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Signs of improvement?
As a leading economic indicator of future change, the transportation industry has been closely observed by analysts and experts searching the supply chain for signs of improvement. The air freight news in August was mixed; however, if you look across the broad range of services (air, ocean, surface) and providers (carriers, integrators, forwarders, etc.), one could conclude that the good news outweighs the bad in recent industry media coverage.
Air Cargo Asia-Pacific - August 27, 2009:
- The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), which represents 17 major airlines in the region, says members' international cargo traffic measured in FTKs fell 11.4 percent year-on-year in July. Cargo capacity fell 12.1 percent year-on-year, and cargo load factors were 66.9 percent.
- The European Union has published a list of nearly 4,000 companies that it says must reduce their emissions impact on the atmosphere or face a possible European airport ban. A new EU target requires that airline emissions in Europe drop by three percent by 2012, and five percent by 2013. Airlines named on the list will have to reduce emissions or face emissions trading penalties estimated to total billions of dollars. As well as Qantas, the list includes Lufthansa, Alitalia, KLM, Emirates, US Airways and United as well as manufacturers Airbus and Dassault, private business jet operators, the US Navy and the air forces of Israel and Russia.
The EU adopted its new policy earlier this year despite opposition from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) member countries and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). A new European law that comes into force on January 1, 2012, (28 months away) means all airlines operating within Europe will have to limit CO2 emissions or face being barred from European airports. Under the planned emissions trading scheme, airlines must submit their plans to limit emissions by January next year or face being excluded from the initial credits on offer.
- UAE authorities say they saw an increase in air cargo business in July. In Dubai, volumes improved 1.9 percent to 160,289 tons, compared with an average global decline of 20 percent this year.
HKSG Group Media Ltd. - August 24, 2009:
- Another cargo decline hit Cathay Pacific Airways and its sister company Dragonair in July, but it was the smallest since the beginning of the year, showing that the downturn is touching bottom, say airline officials.
The Journal of Commerce - August 17, 2009:
- In his Editor's letter, respected industry writer Paul Page noted the supply and demand equilibrium approaching the air cargo freighter industry, "The average freight load fact - the percentage of available space that's filled - for Asia-Pacific airlines was at 66.8% in June, just a hair below the average freight load factor the carriers showed in the first half of 2008." Page went on to report, "Capacity cutting passenger airlines are doing even better, with some in the U.S. reporting load factors close to 90%."
- In the "This Week" section, Japan Airlines and NCA reported air cargo handled by these two carriers "declined by its slowest pace in eight months, providing more hope the slump in global trade has reached bottom."
- The trend of shifting air freight to ocean freight continues as highlighted in an article titled, Air Cargo's Unfriendly Skies. Referring to Polo Ralph Lauren's net profit of $76.8M in their fiscal first quarter, executives of the company attributed the "small but respectable net profit" to "shifting some of its shipping into the U.S. from air freight to ocean freight."
Air Cargo - Asia Pacific - August 10, 2009:
- United Cargo has announced the launch of Temp Control, a service designed for healthcare and pharmaceutical products that require temperature controls and monitoring during transport. The US carrier says Temp Control offers three temperature ranges to meet customers' specific shipping needs: Freeze (-10 degrees C to -20 degrees C), Cool (+2 degrees C to +8 degrees C) and Ambient (+15 degrees C to +25 degrees C). United Cargo launched the service with Envirotainer, a provider of temperature-controlled air cargo containers.
- The nine largest US airlines lost a collective US$1.5 billion during the second quarter despite record load factors and one US analyst - Robert Herbst - says he expects July load factors also to be high, perhaps around the 90 percent mark. "To see this kind of load factor and still lose money is very unusual compared to the industry's history," Herbst said. Herbst and other commentators say the answer is fewer US airlines competing for the same domestic passenger pot.
The Journal of Commerce - August 10, 2009:
- Freight Index Dips - The Cass Freight Index, a closely watched barometer of U.S. cargo shipments, retreated slightly last month (July 2009) from June (2009) after two straight month-over-month gains. Amid increasing signs that the yearlong drought has bottomed out.
Air Cargo Asia Pacific - August 6, 2009:
- Air freight forwarding in the first six months of 2009 shrank by 28 percent and sea freight forwarding fared even worse with a 32 percent drop, according to Transport Intelligence. According to TI CEO John Manners-Bell, indicators both within the market and in the wider economy are mixed. "We believe that it will be at least 2012 before the market returns to its 2008 value," he said.
- US carrier United Airlines' airfreight tonnage grew five percent in July compared to the previous month, June 2009. Freight still fell 17 percent compared to July 2008, but the traffic, measured in freight ton miles flown, was the most United has recorded since last November. Overall, United's belly freight business is down 28.3 percent for the year to end July and cargo revenues down 46.2 percent in the first six months of 2009, compared to the same period a year ago, to US$245 million.
Air Cargo World - August 2009:
- UPS will reduce airline carbon emissions by a total of 42% from a 1990 baseline by 2020. The company intends to achieve this goal by investing in more fuel efficient aircraft types and engines…and the introduction of bio-fuels.
