Atlanta Lands TIACA 2012
     “Hartsfield Jackson International Airport gets The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) 26th Air Cargo Forum & Exposition in Atlanta for 2012,” Robert Kennedy, Assistant General Manager for Operations, Maintenance and Security for HJIA told Air Cargo News/FlyingTypers.
     “Hartsfield-Jackson has already hosted, major events for several other world transportation organizations including ALACAT and also with United Nations affiliate CIFAL Atlanta, the multiple best practice sharing seminars for airport and government officials from around the world,” Mr. Kennedy noted.
     “HJIA is preparing for increased international traffic by planning to add gates, open the international terminal and boost cargo capacity.
     “The airport handled approximately 86.4 million passengers this year, but it was originally built to handle only 55-60 million,” Mr. Kennedy said.
     The airport handled better than 700,000 tons of air cargo in 2006 and moves some 250,000 passengers and 2,700 flight operations per day.
     But major upticks in both categories are continuing as the gateway readies first combination flight connections to China recently awarded to Delta.
     It is thought that 100 million to 120 million passengers are expected annually in the next several years.
     “HJIA’s physical infrastructure has to expand,” Mr. Kennedy said.
     A $6 billion to $7 billion renovation project will include among other improvements expansion of the main terminal by 150 feet and streamlining movement within the terminal complex itself to include ticketing and baggage handling and a rental car facility, that will be attached to the main terminal by a train that will eliminate bus traffic and pollution.
     Mr. Kennedy said 60 to 70 new gates are to be added by 2012 in time for the TIACA show.
     Hartsfield-Jackson experienced 20 percent growth in international traffic in 2006 compared to 2005 and approximately 18 percent growth in 2007.
     As Delta Air Lines and others add more international flights to China and elsewhere, cargo facilities will likely also need to expand, Mr. Kennedy said. Recognizing that the current cargo facilities are approaching maximum useage, Robert Kennedy, the old cargo hand said that Hartsfield-Jackson is ramping up plans to add a new (fourth) cargo facility that will add eight cargo positions in 255,000 square feet of warehouse and office area.
     “It just makes sense to do business here.
     “We are a self-sufficient gateway, meaning we are not taxpayer-funded.
     "HJIA also charges less for a carrier to operate here than Miami International or LaGuardia Airport and several other major USA airports.”

Emirates Gives The Awards?
     Here is a switch and it happened early in 2007—last January about one year ago to be precise.
     Emirates SkyCargo, an outfit that usually gets all the awards, actually gave out a few, honoring UAE cargo agents in Dubai.
     Here UAE Cargo Agents stand with Ram Menen, Emirates' Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, Peter Sedgley, Emirates Vice President Cargo Commercial Operations and Jassim Saif, Emirates Manager Cargo Sales UAE.
     By mid–year, EK once again wowed the air show faithful (and the rest of the air cargo universe as well) with another mega-order, this time for ten B747 future freighters at the July Farnborough UK Air Show.
     SkyCargo closed 2007 moving deep to the heart of Texas with a December 3 launch of Boeing 777-200LR services able to move up to 18 tons of cargo from Dubai International Airport to Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and around 12 tons on the return leg.
     Roberto Penate is Emirates SkyCargo Manager in Houston.
     Emirates' Houston-Dubai currently operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but increases to five weekly flights later this month on January 28. Service goes daily February 4, 2008.

