March 2011

Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) is to acquire UK groupage operator RH Freight, a Nottingham-based company with a second hub in southeast London plus 15 additional UK offices and two sites in Finland. RH Freight operates road services to 32 European destinations daily and handles more than 400,000 shipments per year. It is also active in sea and airfreight as well as in contract logistics, managing 30,000 square meters of warehousing.

FedEx Express has unveiled a Boeing 777 freighter at its London Stansted facility, the first scheduled cargo operation at the airport to use this aircraft.

The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) says the new government must promote a competitive export base, facilitate export expansion, fund export trade growth and support competitive transport initiatives in order to use exports to restore Ireland's economic health.

On March 27, Lufthansa Cargo will start flying to Shenzhen, China; Kolkata, Calcutta; and Barcelona using MD-11s. The carrier's joint-venture partner, Aerologic, will offer connections from Lufthansa's Frankfurt hub to Houston and Lahore.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has asked for more than  $503 million dollars to support airport screening during her presentation of the department's 2012 budget on Capitol Hill. The department's request for fiscal year 2012 comes to a total funding of $57 billion with $47.4 billion in gross discretionary funding and $43.2 billion in net discretionary funding.

Saudi Airlines Cargo is the first customer for OAG Cargo's newest airline program, Route Mapper.

Two weeks after Giovanni Bisignani, CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), called airline profits pathetic, the organization has adjusted its industry outlook from $9.1 billion to $8.6 billion. The original number was predicted in December.

Air China has agreed to purchase five 747-8 Intercontinental aircraft from Boeing, making the carrier the first in China to order the planes.