Online giant Amazon has received permission to deliver goods by drones in the United States. Bloomberg reports this, citing the company’s message.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has authorized Amazon to test the delivery of Prime Air goods by air. The FAA said the organization is trying to support innovation in expanding drone delivery while ensuring that the devices operate safely.
Amazon must preliminarily eliminate some technical difficulties before sending parcels.
“The approval is an important step forward for Prime Air and demonstrates the FAA’s confidence in the operations and safety of Amazon’s drone delivery, which will one day deliver parcels to our customers around the world,” said David Carbon, Amazon vice president and CEO of Prime Air.
It is not clear at this stage exactly where Amazon will test the drones. According to Bloomberg, the company owns several test sites in the US Northwest. The company has also previously tested this type of delivery in the UK.
Last year, Amazon showed off its MK27 hexagonal drone with vertical takeoff and landing. It can transport parcels weighing up to 2.2 kg in about half an hour. Delivery will be carried out within a radius of 12 km from the warehouse. The drone is equipped with a set of smart sensors that allows you to land in your home without touching power lines or posing a hazard to people or pets.
The FAA has twice issued such permits in the United States. The first was received by the Wing Aviation service, owned by the Alphabet holding company, which owns Google. The second is issued to a division of the express delivery company UPS.
Source: Retailers
After a construction period of only five months, the new “Lufthansa Cargo Pharma Hub Munich” has opened at Munich Airport. It offers space for up to 96 pallets and loose cargo in two different temperature ranges (+2 to +8 °C and +15 to +25 °C) and a freezer (down to -18 °C) on almost 1000 square metres and on several levels.
“With the new Pharma-Hub at our hub in Munich, we have created a state-of-the-art infrastructure for temperature-sensitive freight that will guarantee our customers even higher transport quality for their pharma shipments in the future. Particularly in the context of the corona pandemic, the relevance of stable supply chains and fast transport of medicines or vaccines has once again been demonstrated,” explained Harald Gloy, Lufthansa Cargo Board Member Operations. In addition to him, Ola Hansson, Lufthansa Hub CEO Munich, and Jost Lammers, Chairman of Flughafen München GmbH, were also present during the opening ceremony.
A CEIV Pharma-certification by the International Air Transport Association of the new Pharma-Hub in Munich is planned for this fall. This will also be the first pharma-certification by the aviation association at Munich Airport. As a global standard, the certification demonstrates that the facility meets strict criteria for the proper handling and storage of pharmaceutical shipments.
In addition to the new capacities for temperature-sensitive cargo at the southern German hub, Lufthansa Cargo is also expanding these capacities in the United States. The Lufthansa Cargo Pharma Center Chicago at O’Hare Airport was opened there in June. Since the middle of the year, the 750 square metre facility has been providing space on several levels for up to 54 pallets and 102 cool containers in two different temperature ranges (+2 to +8 °C and +15 to 25 °C) and in a freezer (down to -18 °C).
Most of the pharmaceutical shipments carried by Lufthansa Cargo are handled at the Frankfurt hub. There, the “Lufthansa Cargo Pharma Hub Frankfurt” was last extended by around two-thirds to 8,000 square metres in 2018. It was one of the first Pharma Cool Centres in the world to be CEIV Pharma-certified. By the end of 2020, Lufthansa Cargo’s worldwide network is expected to comprise 31 CEIV Pharma-certified pharma stations. In addition, this CEIV network is being continuously expanded.
Source: FreightComms
Dachser USA announces a new dedicated weekly Frankfurt-Chicago-Frankfurt flight service, which launched on July 26th in response to ongoing demand for increased air freight capacity between Europe and the US.
Dachser will now operate rotary flights across the Atlantic every weekend. As a result, the company’s customers will benefit from fixed delivery times as well as better planning of cargo space and costs.
Dachser USA’s weekly flight service connects its U.S. customers to the entire European market through its comprehensive land transport network from Frankfurt. Through Dachser’s road transport network, the service connects Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. For European customers, Dachser USA’s dedicated trucking service in the U.S enables prompt door-to-door deliveries within the 48 contiguous states.
In response to ongoing air freight capacity shortages, Dachser has continuously expanded its flight service offerings by introducing several charter services with direct routes to and from Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Dachser’s dedicated flight service program ensures that volume capacities are available to customers regardless of unpredictable market conditions. In fact, various product categories including large-format goods, hazardous goods such as batteries as well as temperature-controlled products for life-sciences and healthcare sectors can continue to be sourced thanks to Dachser’s flight service program enabling supply chain fluidity.
