More and faster connections, more capacity, flexibility and time saving: these are the benefits available to European customers of Lufthansa Cargo and ANA Cargo as of Aug. 3. Both airlines are expanding their joint venture for freight consignments to routes from Europe to Japan.

A group of very important guests were transported on flight QR 8197 from Amsterdam-Schiphol to Las Vegas via Qatar Airways this past April. A 777-200 freighter was reserved for just 40 well-pampered passengers from 17 different countries, who flew "first class," so to speak, on the 11-hour, 20-minute flight. The combined net worth of these clients was about $160m. As rich as they were, they did little more on the flight than eat and sleep, with an inflight dining menu of 120 pre-packed haynets, water, oat bran for mash, mixed feed, apples and carrots.

TNT has launched an air route between its main European air hub in Liège, Belgium, and Malta.

IAG Cargo has opened a new airfreight route between London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur.

The global usage of electronic air waybills (e-AWBs) stood, at the end of February, at 26.9 percent, up 2 percent from January. And IATA is confident that the industry can reach its 2015 target of 45 percent by the end of this year.