As international freight forwarders, AIT Worldwide Logistics often receives charter aircraft requests for customers potentially requiring significantly large pieces of freight to fly to destination. Whether it is a mobile command post for an insurance company, military equipment to a conflict overseas, or long pipes for an oil well, when time is of the essence, regardless of the cost, air freight is sometimes the only option.
Flying freight is only limited to the size of available aircraft, and the largest two airplanes in the world have the same first name. The largest aircraft ever built, and there is only one of those operational, is the AN 225 Mriya, the other is the AN 124 Ruslan. This month we feature these two work-horses of the sky.
Antonov AN 225 Mriya
The An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift transport aircraft which was built by the Antonov Design Bureau, and is the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built. The design, built to transport the Buran orbiter, was an enlargement of the successful An-124 Ruslan. Mriya means "Dream" (Inspiration) in Ukrainian.
The Antonov An-225 is commercially available for flying any over-sized payload due to the unique size of its cargo deck. Currently there is only one aircraft operating but a second mothballed airframe is being reconditioned and is scheduled for completion around 2010.
Design & Development
The An-225 was designed for the Soviet space program as a replacement for the Myasishchev VM-T. Able to airlift the Energia rocket's boosters and the Buran space shuttle, its mission and objectives are almost identical to that of the United States' Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
The An-225 first flew on 21 December 1988. Two aircraft were ordered, but only one An-225 (tail number UR-82060) is currently in service. It is commercially available for carrying ultra-heavy and oversize freight, up to 250,000 kg (550,000 lb) internally or 200,000 kg (440,000 lb) on the upper fuselage. Cargo on the upper fuselage can be 70 m long.
A second An-225 was partially built during the late 1980s for use by the Soviet space program. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 and the cancellation of the Buran space program, the lone operational An-225 was placed in storage.
 An-225 main landing gear
With a maximum gross weight of 600 tonnes (1,300,000 lb), the An-225 remains as the world's heaviest and largest aircraft, being even bigger than the current double-decker Airbus A380 even though Airbus plans to pass their current maximum landing weight with 591.7 tons.
By 2000, it had become apparent that the demand for the An-225 had exceeded the airline's booking capacity, and in September 2006, the decision was made to complete the second An-225. Assembly is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
Antonov AN 124 Ruslan
The Antonov An-124 Ruslan was the largest airplane in production until the Antonov An-225 was built. During development it was known as the An-400 and An-40 in the West, and it flew for the first time in 1982. Civil certification was issued by the CIS Interstate Aviation Committee on 30 December 1992. Over forty are currently in service (26 civilian models with airlines and 10 firm orders as of August 2006) and 20 were in commercial use in 1998 in Russia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Libya.
Design & Development
Physically, the An-124 is similar to the American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, but has a 25% larger payload, and in lieu of the Galaxy's T-tail, the An-124 uses a conventional empennage, similar in design to that of the Boeing 747. An-124s have been used to carry locomotives, yachts, aircraft fuselages, and a variety of other oversized cargoes. The An-124 is able to kneel to allow easier front loading. Up to 150 tonnes of cargo can be carried in a military An-124; it can also carry 88 passengers in an upper deck behind the wing centre section. However, due to limited pressurization in the main cargo compartment (3.57 PSI), it seldom carries paratroopers.
 Two Ivchenko Progress D-18T Series 4S powerplants
Significant activities
- In September 2001, carrying a record load of 253.82 tonnes of cargo, the An-225 flew at an altitude of two kilometers (6,500 feet) over a closed circuit of 1,000 km (620 mi) at a speed of 763.2 kilometres per hour (474.2 mph).
- In November 2004, FAI placed the An-225 in the Guinness Book of Records for its 240 records.
- On May 1987, an An-124 set a world record, covering the distance of 20,151 km (10,881 nmi) without refuelling. The flight took 25 hours and 30 minutes; the takeoff weight was 455,000 kg. The previous record was held by B-52H (18,245 km).
- In July 1985, an An-124 took 171,219 kg (377,473 lb) of cargo to an altitude of 10,750 m (35,270 ft).
- An An-124 was used to transport the Obelisk of Axum back to its native homeland of Ethiopia from Rome in April 2005. The shipment was done in three trips, each carrying a third of the monument's 160 tons and 24-metre (78 ft) length. Modifications were done to the airstrip at Axum in order to accommodate such a large aircraft.
- A Volga-Dnepr An-124 delivered a whale from Nice (France) to Japan; another flight was to deliver an elephant from Moscow to Taiwan.
- Rolls-Royce contracts the Antonov AN-124 to transport the Trent family engines to and from their test facilities worldwide.
- Lockheed Martin contracts the An-124 to transport the Atlas V launch vehicle from its facilities near Denver to Cape Canaveral. Two flights are required to transfer each launch vehicle (one for the Atlas V main booster stage and another for the Centaur upper stage).
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