April 2011

On April 22, a tornado swept though Lambert-St. Louis International Airport , severely damaging Concourse C, one of the airport’s busiest terminals. Although there were no casualties, four people were injured.

The first quarter of 2011 brought mixed results for Delta Air Lines: Although the carrier’s net loss was $318 million, cargo revenue increased by 42 percent, or $74 million. Delta attributes much of the airfreight growth to higher volume and yield.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division completed its review of Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran Holdings Inc. on April 26. With this clearance, both airlines can move forward with the scheduled transaction date of May 2.

UPS announced an extremely promising first quarter of 2011, with 24 percent higher earnings than 2010 averages. The company also saw improvements in international exports, citing a 7.2 percent increase in daily capacity.

The United States District Court in Chicago has charged two former Air France executives with conspiracy to fix prices and coordinate surcharges on airfreight shipments to and from the United States. This is the most recent indictment in a series of investigations into price-fixing in the air cargo industry.

In an address to the National Chamber Foundation Annual Aviation Summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Air Transport Association of America (ATA) President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio called on the Department of Transportation (DOT), Congress and the aviation sector to enact policies that will strengthen the industry.

DHL Global Forwarding has launched a Competence Center at the Vienna Airport. In addition to expanding the carrier’s reach in the healthcare and life sciences sector, the center will ensure temperature-sensitive shipments remain adequately refrigerated.

The Mexican carrier Interjet has conducted the first biofuel flight in the country, operating an Airbus A320 with a 30 percent biofuel blend developed from the local jatropha plant. The plants were harvested in Chiapas, Mexico.   

Despite increased capacity, airfreight demand in the Asia-Pacific region dropped slightly in February, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) reports. In fact, the average international cargo load factor decreased by four percentage points, falling to 69.7 percent.