Stephan Vogel, director of business and solution development at time:matters, praised the company’s Harvest Season Weekend Service with improving outcomes in the farming industry.

“Constant service availability — even on holidays — and quick delivery of spare parts, enable our customers from the agricultural sector to minimize downtimes for their machines, especially during the crucial harvest season,” he said in a statement.

time:matters also provides customers with flexibility when purchasing farming tools by facilitating the latest possible pick-up and the earliest delivery times. “In the case of orders placed on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays, time-critical spare parts already reach their destination on the following day throughout Europe, which means long delays are avoided and the harvest can soon proceed,” according to the press release.

The flu vaccines were transported from UPS’ Louisville, Ky.-based healthcare distribution center to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, after routing through Anchorage, Alaska; Incheon; and Shenzhen. UPS then trucked the vaccines to Vientiane, Laos — a drive that took 20 hours, Davis said.

Although Davis acknowledged that trekking the pharmaceuticals 9,000 miles was tricky, he said ensuring that the vaccines remained at 5°C during the entire journey was the top logistical challenge. Fortunately, he said, the flu vaccines were enclosed in two of UPS’ PharmaPort 360 containers — the only industry-certified containers capable of fitting on the smaller-bodied aircraft in Southeast Asia, according to a UPS spokeswoman.

Davis said the move went without a hitch. The vaccines safely arrived in Laos and were administered to the nation’s citizens by professionals from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Critical to the success of the mission were the PharmaPort 360 containers, Davis told Air Cargo World. “UPS Temperature True service with the PharmaPort 360 container was up to the task and performed flawlessly, delivering the vaccine on time, to the right location and in the right condition,” he said.

He also envisions pharmaceutical transportation becoming a bigger business segment for UPS going forward. In addition to acquiring Italian pharmaceutical logistics company Pieffe at the end of 2011, the integrator opened five pharmaceutical facilities last year in the Americas, Europe and Asia. To Davis, such actions speak to UPS’ overall global healthcare strategy.

“We are investing in the segment to ensure we have the infrastructure necessary to not only manage the transportation of healthcare and pharmaceutical product, but also to continue to build upon the 30-plus dedicated healthcare distribution facilities UPS currently has operating around the world,” he told Air Cargo World.

He said UPS sees healthcare as an area where it can maximize its knowledge of brokerage, regulatory compliance, distribution and post-sales, order-to-cash services and heavy freight transportation of all modes. “And all of these areas are backed by our technology,” Davis said.

The services to Portland, San Juan, Austin and San Francisco will be performed by Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America, respectively. According to a press release, this marks Virgin America’s first time flying to Reagan National, with the other carriers previously only having limited access to the Washington, D.C.-based airport.

Secretary LaHood praised these new flights with providing “convenient, nonstop service” to Washington, D.C., from four key cities. “The flights will [also] increase competition for airlines serving Washington, which can lead to lower fares for consumers,” he added.

The four flights are a direct result of the recently enacted FAA legislation, which created eight daily slot exemptions for carriers with limited or no service to Reagan National to fly farther than 1,250 miles from Washington, D.C. According to the press release, two slots are required for a roundtrip flight.

“The new law also allowed four large carriers already serving Reagan National to exchange a total of eight slots for flights within the perimeter for an equal number of slot exemptions to permit nonstop flights beyond the perimeter,” according to the press release.

American Airlines will switch one roundtrip flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with a flight to Los Angeles International Airport, while United Airlines will trade one round-trip flight to Chicago O’Hare International Airport for a flight to San Francisco International Airport. Delta Air Lines and US Airways are also matching changes to their schedules, switching flights to New York LaGuardia Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with flights to Salt Lake City International Airport and San Diego International Airport, respectively.

According to a press release, the first phase will see the construction of a taxiway to connect the Northeast Cargo Center to the rest of O’Hare airport, as well as a facility with office and freight space. Additional facilities with freight and office capacity will be built during the second and third phases of construction.

Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino praised the significant strides made on the O’Hare Modernization Program with “paving the way for this project to commence, with new, larger runways and taxiways that allow the airport to handle the larger, newest generation of B747-8 cargo planes.”

“Because of our successful efforts,” Andolino said, “Chicago and O’Hare are able to better serve existing cargo carriers and attract new cargo service, which will boost Chicago’s position as an international airfreight hub.”

The construction of the Northeast Cargo Center will also boost Chicago’s economy, according to the press release. The project, which will be financed by a $130 million investment by Aeroterm and more than $62 million of airport funds, is expected to create 1,200 construction jobs, 1,200 permanent jobs and 10,000 regional jobs. The cargo center will also provide O’Hare airport with $600 million in economic benefits over the span of the agreement at no burden to Chicago taxpayers.

Mayor Emanuel elaborated on this benefit, stating that “O’Hare is one of our city’s key economic engines and this project will vastly increase O’Hare’s cargo operations capacity, create thousands of quality jobs for Chicagoans, and increase Chicago’s competitive position as a global transportation and cargo leader.”

The lease agreement between Chicago and Aeroterm, who was selected during a request for proposals process, will be submitted to the Chicago City Council in June for approval, according to the press release.