“Today, the marketplace demands reliability and agility. As an industry leader, Dachser aims to proactively foresee the needs of our customers and stay one step ahead by offering timely, innovative, and adaptable solutions. We plan to offer and expand our premium air service routes as our customer requirements continue to grow,” said Mr. Frommenwiler.
Source: The Loadstar
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and Lufthansa Technik have extended their cooperation for the overhaul of the carrier’s 90-aircraft Boeing 737NG fleet by another five years. The services are performed at Lufthansa Technik’s location in Budapest, Hungary, within the framework of a Total Base Maintenance Support (TBS®) contract, with the first contract events planned for September 2020.
“Lufthansa Technik was winning this contract in a large extensive global tendering process, that was demanding both for Lufthansa Technik and Norwegian. The quality and reliability of past services provided by Lufthansa Technik have convinced us to continue to place our trust in our German partner for the overhaul of our Boeing 737NG fleet,” said Paul Salwik, Head of Technical Procurement at Norwegian.
“We are pleased that this new contract will continue a successful cooperation with Norwegian that reaches back to 2007. With our services, we want to play our part in ensuring the continued success of this innovative airline,” said Tanja Pustolla, responsible sales representative at Lufthansa Technik.
The main characteristics of Total Base Maintenance Support TBS® are the guaranteed availability of layovers and a commercial service package geared to individual customer needs. As one of a total of five Lufthansa Technik overhaul sites in Europe, Lufthansa Technik Budapest will provide services within the framework of the new contract. As a TBS® customer, Norwegian also has access to the entire overhaul network of Lufthansa Technik for additional or unplanned maintenance events.
Norwegian has been a Lufthansa Technik customer since 2007. The cooperation began with component supply within the framework of a contract for Total Component Support TCS®. Later, Lufthansa Technik also took on wheels and brakes maintenance and engine overhaul for engines of the CFM56-7B type. Since 2012, Lufthansa Technik has provided overhaul services for Boeing 737NG aircraft.
Source: Aviation24
The Lufthansa Group said that the collapse of the air transport market due to the COVID-19 pandemic leaves no choice: the German concern is forced to start downsizing and write off 100 aircraft.
“We are experiencing a caesura in global air traffic. We do not expect demand to return to pre-crisis levels before 2024. Especially for long-haul routes, there will be no quick recovery. We were able to counteract the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the first half of the year with strict cost management as well as with the revenues from Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo. And we are benefitting from the first signs of recovery on tourist routes, especially with our leisure travel offers of the Eurowings and Edelweiss brands. Nevertheless, we will not be spared a far-reaching restructuring of our business,” Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said.
The loss in the second quarter of 2020 is 1.5 billion euros – and this despite extensive cost reductions. Operating expenses were reduced by 59 percent, primarily through the introduction of short-time working for large parts of the workforce and the cancellation of non-essential expenditures. However, these measures were only partially able to compensate for the decline in sales. The logistics division benefited from stable demand.
In the second quarter of 2020, the Lufthansa Group airlines carried 1.7 million passengers, 96 percent fewer than in the previous year. Capacity fell by 95 percent. The seat load factor was 56 percent, 27 percentage points below the previous year’s figure. Freight capacity offered fell by 54 percent due to a lack of capacity on passenger aircraft.
In the first six months, the Lufthansa Group airlines carried a total of 23.5 million passengers, two thirds fewer than in the same period last year (minus 66 percent). Capacity decreased by 61 percent. The seat load factor fell by 9 percentage points to 72 percent in the period. Freight capacity offered fell by 36 percent.
The Lufthansa Group net result for the first half of the year thus amounted to minus 3.6 billion euros (previous year: minus 116 million euros).
Source: InsideFlyer
The BelugaXL recently expanded its operational reach by adding Airbus’ facility in Getafe, Spain to its network. The Getafe site itself also features a 7,200m² hangar which is dedicated to the Beluga fleet loading and unloading operations.
Today the new aircraft operates several flights per week, transporting all Airbus family horizontal tailplanes and A350 XWB Section 19 (manufactured in Getafe) and A350 XWB wing lower covers (manufactured in Illescas) from Getafe to other Airbus sites in Toulouse, Hamburg and Broughton.
In addition to its Getafe missions, the new transporter is also ferrying other major aircraft parts between the various Airbus sites.
The first BelugaXL flew in July 2018. This aircraft “no.1” is tasked with ongoing flight tests and evolutions.
Entry-into-service of the first operational BelugaXL (aircraft “no.2”), took place from Toulouse to Broughton on 9th January this year.
Aircraft “no.3” made its first flight in July this year and will enter service in Q4 2020.
