Emirates SkyCargo celebrates new freight service

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates Airline, yesterday celebrated the inaugural service on its new Far East and Australasia freighter route.

The weekly air cargo service, operated by its new Boeing 777 freighter, will fly Dubai-Singapore-Sydney-Hong Kong-Dubai, providing the key trading points with additional connectivity to Emirates' Dubai hub, which can link businesses to the 114 destinations on the carrier’s network.

The Boeing 777F - which touched down for the first time in Sydney on 12th September - has the capability to carry up to 103 tonnes of freight.

"This new route not only bolsters capacity, it provides our customers with more options and increased trade opportunities," said Hiran Perera, Emirates' SVP Cargo Planning & Freighters.

"We currently transport cargo in the belly-hold of 126 passenger flights a week between Dubai and Australia, as well 28 Hong Kong flights and 42 Singapore flights, and the freighter - with a wide main deck door - will increase our ability to carry oversized shipments," added Perera.

"This takes our import capacity to Australia to 1370 tonnes per week and, in these uncertain economic conditions, is further testament of our commitment to facilitating international trade for businesses in the region."

The inaugural fligh - which carried 100 tonnes of cargo, including medical equipment, diagnostics, spare parts, textiles and clothing - was met by Greg Johnson, Emirates' Cargo Manager Australia, and Alex Barkway, Emirates' Cargo Manager, New South Wales.

"The addition of a dedicated freighter service is a major milestone in Emirates SkyCargo's growth in Australia, and offers new possibilities for expansion into other areas of air cargo transport," said Johnson. "With the high Australian dollar driving up imports, this new flight will also provide us with much needed additional capacity into the market."

EK9920 will depart Dubai every Sunday at 20:35 and touch down in Singapore at 07:55 the following day. The B777F will then depart at 09:00 and complete its outbound journey at 18:30 when it touches down at Sydney International Airport.

The return service, EK 9921, will depart Sydney every Monday at 21:30 and land in Hong Kong at 04:35 on Tuesday. Departing Hong Kong at 07:35 as EK 9865, the service will then terminate in Dubai at 10:35.

With a long-range flying capacity and technologically advanced General Electric (GE) engines, the Boeing 777F provides greater flexibility than any other freighter aircraft currently in operation. It maintains the lowest fuel burn of any comparable sized aircraft, consuming nearly 18 per cent less fuel than today’s freighters.

Emirates SkyCargo introduced its first Boeing 777F in March 2009. In December 2010, it operated its longest ever non-stop flight on the Boeing 777F; 17.5 hours from Sydney to New York. Emirates is the largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft in the world, with 91 in its fleet currently.

LEA boosts fleet

With the addition of a new Legacy 650 this summer, London Executive Aviation (LEA), one of Europe’s largest business jet charter operators, is now flying the world’s largest non-fractional Embraer Legacy fleet.

LEA operates two Legacy 650s and six Legacy 600s in a total charter fleet of 24 aircraft, ranging from the entry-level Cessna Citation Mustang to the transatlantic Dassault Falcon 900EX. Both the Legacy 650 and 600 can seat 13 passengers, with the 650 being the extended range derivative.

LEA managing director George Galanopoulos says: “Like the Falcon 900EX, the Legacy 650 brings us truly transatlantic capability.” The Legacy 650 has a maximum range of 3,800 miles with four passengers. “We can offer nonstop routes like London-New York, London-Lagos, Dubai-London and Astana-London, to name just a few. And we’ve already taken one of our 650s to the Seychelles with just one stop and carried out a London-Los Angeles trip with only a quick fuelling stop in Canada. We can provide all these services for around 30% less than the equivalent flights in a Gulfstream or a Bombardier Global, yet the cabins are almost identical.

“Embraer Legacy aircraft combine the cabin luxury that customers appreciate with operating economics and field service that make operators smile.

“Tour managers are among our many customers who particularly love Legacys. As musicians now rely heavily on performing live for their profits, tour managers are very sensitive to the cost/benefit analysis of aircraft choice. The Legacys are widely seen in this market to offer exceptional value for their size.”

Galanopoulos says, overall, large cabin aircraft continue to be in greater demand from charter customers than light jets. “One of the recessionary trends that initially took us by surprise was how our large jets kept flying, while our mid-size and light jets were, comparatively, less in demand. The fact usage patterns have yet to change significantly shows high-net-worth individuals and governmental customers remain critical to the charter market in 2011, while other customers have yet to return in large numbers.”

Ocean Sky appoints Samantha Clouder to accelerate charter business growth

Rapidly growing private jet company Ocean Sky has appointed Samantha Clouder as its sales and business development director for Ocean Sky Aircraft Charter.

Clouder joins Ocean Sky after nine years with NetJets, where she was vice president of UK Sales. Prior to joining NetJets, Clouder worked in financial public relations as a member of the flotations, mergers and acquisitions team at top City consultancy Citigate Dewe Rogerson.

“Ocean Sky is a fresh and exciting business with the potential to become the coolest air charter brand in Europe,” says Clouder. “My challenge is to intensify the business development process of an already successful operation, fine-tuning our activities and readying ourselves for the coming market upturn.”

“In only a few years of operation, Ocean Sky has earned the respect of customers and competitors, making this a very exciting time to join the business. With the investments Ocean Sky has been making, we have the fundamentals in place to attract many more charter customers and develop lasting relationships with them.”

Ocean Sky’s group chief executive Stephen Grimes points out: “We are delighted to welcome Samantha as head of our charter team. She joins with a superb track record of achieving growth, even in the face of recession, and her leadership will enable us to expand our markets and further strengthen the Ocean Sky brand.

“As a group, Ocean Sky is investing significantly in developing world-class services for every business aviation need. Aircraft charter is a key part of this strategy and, with our growing senior team, we are well-positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities in Europe and beyond.”

Road or air parcel couriers. Which is best?

The fluctuating cost of oil is nothing new, but a recent surge in price has caused a knock-on effect which has – so far – been felt most keenly in the aviation industry.

While Shell shareholders celebrated a 41 percent rise in first quarter profits, airlines like Delta and US Continental Holdings responded to the rocketing price of oil by adding $420 of fuel surcharges on flights to and from the U.S and Europe.

Now Troon-based courier service, Parcels Please is urging money-savvy consumers to save by opting for land-based courier companies as opposed to stomaching the added cost of sending parcels by air.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Fuel surcharges have a knock-on impact to the cost of tickets as well as the cost of sending mail and parcels via air.

“Surcharges are at least 50% higher than they were three years ago so we can expect the cost of air-based courier services to rise.

“While some argue fuel surcharges are just another way for airlines to make money, as long as these companies can prove it is a reimbursement of costs, consumers just have to live with these price hikes.”

While the rising cost of crude oil has also seen a hike in the price at the petrol pumps, the jump has certainly not been as severe with the average cost of a litre of fuel rising by between 10 – 20p.

Speaking about the rise in petrol prices a spokesperson for Parcels Please said: “Road-based courier are used to minor fluctuations in prices at the pump so, unlike air couriers, are unlikely to adjust their prices dramatically, if at all.

“On top of this, the 1p per litre cut in fuel duty laid out in 2011's Budget as aimed to help keep businesses on the road.

“This means customers of companies like Parcels Please can still enjoy competitive and cheap parcel delivery to France and other UK and European destinations without having to worry about the soaring cost of oil.”

(EDITOR: Whilst this is of no benefit to people needing to send parcels to worldwide destinations (unless using slower sea freight is not an option)  it would certainly make sense to look at costs comparing air and road freight within Europe.)