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Fly cargo direct om the Duchy
Page 65
Page 66
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...it may not seem the quickest way to do if-but APS has shown, by linking up wilh Cargolux, that it's highly competitive to freighl from Luxembourg, reports David Wilcox. Pictures: Brian Weatherle
LUXEMBOURG is little more to many people than a name at the end of the radio dial. But that little country, just 50 miles from North to South and no more than 35 miles across at its widest point, boasts Europe's largest all-cargo airline, Cargolux — an airline with scheduled allcargo services which operates charter services to many destinations and concentrates on the Middle and Far East.
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is not large enough to generate on its own the volume of cargo traffic needed to sustain the biggest European air freight service to the Middle and Far East. But it is in the heart of Western Europe, bordered by the manufacturing countries of France, Belgium and West Germany, and it is from here that Cargolux draws its traffic. it does this by, encouraging them to send air freight to Luxembourg by road.
For each country, it has an arrangement with one particular haulage company which, almost exclusively, brings in freight to Findel Airport in Luxembourg, and back-loads incoming freight from the Far and Middle East.
Cargolux has also looked to Britain as a source of cargo traffic and in June completed an agreement making APS Transport of Bedfont, Middlesex, its exclusive haulier for this country.
APS, like Cargolux itself, is a relatively young company. It was born in 1971 when Dave Fisher set up in business with a three-ton Bedford, calling himself Airport Parcels Service or APS for short. He concentrated on delivering and collecting air freight parcels and then gradually built up and expanded into regular trunking services, helped by the depot's location right next to Heathrow Airport. As David Vine, sales and financial director at APS put it, "We couldn't be any nearer the airport without actually being inside the perimeter fenceI'' APS now has three depots — the Heathrow site, another at Manchester Ringway Airport and a third at Teesside Airport. Spread between these three depots are 54 vehicles and 18 trailers. APS operates a nightly trunking service between each depot in both directions under the name "Nightlin,e Express." This still carries a good deal of air freight and APS also runs box vehicles and light vans for doorto-door deliveries and collections.
But the prime service of APS is its Cargolux operation. I immediately asked David Vine why British shippers with goods to air-freight to the Middle or Far East, should have them carried by road to Luxembourg before putting them on a plane. Why not let a British airline carry them direct from this country?
It all comes down to service, quality and price. David told me. Because Cargolux is an all-cargo airline, it is obviously more geared lo cargo requirements. For instance, if a lorry bringing freight is late, the aircraft can more easily be held than if it had passengers on it. There are no expensive passenger terminals to run either. Freight can also usually travel quicker from Luxembourg — there are fewer delays than at busy Heathrow, for instance.
The speed of the service is, of
cOurse, only as good as ti road link to Luxembourg. APS are contracted by Cargole to run a vehicle every day; seve days a week. Shippers cz either bring their freight to ot of the three APS depots or AF can pick it up themselves. then goes on the night trunker the Heathrow warehouse. Eve day at least one 32-ton an pulling a 40ft TIR tilt trail leaves Heathrow for Find Airport Luxembourg.
David Fisher;. the founder APS and now Operations dirt tor, told me that the compel moves an average of 15-18 1 trailers a week to Luxembourg For these top-weight uni APS is standardising on and has a rnixtUre of 220C 2300s, and 2800s. The cot pany also has a Mercedes-Be and a Volvo F10, but has tout the DAFs to be good vehicIE particularly reliable and with ; excellent back-up service both this country and abroad.
All the units are fitted wi sleeper cabs, although they a not reckoned to be used reg larly, but so that a driver c; grab a couple of hours sle. when he feels like it.
The only other extras th APS specifies on its units a long-range saddle-tanks. Wi se, said Dave Fisher, "We ) get all the way down to icembourg and back again .hout refilling.'" What is re, APS can buy its diesel in cembourg at around 65p a Ion and complete the whole rney using this — diesel 'nage permitting. The 2800s irage 7mpg, which, thought arge Ball, responsible for the ictical details of vehicle ?rations, was a reasonable ire.
