Air China
     Air China serves the relief effort mainly through its cargo subsidiary, Air China Cargo.
     Air China Cargo has allocated four of its eight all-cargo freighters, all of which are Boeing747s, to serve only the relief program, and has cancelled some of its flights to EU and U.S. to keep needed capacity for the transport of goods to Sichuan.
     By May 15, Air China Cargo and Air China’s bellyhold capacity of over 20 passenger flights to Sichuan Province has transported over 700 tons of relief goods.

China Eastern Airlines
     China Cargo Airlines, cargo subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, has put three A300 all-cargo freighters on the Sichuan route, and combined with the bellyhold of China Eastern’s passenger flights, over 450 tons of relief goods have been delivered to Sichuan Province.
     Besides the three airlines above, other Chinese airlines are also working with great commitment to the people in Sichuan Province.

OK Air
     On May 15, China’s private cargo carrier, OK Air, also joined the relief endeavor. Closely cooperating with its U.S. partner UPS, OK Air cancelled the scheduled flights of its B737 all-cargo freighter and delivered 41 tons of goods from Zhejiang Province to Sichuan.
     Mr. Liu Jieyin, President of OK Air said: “To OK Air, the earthquake relief situation is the priority. We will try every effort to transport these relief goods as soon as possible.”

Jade Cargo International
     Within very few hours after the relief operation to Myanmar, Jade Cargo initiated the relief project to Chengdu. In total, Jade Cargo International has operated eight relief flights so far and more domestic flights are in preparation.
     In addition to the relief operation in China, the first international relief flight by Jade Cargo International from Europe non-stop into Chengdu is planned to take place in the next days.
     Mr. Su Xiufeng, Executive Vice President Finance & Accounting: “Jade Cargo International was supported by all sides and longer application terms have been shortened to a few hours. This flexibility by the governmental agencies helped to make this large relief operation possible. “We are committed to keep up our efforts in the next days and will try facilitating as many flights as possible.”
(David)

To donate to the earthquake effort, please see below:

Red Cross: Click Here

Account name: Red Cross Society of China

For those who want to donate in RMB: you can send money to the RMB account at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China branch below:

For those who want to donate in foreign currency, you can send money to the foreign currency account at the CITIC Bank branch below:

Hotline: (8610) 65139999

Oil Could Boost Belly Lift

Here is something interesting to think about.
     Already nine smaller passenger airlines shut down, with only Frontier in Chapter 11.
     Another ten more will be gone before Labor Day weekend.
     Oil at $128m/b today (May 16) may accelerate the shut down of small carriers.
     If oil keeps going up, even the big boys will slide back into Chapter 11.
     The real intriguing development is that passenger are now being forced to pay at least $25 for each second suitcase or $100 for anything over 61 inches is size.
     This new situation could then open up passenger bellies to cargo and therefore additional revenues for the airlines.
     The airlines are losing passenger suitcase carriage not only because of the higher fees and abysmal losses, but also as many travelers now prefer having UPS picking up and delivering suitcases.
Juliusmaldutis@aol.com

Julius Maldutis is the smartest person we know when it comes to handicapping what will happen with the airlines. Dr. Maldutis is an economist with degrees in economics from Brooklyn College (B. A.), Columbia University (M. A.) and Columbia University (Ph. D). Beginning as a Corporate Economist with Trans World Airlines in 1963 and Director of Domestic Passenger Planning, Dr. Maldutis also served as a consultant with Booz, Allen and Hamilton; the U. S. Department of Transportation; and Salomon Bros. as an airline and aerospace financial analyst.

Standing Up For Bruce

     Editor’s note: Our readers around the world undoubtedly read our editorials about how Bruce McCaffrey, the 27 year veteran of Qantas Cargo The Americas has been thrown under the bus by the airline and now faces an eight month jail term and USD$20,000 fine for price fixing (Jail Time For Qantas Cargo ACNFT May 9 and After McCaffrey What’s Next ACNFT May 10).
     Those editorials are now on view at www.aircargonews.com.
     But lest anyone think that this is a time to duck and cover in the face of what seems like runaway U.S. and EEU cops and robbers law enforcement, here comes Julian Keeling, the CEO and Australia market expert of Consolidators International based in Los Angeles with a few words to ponder.
     "Bruce McCaffrey may have had the title of VP Americas but he was treated as middle management and had to receive his orders from Sydney, Australia.
     “The man survived about fifteen bosses in almost as many years and it is to his credit that he stuck to the job he was employed to do as most in his situation would have vanished into that great hangar in the sky.
     “He worked diligently for his employer for twenty-seven years, always being one of the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave each day.
     “During the nineties, when rates were declining rapidly, the one thing Bruce did was control the rates.
     “Bruce held his pricing as best he could to maintain full loads on his aircraft. “Qantas' rates, due to him, always have been the benchmark from which Qantas' competitors discounted their's to attract business.
     “With this as a background, it is nothing short of disgusting how this man has been thrown to the wolves by Geoff Dixon, CEO at Qantas.
     “His Australian colleagues can sit in their armchairs swiggering on a "tube" of Fosters with total immunity smiling that he has taken the rap for the decisions they were responsible in making.
     “Bruce suffered a severe stroke in the nineties and still has mild paralysis.
     “He had few interests outside of the job and few friends inside or outside the industry.
     “A couple of Dale Carnegie courses would not have been amiss for the man.
      “Bruce unceremoniously was dismissed from Qantas last year, with Dixon declaring that Qantas would not pay for his defense.
     “Bruce did not have the resources to fight the battle against the DOJ and thus had to face the music.
     “Industry respect for the CEO at Qantas in deciding to hang Bruce out to dry and taking the rap, while orchestrating a debt-ridden private equity buyout of the airline which netted Dixon tens of millions of dollars, must be at an extremely low ebb.
     “For my money, that certainly is the case.
     “To me, Qantas' reputation has taken a huge hit."
Geoffrey

Despite Name, Result The Same

Emirates Launches Guangzhou

     Emirates delegation in Guangzhou, ahead of July 1 six times (weekly except Friday) A330 launch of services from Dubai include [from left] Edwin Lau, Vice President Greater China; Richard Vaughan, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, East Asia; and Peter Sedgley, Senior Vice President Cargo Commercial Operations; flanked by cabin crew members Marita Hill, Kaixiong Song, Kaina Lebrasse and Wai Chi Tong.
     The picture taken before the horrid earthquake now appears symbolic, that despite latest news, life and business continues in phenomenal China.
     Bilateral trade between China and UAE reached $USD20 billion in 2007, up by 40 percent from the previous year, Emirates said.
     Emirates currently serves China with double daily passenger services to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong and dedicated Boeing 747 freighter services – 13 weekly to Hong Kong and eight weekly to Shanghai.