the long haul trucks currently in use by Yamato Holdings. The move comes as a reaction to a growing shortage of drivers in Japan as a result of changes in regulations that limit their working hours.
Yamato Transport aircraft must be converted to EFW. They will be operated by Jetstar Japan, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines. It currently operates 19 A320s and two A321neos.
Yamato Holdings is Japan’s largest door-to-door courier delivery service. It was founded in 1919. Rebranding took place last year. The new corporate image will also be seen on Yamato Transport aircraft.
Source: Air Cargo News
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air cargo markets showing slower growth in November 2021. Supply chain disruptions and capacity constraints impacted demand, despite economic conditions remaining favorable for the sector.
As comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons below are to November 2019 which followed a normal demand pattern.
Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs*), was up 3.7% compared to November 2019 (4.2% for international operations). This was significantly lower than the 8.2% growth seen in October 2021 (2% for international operations) and in previous months.
Capacity was 7.6% below November 2019 (-7.9% for international operations). This was relatively unchanged from October. Capacity remains constrained with bottlenecks at key hubs.
Economic conditions continue to support air cargo growth, however supply chain disruptions are slowing growth.
Several factors should be noted:
- Labor shortages, partly due to employees being in quarantine, insufficient storage space at some airports and processing backlogs exacerbated by the year end rush created supply chain disruptions. Several key airports, including New York’s JFK, Los Angeles and Amsterdam Schiphol reported congestion.
- Retail sales in the US and China remain strong. In the US retail sales were 23.5% above November 2019 levels. And in China online sales for Singles’ Day were 60.8% above their 2019 levels.
- Global goods trade rose 4.6% in October (latest month of data), compared to pre-crisis levels, the best rate of growth since June. Global industrial production was up 2.9% over the same period.
- The inventory-to-sales ratio remains low. This is positive for air cargo as manufacturers turn to air cargo to rapidly meet demand.
- The recent surge in COVID-19 cases in many advanced economies has created strong demand for PPE shipments, which are usually carried by air.
- The November global Supplier Delivery Time Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was at 36.4. While values below 50 are normally favorable for air cargo, in current conditions it points to delivery times lengthening because of supply bottlenecks.
IATA is calling on governments
“Air cargo growth was halved in November compared to October because of supply chain disruptions. All economic indicators pointed towards continued strong demand, but the pressures of labor shortages and constraints across the logistics system unexpectedly resulted in lost growth opportunities. Manufacturers, for example, were unable to get vital goods to where they were needed, including PPE. Governments must act quickly to relieve pressure on global supply chains before it permanently dents the shape of the economic recovery from COVID-19,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
To relieve supply chain disruptions in the air cargo industry, IATA is calling on governments to:
- Ensure that air crew operations are not hindered by COVID-19 restrictions designed for air travelers.
- Implement the commitments governments made at the ICAO High Level Conference on COVID-19 to restore international connectivity, including for passenger travel. This will ramp-up vital cargo capacity with “belly” space.
- Provide innovative policy incentives to address labor shortages where they exist.
- Support the World Health Organization / International Labour Organization Action Group being formed to assure freedom of movement for international transport workers.
November Regional Performance
Asia-Pacific airlines saw their international air cargo volumes increase 5.2% in November 2021 compared to the same month in 2019. This was only slightly below the previous month’s 5.9% expansion. International capacity in the region eased slightly in November, down 9.5% compared to 2019.
North American carriers posted an 11.4% increase in international cargo volumes in November 2021 compared to November 2019. This was significantly below October’s performance (20.3%). Supply chain congestion at several key US cargo hubs has affected growth. International capacity was down 0.1% compared to November 2019.
European carriers saw a 0.3% increase in international cargo volumes in November 2021 compared to the same month in 2019, but this was a significant drop in performance compared to October 2021 (7.1%). European carriers have been affected by supply chain congestion and localized capacity constraints. International capacity was down 9.9% in November 2021 compared to pre-crisis levels and capacity on the key Europe-Asia route was down 7.3% during the same period.
Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 3.4% increase in international cargo volumes in November 2021, a significant drop in performance compared to the previous month (9.7%). This was due to a deterioration in traffic on several key routes such as Middle East-Asia, and Middle East-North America. International capacity was down 9.7% compared to November 2019, a small decrease compared to the previous month (8.4%).
Latin American carriers reported a decline of 13.6% in international cargo volumes in November compared to the 2019 period. This was the weakest performance of all regions and a significant deterioration from the previous month’s performance (-5.6%). Capacity in November was down 20.1% on pre-crisis levels.
African airlines’ saw international cargo volumes increase by 0.8% in November, a significant deterioration from the previous month (9.8%). International capacity was 5.2% lower than pre-crisis levels.
Source: IATA
Ryanair became the largest airline in Europe in 2021. This was announced by Eurocontrol, which brings together air navigation providers in this part of the world.
According to the organization, Ryanair operated an average of 1,321 flights per day in 2021, a 43% decrease compared to the pre-crisis 2019. Then the low-cost airline also got the first place and performed 2,323 flights a day.
Second place was taken by Turkish Airlines with a score of 938 flights per day and a 30% drop in the number of flights.
Air France closes the top three with 648 flights per day, which is 46% less than in 2019.
Among the TOP 10 airlines, Eurocontrol recorded the smallest drop in the Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines – 22% with an average number of flights per day 367 in 2021. This airline took 8th place in the final ranking.
Top 10 airlines in Europe in 2021 by number of flights per day (compared to 2019):
- Ryanair: 1 321 (-43%)
- Turkish Airlines: 938 (-30%)
- Air France: 648 (-46%)
- Lufthansa: 617 (-59%)
- easyJet: 607 (-64%)
- KLM: 502 (-41%)
- Wizz Air: 391 (-34%)
- Pegasus Airlines: 367 (-22%)
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines: 318 (-61%)
- Vueling: 306 (-49%)
Ryanair
Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY, LSE: RYA, ISE: 12724) is an Irish airline and the largest low-cost airline in Europe.
The head office is located in Swords, County Dublin. Founded in 1984 by Irish millionaire Tony Ryan (1936-2007), Chris Ryan and Liam Lonergan (owner of a travel agency).
In 1985, the company flew on the only route Waterford – Gatwick Airport (London) on a Brazilian 15-seat Embraer Bandeirante.
As of August 2021, the average fleet age is 9.4 years. The company has a fleet of over 450 aircraft.
Source: Avianews