Category Archives: Air

Not enough SAF for air cargo to hit net zero – carriers must find other routes

Posted on February 20, 2023 by | Leave a comment

It’s becoming obvious that there’s no way that enough sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) can be produced to meet the needs of air traffic.

Carriers are already suggesting they will need to play a little use in their path to ‘Net-Zero’ emissions. They plan to take advantage of strategies which allow them to keep emitting but using offsets with technologies that have been declared legitimate to shelter fuel use.

Such technologies concern purchasing carbon credits and developing carbon capture sources. But those do not actually reduce the emissions from air traffic.

I’m interested by what Glen Hughes, the director general of The International Air Cargo Forum (TIACA) said for the article below.

“What’s important is the capacity to monitor a company’s total ESG impact and activities in a manner that fulfils audit requirements and has a direct impact on investment decisions by equity firms and banks.”

Source: Loadstar Article

Clearly this sidesteps serious ESG improvement for the industry and promotes a form of gaming the rules.

Promoting watered-down audit requirements and shaping how investment decisions are made by large investors clearly takes precedence over actually improving emissions. The premise that investment firms and auditors are to determine the world’s response to environmental improvement is patently ridiculous. TIACA is promoting a specious response. A harsh judge could call it a form of greenwashing.

To be fair, I will quote Mr Hughes again, from the same article, citing six questions to answer for supply chain officials:

 “Am I being as environmentally responsible as I can? Am I using recyclable materials? Am I optimising transport? Am I using sustainable energy or compensating for emissions? Am I supporting global prosperity and economic growth? And how can I, my partners and supply chain stakeholders continually improve?”

Source: Loadstar Article

Compensating for emissions is a big loophole. And if you use the loophole, are you being as environmentally responsible as you can be?

Leaving it to investors and politicians to decide does not seem like a wise course.

By Alex Whiteman 20/02/2023

Not enough SAF for air cargo to hit net zero – carriers must find other routes – The Loadstar

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Posted in Air, Logistics, Supply Chains, Sustainability

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Report: Amazon Air puts 70% of US population within next-day reach

Posted on September 1, 2021 by | 1 comment

Amazon is doubling down on next-day delivery. By using their own air freight in conjunction with other airlines, they are abot to reach 70% of the population.

I loved two-day service and never thought I needed something faster. But I have to admit, getting it the very next day is a rush. And sometimes, that’s exactly what I need— especially with Covid lurking, it’s an alternative to going to the store and being exposed.

One of the interesting features of the article is the map of Amazon’s air service network. It’s as prodigious as any major airline. Of course, it’s only for packages.

I wonder what business they could do with this network should they decide to start offering air package transport for other companies. For instance for pharmaceuticals.

Report: Amazon Air puts 70% of US population within next-day reach More airport hubs, destinations and flights put airline in position to handle big Christmas package volume

Eric Kulisch, Air Cargo Editor Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Report: Amazon Air puts 70% of US population within next-day reach – FreightWaves

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Posted in Air, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chains

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IATA to review air cargo load factor calculations

Posted on January 18, 2018 by | 3 comments

Project Selfie examined load factors used in reporting by major airlines. It turns out that there is a wide range of ways the load factor is calculated by airlines. Weight alone yields low load factors (the percent of utilization of the aircraft with respect to cargo weight).  Most of the airlines use a combination of weight and size, and this is done differently for different carriers.  Thus they report load factors on different bases, so they are not comparable.   IATA, the industry group, wants to have a more consistent basis than weight for reporting its figures for the industry. Weight alone is not very significant.

“(Weight alone) poorly reflects how full the planes really are.”

In short they cube out before they weigh out.  Packages that go by air are not very dense! This may partially explain why air freight rates are going up while load factors are not very high. So IATA has been misrepresenting capacity utilization of planes.

logo2via IATA to review air cargo load factor calculations after Project Selfie revelations – The Loadstar

Some notes on Project selfie:  Weight loadfactors a poor way of showing utilisation, Project Selfie confirms – The Loadstar

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Posted in Air, Logistics, Production Operations, Supply Chains

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