May 2011

The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) has pointed to the FTA between the EU and South Korea as an impetus for exportation and job growth. Signed last October and set to go into effect July 1, the FTA is expected to increase European trade with Korea by a staggering  €19 billion.

In an effort to establish a greater presence in the Gulf, Qatar Airways Cargo has opened a dedicated airfreight route to Kuwait City. Flights are conducted on an Airbus A300 freighter.

In an effort to increase freight traffic to Chengdu, China, the Asian carrier has launched a Milan-Chengdu-Shanghai cargo route. Air China Cargo will operate the route semiweekly utilizing Boeing 747-400 freighters.

The New Zealand Commerce Commission opened its case against several international airlines in connection with the  December 2008 price-fixing scandal  at the High Court in  Auckland  on May 11. The first section of the trial concerns whether the commission has jurisdiction over airfreight inbound to New Zealand.

As part of its industry overhaul, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a new training program for flight crews. By ensuring pilots and crewmembers receive adequate “real-world” training, the FAA hopes to improve outcomes in emergency situations.

Lufthansa subsidiary time:matters, which moves time-critical spare parts, engines, urgent documents, samples or sensitive specimens, has opened a second Asian office in Shanghai. The company’s only previous Asia location was Singapore, which was established three years ago.

Weaker-than-expected demand has forced Cargoitalia to suspend additional services from its Milan hub to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Cargoitalia also dropped its service to Atlanta, introduced as an extension of the established Milan-Chicago route, after only three months.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines’ launch of a Chicago flight at the end of April made the Volga-Dnepr Group subsidiary the first all-cargo carrier to offer regular services between Russia and the U.S.

SkyTeam Cargo formally welcomed Aeroflot as the ninth member of the alliance at Air Cargo Europe.