New India Airports Going Green
     In little more than two month’s time during March 2008, India will get not one but two brand new airports abuilding at Hyderabad and Bangalore. Finally comes the first signs of a stronger aviation infrastructure for the country with more promised to come.
     Both facilities are touted as “Greenfield Airports,” boasting world-class in every sense of the term: in looks, in quality and (fingers crossed) in delivery.
     That means a lot for air cargo.
     The GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) airport, for example, will have an initial cargo capacity of
100,000 MT per annum that will ultimately go up to more than 1.3 million MT per annum.
     GHIAL will have an exclusive cargo apron for four code C freighter aircraft and facilities for 'Express/Courier' cargo.
     Keen to cash in on the booming 8 percent growth in the economy, the government has been looking to develop dedicated cargo airports.
     That move has actually gained momentum now that a number of private players are showing interest to enter the airport business.
     But still blocking the way to dedicated cargo airports is a government policy – enacted some years ago – that stipulates that no airport can be set up within a 150 km radius of an existing airport.
     However, a change of attitude is taking place.
Now, the government has taken the view that if any private individual or organization applies for the setting up of a “Greenfield Cargo Airport,” to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the request will be examined and fast tracked through the regulatory maze for eventual clearance.
     In a report yet to be made public a government sponsored three-member committee including the Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek
Singh Ahluwalia has proposed that “Greenfield Cargo” Airports should be automatically cleared meaning the 150-km radius rule will not pose an obstacle.
     What will, perhaps, usher in a new era would be the official acceptance of the proposal.
     Stay tuned after that supporters say for a whole new slew of airports that could be created in the country.
     Though no all cargo airports exist at the moment, the Airports Authority of India introduced special cargo facilities at airports in Nagpur, Lucknow and Coimbatore.

     "Sometimes value can't be expressed in money.
     The shipment in fact was priceless in terms of what it meant in portraying the culture of a long lost civilization,” says Michael Diefenbach, Lufthansa Cargo's VIC manager (VIC stands for Very Important Cargo).
     Herr Diefenbach is talking about 81 boxes with Cambodian treasures inside, the heaviest weighing 1.2 tons that were managed hands on by Lufthansa Charter.
     Precious art objects of the famous Angkor period from the 9th to15th century that were overgrown by the jungle and rediscovered in recent years.
     Funded by the German government, the figures, statues and sculptures were restored and sent by air to various expositions in Germany and Switzerland.
     "It was quite a job because we had to build special wooden boxes to fit the fragile items, and bring the necessary loading equipment from Germany to Cambodia because at the airport of Phnom Penh they had none," recalled Holger Schmeer, of the task he and his Schenker project team had to fulfill. That was a year ago.
     Now these delicate and breathtaking one of a kind treasures from antiquity have gone back to where they once belonged, having originally come from The National Museum of Phnom Penh.
     "We decided to utilize a B747-200F leased by Lufthansa Cargo from Atlas Air," says Heide Enfield, Manager Marketing & Sales at the LH Charter Agency.
     A big plane was needed due to the height of some of the pieces.
     "It was originally a line-haul flight from Frankfurt to Hong Kong that we just rerouted via Phnom Penh," she explains. “By doing so it turned out to be somewhat cheaper for the customer compared to chartering a Jumbo freighter or even an Antonov 124-100.” The high-value items left Frankfurt earlier this week on Wednesday and arrived in Cambodia's Capital City the day after

      But the best part, aside from TLC all around from Lufthansa Charter is that visitors very soon can see a wondrous display from another time in 2008 at the National Museum, in a pride of place and after magnificent restoration transported back without a hitch by some caring hands of people who felt that history on their watch was too important to take for granted.
     Heide Enfield puts it this way:
     “The charter business is reinvented every day because once a shipment arrives the deal is done.
     “Unlike the rest of cargo there is very little repeat special business unless we are moving produce or something.
     “So very often we get personally involved and quite spirit driven about shipments, especially when they are made up of such beautiful and irreplaceable works of art and national treasure.”

Northern Attitudes
     Finnair Technical Services and Russia-based Aeroflot Cargo signed an agreement covering maintenance services for Boeing MD-11 cargo aircraft until 2016.
     The agreement, one of the largest in the history of Finnair Technical Services means Aeroflot Cargo is the biggest single customer for Finnair Technical Services outside Finnair Group.
     Meantime Finnair will retire its Boeing MD-11 passenger aircraft fleet by Spring 2010.
     Two AY MD-11s have been sold to Aeroflot Cargo and are being converted to cargo by Boeing.
     The pair will bring number of the type operated by the company as freighters to eight by next year.
     Converted MD11’s can lift 92.3 tons across about 3,486 miles.