By 2023 a total of six A330-based BelugaXL aircraft will be operating between the European Airbus sites. Launched in November 2014, the BelugaXL programme was awarded Type Certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in November 2019, following an intensive certification test campaign which saw it complete more than 200 flight tests, clocking over 700 flight hours.
Источник: CAAS
ANAC, Brazil’s civil aviation regulatory authority, has granted exemption for the carriage of additional freight on Embraer passenger aircraft. Embraer published Technical Dispositions for the ERJ 145 and E-Jets families of commercial jets, including the E-Jets E2s, which explain how to accommodate cabin freight. A Service Bulletin is available for the EMB 120.
Embraer Services & Support’s president and CEO Johann Bordais said: “Embraer’s engineers rose to the challenge when our customers asked them if they could find a way for their Embraer airplanes to carry more cargo payload. Today, customers can choose from a portfolio of solutions to carry cargo in the cabins of their EMB 120s, ERJ 145s, and E-Jets.”
In addition to placing small packages in overhead bins and stowage compartments, cargo items can be placed on each seat, subject to certain restrictions. The payload capacity is significant. For example, a fully loaded 96-seat E190 can carry 6,720 lb (3 metric tonnes) of cabin freight in addition to under floor cargo. A 118-seat E195 can carry 8,260 lb (3.75 metric tonnes).
Customers can opt for a floor-mounted freight configuration if their cargo cannot fit on passenger seats. This solution permits the removal of up to 70 per cent of the passenger seats, with the remaining areas accommodating for items on the cabin floor. Freight must be contained in approved netting that attaches to the inboard and outboard seat tracks. This solution has already been developed for a first generation E195 jet for Azul Cargo, in Brazil.
Cabin payload capacity for the ERJ145 is up to 1,750 lb (0.8 metric tonnes) and up to 5,194 lb (2.36 metric tonnes) for the E190-E2. For customers needing even more capacity, Embraer may offer a Service Bulletin for full cargo configurations, as has been done for the EMB 120. These layouts give operators the flexibility to carry larger floor-mounted freight items in the cabin.
Source: Aviation Business News
DHL Express will add an additional four Boeing 767-300BCF (Boeing converted freighter) aircraft to its fleet.
The cargo carrier plans to modernize its long-haul intercontinental fleet, which currently consists of over 260 aircraft with 17 partner airlines. Since 2019, DHL Express has added 14 new Boeing 777F to replace older 747-400s. The carrier already operates the dedicated Boeing 767-300 freighter model across its global network for many years.
While many airlines have started to phase out their Boeing 767 passenger jets, the 767s are often seeing a second life as converted cargo aircraft. To date, Boeing has received over 50 orders and commitments for the 767-300BCF, in addition to dedicated Boeing 767F jets.
The 767-300BCF version has similar cargo capabilities as the 767-300F production freighter with approximately 50 tonnes structural payload at a range of approximately 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km).
Source: International Flight Network
Delta Cargo has joined the Sustainable Air Freight Alliance, a business-led collaborative initiative aiming to reduce its members’ environmental footprint. The move aligns with Delta’s pledge earlier this year to become the world’s first carbon neutral airline. The airline has committed $1 billion over the next 10 years to mitigate all emissions from its global business.
SAFA is a collaboration between shippers, freight forwarders and airlines to track and reduce emissions from air freight and promote responsible freight transport. It is facilitated by BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), a global nonprofit business network and consultancy dedicated to sustainability.
“We’re proud to join SAFA as we accelerate our sustainability goals while also being aligned with our customers and their values,” said Shawn Cole, Vice President – Delta Cargo. “We are in the midst of the worst global pandemic in living memory, but we can’t afford to take sustainability off the agenda.”
The aviation industry accounts for roughly two percent of emissions globally, while Delta’s carbon footprint is its largest environmental impact, with 98 percent of emissions coming from its aircraft. Delta Cargo has already started taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint, including replacing light bulbs in its warehouses to energy-efficient LED lighting and switching to electric tugs. It is also working with its counterparts through SAFA to share best practices and create common goals and metrics.
BSR, which facilitates SAFA, has over 250 member companies and works across a range of industries, including healthcare, agriculture, energy, and financial services, in addition to transport and logistics, to improve companies’ environmental and sustainability performance. SAFA is one of over 20 collaborative initiatives facilitated and managed by BSR, involving over 400 companies in total.
“We are very pleased to welcome Delta Cargo to SAFA,” said Angie Farrag-Thibault, Director, Transport & Logistics at BSR. “When airlines, shippers, and freight forwarders collaborate, they can accelerate the development of new solutions and the implementation of best practices. By joining SAFA, Delta Cargo will contribute to an ambitious collective effort to reduce emissions from air freight, which is necessary to meet global climate goals.”
Source: FreightComms