For the smaller and midge vehicles, George said he 3 concentrating in future on rcedes-Benz, especially in van category after a "disastis" experience with some d A-Series vans,
rhe big DAFs pull out of the 3 yard at around 2pm every :moon and set off on the D-mile round trip to Findel Jon, down in the south-east ner of Luxembourg. APS has tanding block booking on ilink ferries and the lorries a sailing at either Dover or kestone at 7.45pm. The ssing to Ostend takes about r hours and the lorries get on he E5 Brussels road around might, arriving at the airport ween 5 and 6am the next rning.
Ihe freight can be carried in a -nber of forms — large .raft-type pallets, the special .raft containers called "high es" tailored to fit the aircraft alage shape and now even 't standard containers. This type of container, originally igned for sea, road and rail,
only be accepted by the aing 747F Jumbo freight raft which is the pride of the golux fleet.
Drily a month ago, Cargolux iounced it had taken up the ion on another 747F, which lue to go into service next ytember. These massive air't in their all-freight configur
m carry an amazing 107 nes of cargo, and because of ir internal dimensions, can .y bulky items that previously to go by sea.
Nhat sort of goods are norly carried by Cargolux — and ce by APS? Common loads furniture, clothes (particu( jeans), engines and spare ts for aircraft and certain ant building items needed to aplete important contracts. iipment for oil rigs is also a juent load for the Middle t destinations.
)avid Vine told me that at time of year, there is a peak tic coming into the country n Hong Kong of toys for istmas. Other goods brought k from Luxembourg include 'clothing and electrical goods from Hong Kong and Japan, plus leather goods from Uruguay, another Cargolux destination.
But the two Davos and George also reeled off a list of more unusual loads they have carried over to Luxembourg many of them obviously destined for Middle Eastern oil sheiks! Such luxuries as RollsRoyces, Range Rovers, speedboats, mini-hovercraft, alsatian guard dogs, and other rich man's playthings have travelled courtesy of APS.
Looking round the Heathrow warehouse, I spotted a lot of expensive-looking furniture and several crates of goods destined for the Sultanate of Oman. There was also a consignment of dried milk for relief work in Cambodia. The racking in the warehouse, is a completely flexible system both in shelf height and floor layout, allowing large and irregular-shaped cargo to be stored.
I asked David Vine if he was worried about much of his cargo being destined for the Middle East, where the international political scene is so unstable. "Yes," he said, "It is not the ideal destination." He pointed out that Cargolux does have many other destinations in the Far East, and APS also has other trunking services to places like Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and its Nightline Services in this country.
APS is committed to carrying every single kilo of cargo presented to it, even if it means putting on an extra vehicle for .just a few parcels. On return journeys the incoming freight is taken via Greenford Inland Clearance Depot for customs clearance and consignees can pick up their goods here or let APS deliver them.
So far, the system seems to work well, and the freight traffic is building up to a level where some days three 401t trailers make the journey down to Findel. Breakdowns have been mercifully rare, reported George Ball and the lorries always make the plane. APS relies on commercial garages for its maintenance, sending each type of vehicle to the local appointed dealer but having a fitter to look after day-to-day problems. For the future, as Cargolux expands — particularly when it takes delivery of that second 747F — then APS should also benefit and the figure of 1 5-1 8 trailers a week will increase.
Cargolux has already approached APS to discuss painting the vehicles used regularly on the Luxembourg run in Cargolux's colours of silver, red, white and blue. This would help the Cargolux name to become better known in this country.
The airline does not want to get involved in running its own haulage services, preferring to stick to aircraft and leave the 'haulage side to the experts. So the APS DAFs will continue to be a regular sight on Sealink ferries carrying British air freight all the way down to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
At first sight it seems a strange way to send air freight to the Middle East — but clearly shippers are finding that it works.