Hit ’Em Where You Ain’t
     SAS Cargo (that already serves Shanghai and Beijing) closed out 2007 announcing moving to some new destinations in October 2008 and also “adding capacity directly to some very popular cargo destinations," according to Kenneth Marx, President and CEO at SAS Cargo Group.
     “For quite some time we have been looking for the right solution for our customers with a need for direct air cargo transport between India and Scandinavia.
     According to the plan, SAS goes with four weekly departures between Copenhagen and India and three weekly departures between Copenhagen and San Francisco.
     “Therefore, SAS' decision is very relevant for us.
     “The opening of San Francisco as a new destination will also be good news for our customers, since we already have quite some tonnages between Scandinavia and the American West coast,” he added.

Ultralite Containers Greening Cargo Lift
     If there is one thing the squeeze on pricey fuel creates, it’s a serious downward pressure on everything the silver birds have to lift, including themselves.
     That is why you can expect in 2008 to increasingly be hearing about a variety of light containers.
     According to International Boxing Federation regulations, 62 kilos would put a fighter in a class somewhere between lightweight and junior welterweight.
     Air cargo equipment companies—whose products know something about getting beat up—are fighting it out amongst themselves to provide lighter air cargo containers to an industry that’s become increasingly concerned about the environment and ever vigilant about saving costs.
     Germany-based Telair International said its current line of Ultralite ULD containers have a tare weight of 62 kilos (about 137 lbs), and that the company is working on being “below 60 kilos before the end of 2008.”
     That would be about five kilos below the tare weights some of their competitors are currently reporting.
     “Contrary to competitor's lightweight units, our Ultralite containers have already proven themselves in service,” said Hans van Rooijen, a Holland-based Telair manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “They’ve been flying some five years now, and thousands of units fly with several major airlines.”
     He said some of those airlines include Air France-KLM, Air Canada, Emirates, Sri Lankan and Singapore Airlines. “Last year we delivered some 4,000 Ultralite containers,” he said.
     “The weight-reduction of over 20 kilos compared to conventional aluminum containers saves a typical airline hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, every year,” Mr. van Rooijen continued.
     “Furthermore, it also proves to save on maintenance-costs since the panel material is much stronger than aluminum.”
     The material is DuPont Kevlar. He says panels on Telair aluminum containers—also among the lightest in the industry, according to Mr. van Rooijen–can be refitted with Kevlar parts to lighten them even more, as part of regular maintenance.
     Mr. van Rooijen, like many in the industry currently, pointed out that lightweight ultimately means airlines are making considerable reductions of their CO2-emissions.
     Less weight on the containers means more weight in cargo, and that means less trips for the aircraft—at least theoretically.
     Telair is part of U.S.-based and NYSE listed Teleflex Inc., a global engineering company that specializes in services and products for areas including the aerospace, marine and medical industries.

When Cargo Spirits The Arts
     Dutch-born Jos van der Woensel, spent 18 years as an air cargo GSA for a company he started called Zygene EFC b.v
     Prior to that time, Jos was part of the famed “Foreign Legion,” and disciple of Al Levinson at Seaboard World Airways.
     Later Jos would build a solid reputation at Pan Am Clipper Cargo.
     But after Pan Am fell and went out of business, Jos moved into his fortune making role as an air cargo GSA and his first account as GSA was LOT Polish Airlines.
     Jos retired in 2005 after selling his company.
     But Jos is a dedicated collector, photographer and man about Europe albeit retired but definitely not disengaged.
     With his bride Truus, Jos is off on another adventure having just published an astonishing collection of pictures, a time capsule of incredible black and white pictures of Poland, titled Polska 1963.
     Polska 1963 that we reported about last month depicts a great people who are captured in everyday life through a masterful collection of sensitive emotional pictures by master photographer Peter Schumacher.
     Here is another time and an intimate look at every day life, of people at market, sun-bathing on the now vanished Wisla beaches at Warsaw and Krakow, and enjoying life despite the heavy hand of the cold war era.
     A beautiful master’s touch by Schumacher while Jos & Truus make this book sing a well-deserved homage to a great people,      Polska 1963 is at once uplifting and to be treasured, as this country in the true geographical center of Europe emerges.
     Polska 1963 belongs up on the shelf alongside the other important chronicles of this country that somehow endured to become the Greater Poland of the 21st Century.
     More: www.damh.nl.
Guenter, Geoffrey, Heiner, David, George & TG contributed to this story