newstodate.aero
Mar 04, 2013 (newstodate): The Lithuanian logistics provider Hoptrans is negotiating with customers to see the airfreight charter operations up and running again in 2013.
-We did have quite a number of freighter operations in January especially, but right now there are no operations planned, says Dalia Ciutaite, Hoptrans managing director.
-Hopefully, we will see traffic up again in a month or so, but it all depends on our talks with customers in the market. We remain in close contact with several carriers, notably Russian airlines, and once the volumes are there we will be able to move quickly to secure the uplift capacity.
-The cargo air charter business is, however, only one line of airfreight business for us. Another line is cargo flow into airports including Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Brussels and trucked from there into Kaunas Airport. This business is running well and on a constant basis - but we would of course like to see the freighter operations into Kanuars Airport bloom again, says Ms Ciutaite.
By the end of September 2010, Hoptrans launched its weekly IL-96-400T freighter flight operated by Polet Airlines from Shanghai to Kaunas Airport.
From April 2, 2011, Polet Airlines was replaced by Jade Cargo with a weekly Boeing 747-400F flight from Shanghai for Hoptrans and Agility in Lithuania, and from June 18, 2011, Lufthansa Cargo Lufthansa Cargo took over the flight from Kaunas Airport to Frankfurt, extending to Bombay, India.
The Jade Cargo flights were, however, suspended shortly before Christmas 2011 and died away with the demise of the Shenzhen-based carrier.
Since then, the freighter traffic has been provided with capacity from various, notably Russian carriers.
In 2012 a total of 3,364 tonnes of cargo was handled at the airport, primarily consisting of ex-China imports flown in via Istanbul in cooperation with the Lithuanian logistics company Hoptrans and Agility, but varying in frequency after a virtual stand-still during the first half of the year.
-We did have quite a number of freighter operations in January especially, but right now there are no operations planned, says Dalia Ciutaite, Hoptrans managing director.
-Hopefully, we will see traffic up again in a month or so, but it all depends on our talks with customers in the market. We remain in close contact with several carriers, notably Russian airlines, and once the volumes are there we will be able to move quickly to secure the uplift capacity.
-The cargo air charter business is, however, only one line of airfreight business for us. Another line is cargo flow into airports including Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Brussels and trucked from there into Kaunas Airport. This business is running well and on a constant basis - but we would of course like to see the freighter operations into Kanuars Airport bloom again, says Ms Ciutaite.
By the end of September 2010, Hoptrans launched its weekly IL-96-400T freighter flight operated by Polet Airlines from Shanghai to Kaunas Airport.
From April 2, 2011, Polet Airlines was replaced by Jade Cargo with a weekly Boeing 747-400F flight from Shanghai for Hoptrans and Agility in Lithuania, and from June 18, 2011, Lufthansa Cargo Lufthansa Cargo took over the flight from Kaunas Airport to Frankfurt, extending to Bombay, India.
The Jade Cargo flights were, however, suspended shortly before Christmas 2011 and died away with the demise of the Shenzhen-based carrier.
Since then, the freighter traffic has been provided with capacity from various, notably Russian carriers.
In 2012 a total of 3,364 tonnes of cargo was handled at the airport, primarily consisting of ex-China imports flown in via Istanbul in cooperation with the Lithuanian logistics company Hoptrans and Agility, but varying in frequency after a virtual stand-still during the first half of the year.