2023 saw a lot of excitement both on the ground and in the air (literally). From introducing new routes on our global network, to the opening of New Premia, our cutting-edge climate-controlled handling facility at London Heathrow, we reflect on our top 10 achievements that have set the benchmark for 2024 incredibly high (challenge accepted).
Transported one of the world’s largest known dinosaurs
IAG Cargo is no stranger to flying weird and wonderful freight, and at the start of 2023, we once again pushed the boundaries of air cargo. We transported the cast of a 101-million-year-old titanosaur – one of the biggest dinosaurs on record to ever roam the Earth – from Buenos Aires to London for the Natural History Museum’s exhibition, Titanosaur: Life as the Biggest Dinosaur. For this impressive move, we utilised our Secure product for transporting precious and valuable cargo, which included the careful handling of 225 bone casts packaged into 32 specially designed crates.
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
Opened our climate-controlled handling facility, New Premia
Managing premium freight at our thriving London Heathrow hub became even more efficient in spring 2023 with the launch of New Premia. The GDP-certified facility brings 10,470m² of increased warehouse capacity, including a dedicated Constant Climate Quality Centre that delivers the highest standards for handling temperature-sensitive freight. There are also 11 rapid-rise doors (we now have 17), boasting cutting-edge air-curtain technology, which form a thermal barrier and regulate temperatures. Inside, a large, automated Material Handling System seamlessly processes cargo, as do four Transfer Vehicles that service 20 new build-and-break workstations.
Expanded our global network
We continued to explore and expand our global network to grow our reach and connect our customers with key markets around the world. At the end of 2023, the water cannons were out to welcome our first direct service between Madrid and Doha, which operates daily on an A330. This new route offers our customers an additional gateway linking Asia Pacific destinations to our extensive European and Latin American network. In spring and summer 2023, we restarted our services in China, with daily flights from London to Shanghai, and flights from London to Beijing operating four times a week. Increased routes to Hong Kong and Tokyo also contributed to our expansion in Asia. We celebrated a milestone by launching a new service from London to Cincinnati, plus opened an approved Constant Climate station there for handling temperature-sensitive freight, bringing the total number in the US to 21. We also opened another Constant Climate station, this time in Cape Town, to serve the growing pharmaceutical demand in the African market.
Helped keep global economies moving
We continued to play a vital role in transporting essential goods and maintaining supply chains worldwide. We supported retailers and farmers by delivering perishable produce in pristine condition via our Constant Fresh service, for example, we exported over 10,000 tonnes of fresh salmon from Norway to various destinations across the North Atlantic in the first quarter of the year. We helped communities around the world celebrate annual traditions as we transported over 300 tonnes of whiskey from the UK and Ireland to the US for St Patrick’s Day, and we played cupid in the run up to Valentines Day, moving 500 tonnes of fresh flowers from South America to our Madrid Hub over 2 weeks.
Advanced sustainable aviation fuel
Taking responsibility for our environmental impact by significantly reducing scope 3 CO2 emissions was high on our achievements list. In 2022, we sourced 12.5 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel for use on our partner airlines, and in 2023 we took things to new heights. We continued to team up with our customers to purchase more than double that amount: 25.5 million litres.
Led the way in digitalisation
We continued to make great strides in digitalisation to enhance our customers’ eBooking experience. From beginning trials for opening payments to digital channels for agents that cannot trade with us directly, to preparing for the launch of our dynamic pricing roll out in 2024 which will offer our customers the best cargo rates online. Our Destination Digital initiative supported our transition from a traditional paper air waybill (AWB) to an electronic AWB, which has streamlined the process and overall customer experience.
Fostered relationships around the globe
Insightful and celebratory events were amongst IAG Cargo’s many milestones in 2023. From hosting a customer roundtable in Delhi to discuss growth in the region, to throwing our first Pride in Our People Awards in London to recognise and reward the great achievements of our talented workforce. We were once again joined by expert speakers from the air cargo industry for an insightful ninth episode of our online webinar, Cargo Live. Other highlights involved networking and building relationships with customers at global events, including, Air Cargo Europe in Munich, sponsoring the WCA Worldwide Conference in Singapore, and attending Multimodal in Birmingham.
Said hello to new faces across our leadership teams
Several exciting appointments within the business were announced in 2023. Firstly, Camilo Garcia Cervera returned to IAG Cargo as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, bringing a wealth of knowledge in digitalisation and dedicated to delivering a customer-first and partner-centric approach. We appointed Jenny Critchley as our Chief Transformation Officer to drive business-wide transformation, and Saleem Saeed as our Sustainability Manager to strengthen our dedication to spearheading eco-conscious practices in the air cargo sector. We also appointed Jordan Kohlbeck as Head of Pharmaceutical to oversee our temperature-controlled pharmaceutical product, Constant Climate.
Opened applications for our 2024 Graduate Scheme
After welcoming a new cohort of talented and inspiring graduates to IAG Cargo in 2023, young and driven talent can now apply to our popular logistics programme, which starts in September 2024 at our London Heathrow hub. The two-year rotational scheme gives graduates the opportunity to gain hands-on, in-depth experience in different areas across the business, which paves the way for their journey as future leaders.
Played a key role at the Everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards
IAG Cargo proudly sponsored the The Infrastructure category at the Everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards, a celebration which shines a light on the brilliant contributions of women in the transport and logistics industry. What’s more, new data from The Equity Index revealed that IAG Cargo took second place in a list of FTSE100 companies and their subsidiaries with the smallest gender pay gap.
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