During the current period of robust demand for air cargo services, some of the hottest commodities sold have come in the form of perishable goods. The exotic nature of some foods, plus a critically short shelf life, has made them the darlings of the airfreight world.
A recent live demonstration of an e-commerce delivery by a drone reinforced the potential of drones to streamline last-mile deliveries - the final frontier of e-commerce logistics. At the late-September livestreaming of the delivery, the consortium behind the project announced a three-week trial of a same-day drone delivery service.
Fiji Airways reports that it has made in-cabin inspections of emergency equipment faster and more efficient across its fleet of 15 airplanes, with the use of radio frequency identification technology.
Despite some typically cautious warnings that the current growth cycle may be nearing a peak, industry-wide freight tonne kilometer (FTK) growth is at its strongest pace since 2010 - and global business and consumer confidence levels point to solid improvement at least through the third quarter, IATA said in its Q3 2017 "Cargo Chartbook."
A light breeze blew against the enormous hangars that dominate the pastoral skyline of Bedfordshire, like Brobdingnagian relics in Gulliver's Travels. "The weather was fine," the post-accident report stated - perfect conditions for the Airlander 10's second test flight, scheduled for Aug. 24, 2016.
The world's largest plane makers are testing a seemingly simple formula to smooth production, cut costs and fatten profits: Make more of the parts that go into their jets themselves.
For drone users, Hurricane Harvey is likely to be the event that propelled unmanned aircraft to become integral parts of government and corporate disaster-recovery efforts.
Less than five years ago, the idea of a "cargo community" at an airport was little more than an attempt by various cargo executives to know all the names up and down the supply chain. What each member of the supply chain did, however, was largely a mystery.
A growing number of companies are paying to track in real time everything from truckloads of pork chops to shipping containers full of exercise equipment.
Above Shanghai's skyline, things are eerily quiet: the helicopters and small planes that whir over other cities in the world are hardly ever seen here, or anywhere across China, thanks to decades-old airspace restrictions and a dearth of airstrips and heliports.