This growth comes a year after IAG Cargo was formed by meshing together the cargo activities of British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo. The job was handed to Steve Gunning, former managing director of BAWC, who has since catapulted to managing director of IAG Cargo. The inference at the time of the launch was that IAG Cargo would stand alone as part of the parent company’s super-strategy group, not only setting out the roadmap for the two new partner airlines, but also creating the business platform for future airline acquisitions.

Things, it would appear, have transpired rapidly. “You are going to be hearing a lot more about IAG Cargo as a brand,” Gunning said. “We are now very much part of the day-to-day business of the airlines, both here in London and in Madrid.”

Three new Boeing 747-8Fs have recently entered IAG’s fleet; little time has been lost feeding one of the new freighters through Madrid, via a London Stansted-Cologne-Madrid-Johannesburg routing. “This, of course, allows us to feed other traffic from other key points … within the freighter network,” Gunning said. “This is particularly important in allowing us, for example, to provide a link between Hong Kong and Latin America.”

For a period, a freighter service was added to a second Spanish destination of Zaragoza, but was later dropped. The next item on the agenda, in integration terms, is merging the respective cargo reservation systems, a task slated for early next year.

Ahead of the creation of the new super cargo group, Iberia Cargo had already committed itself to investing $85 million in a new cargo terminal at Madrid-Barajas Airport, with a further $60 million being invested by Aena, the Spanish airport operator. When completed in 2015, the development will include a 40,000-square-meter facility, with 15,000 square meters reserved for perishables. The new terminal will more than double existing handling capabilities for the group at Madrid and improves handling efficiency, being 7 kilometers closer to the main passenger terminals.

Gunning is also already had to welcome another airline into the fold with IAG’s new addition of British Midland International. The formerly Lufthansa-owned British carrier operated a modest European and more distant network, but its single greatest asset was the number of slots it held at London Heathrow, which IAG seemed more than eager to snatch.

“The BMI cargo business was modest by global standards,” Gunning said, “but still produced sales of $30 million, which we are happy to add to our bottom line.”

In early April, Garuda CEO Emirsyah Satar announced his decision to boost cargo capacity on passenger aircraft; Satar wanted to take advantage of rising airfreight volumes in various regions of Indonesia and mounting investment in the country. By the end of the month he declared that the airline would get its first freighter aircraft by the end of this year. According to him, Garuda will have one A330-200F in service by next January and two more joining the fleet in 2013.

This is not the first time that the airline is showing freighter ambitions. In 2010, there was talk of converting up to seven of its B737-400s into all-cargo configurations. This never materialized, although the concept has found favor with other carriers in Indonesia. Jakarta-based Airmark Indonesia Aviation obtained a 737-300F from GECAS in April, following a similar deal in February involving GECAS and Cardig Air.

April saw Garuda sign an order for 11 A330-300 passenger planes, but the carrier has not given any details on its A330 freighter plans. Observers are confident, though, that the carrier will forge ahead with its cargo ambitions this time.

“I think they will bring in the freighters,” remarked Ionut Mares, general manager for airfreight of DHL Global Forwarding Indonesia. He pointed to recent enhancements of the carrier’s cargo facility at its Jakarta hub and the construction of a terminal for domestic freight, which will free up space at the existing facility to accommodate freighter operations.

Garuda is planning to launch a new routing between Jakarta and Taipei on May 24.

The carrier also announced that it’s now aiming for 4-percent growth in its total cargo capacity (belly-hold and freighter), rather than the 7-percent growth it had anticipated for 2012. Officials say the culprits are staggering fuel prices and challenging market conditions.

Cathay Pacific and wholly owned subsidiary Dragonair will also slash capacity on certain long-haul passenger routes, canceling flights to North America and Europe. In addition, the company will begin to retire less fuel-efficient craft. Plus, Cathay Pacific will make ad-hoc cancellations in correspondence with market demand, according to a press release.

John Slosar, CEO of Cathay Pacific, defended the carrier’s cutbacks, stating that they will help Cathay Pacific remain profitable in an unfavorable market. “The airline’s financial position remains strong,” he said, “which will enable us, despite the current difficult trading conditions, to maintain the quality of our products and services and to continue with our long-term strategic investment in the business.”

One such investment is Cathay Pacific’s new HK$5.7 billion cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport, which is slated to open early next year. In the press release, Cathay maintained that the launch of this facility is unaffected by the cost-reduction measures.

According to a press release, the integrator’s acquisition of Tatex also demonstrates its “continued focus on European expansion through smart, strategic investments and organic growth.” In fact, the past seven months have seen the launch of 38 new FedEx offices across Europe, half of which are located in France.

Frederick W. Smith, CEO of FedEx Corp., said the Tatex acquisition will boost the company’s operations in Europe even more. “FedEx has always recognized the importance of our Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa — EMEA — region and its many unique marketplaces to global trade, and this acquisition shows we are continuing to systematically and strategically invest in growing our network and value proposition in these important areas of the world,” he said in a statement.

“The Tatex business complements FedEx’s existing operations in the French market, and will enable the company to provide additional local services in one of Europe’s largest geographies, to its customers around the world,” Smith continued.

FedEx Express EMEA President Gerald Leary echoed Smith’s statements, commenting that customer demand drove the company’s decision to expand in Europe. And, France, in particular, “has always been a key market for FedEx,” Learly said — a position that will be strengthened with the Tatex acquisition, he added.

UPS is also looking to expand in the European market, as evidenced by its March acquisition of Dutch logistics firm TNT Express for $6.77 billion.