The EVA podcast

EVA International Media always seeks new ground breaking ways to inform our clients and ensure that the latest trends and innovations are widely publicised. We are therefore launching EVA Podcasts under the expert guidance of that well-known industry leader, Chris Notter of Saudia Cargo.

CAAS- Spring 2026-Powerd by AI 03/04/2026

CAAS- Spring 2026-Powerd by AI In the turbulence and uncertainty of the past 12 months, some new patterns have emerged, while certain old trends, tendencies and truths have been further highlighted, underlined and reinforced – or in some cases, left behind. Many of these are illustrated in the accounts of air cargo industry experts and senior stakeholders within the Outlook 2026 Report within this magazine (pages 4-49). Senior industry leaders from freight forwarding companies, carriers, airports, cargo handlers, technology specialists, associations, and other organisations describe their recent experiences and how they have responded to key changing market conditions and circumstances, and new trends and patterns. Emerging themes include the ever-increasing importance of resilience, responsiveness, visibility, and good data. Ai is mentioned frequently, and you will have your own experiences with this. New use cases within air cargo will continue to emerge this year, and air cargo will continue to play a key role in transporting the semiconductors and other technologies that support its development – and the wider supply chains of this and other verticals – as cargo owners and their logistics partners navigate complex and fast-changing tariff, trade, and competitive dynamics. Some of these trends are explored in further detail within the report on North America (page 50), where stakeholders have faced the sharp end of fast-changing tariff and trade rules. In the GSA Interviews section (pages 57-65), GSAs highlight how recent market changes have affected their businesses, and new trends in outsourcing airline cargo sales, services and operations – where closer partnerships and predictive data are particularly emphasised. And in the Technology Interview (page 68), CargoAI CEO Matt Petot outlines how innovation, automation, and Ai are steadily redefining how the industry operates. In the ‘year of the wood snake’ that we recently left, many companies and individuals have needed to shed old skins and past behaviours, expectations, and business practices, amid last year’s extreme geopolitical and trade turbulence, and further advances in Ai. The ‘year of the fire horse’ seems sure to bring new dynamic challenges – and opportunities for those agile and versatile enough to respond positively to them. The next issue of CAAS will include a substantial article on ‘Women in Air Cargo’, based around the conclusion of IATA’s 25by2025 initiative and interviews with a variety of women working at senior levels within air cargo and allied sectors. It was originally planned for this Spring edition, but I have rescheduled it in order to strengthen the article by including a wider diversity of voices. It will be part of a greater focus within CAAS on people issues within the sector, which will include topics such as training, recruitment, and diversity. /episode/index/show/evashow/id/40310470

Redefining Air Cargo: Denis Duarte on the Future of Freight at Frankfurt 02/09/2026

Leadership, People & Culture in Aviation | With Desiree Perez 01/14/2026

ARGS Winter 2025 - Powered by AI 12/17/2025

ARGS Winter 2025 - Powered by AI A further raft of recent aircraft orders illustrates there is no let-up in airlines positioning themselves to meet long-term travel demand. To some extent it is a product of the timelines of manufacturer backlogs, which make securing fresh narrowbody capacity before the next decade challenging, and even more so for widebodies. But while the rationale for the bulk of orders is now around securing delivery slots into the 2030s, there was a nuance to some of the eye-catching deals unveiled during November’s Dubai Airshow. Take Emirates' follow-on order for 65 more Boeing 777-9s. On the one hand this marks a timely recommitment to a much-delayed programme – Boeing having recently further pushed back first deliveries into 2027. But there is also a longer game. Emirates has not given up on persuading the manufacturer to build a larger version – backing a Boeing ‘feasibility study’ for a stretched 777-10. This would offer a future aircraft sized at least one step closer to the Airbus A380s, a backbone of its fleet today. By contrast the order from fellow UAE carrier Etihad Airways, which signed for Airbus A330-900s alongside a further batch of A350s, has a nearer-term focus. The airline’s move for A330s was driven by a desire to get hold of aircraft sooner. It is working with Avolon to take delivery of some of these aircraft from 2027 – securing some of the nearest delivery slots available. For Etihad Chief Executive Antonoaldo Neves the addition of the A330neos is not about a change in network strategy. Rather, he noted that the timing and performance will enable the carrier to release aircraft to other missions. But for most airlines, the driving factor of orders is repeat business and building out future deliveries to meet long-term growth. Kazakhstan airline group Air Astana, for example, having simplified its fleet almost entirely around A321neo jets and Boeing 787s, doubled down by placing follow-on commitments for both types in November to fuel growth in the next decade. What also remains clear is the geographic direction of travel. While all airlines are caught in the rush to secure slots, recent sizeable orders are skewed towards growth and emerging markets. A prime case is the Philippines, where flag carrier Philippine Airlines and low-cost unit Cebu Pacific are growing sharply, as the respective chief executives outlined at Routes World in October. Growth for both carriers will be further fuelled by a planned new hub airport for the country’s capital Manila which could eventually handle 200 million passengers. The growth potential is underlined by Association of Asia Pacific Airilnes Director General Subhas Menon, who while flagging current challenges in the market, points to the strong fundamentals driving long-term growth in the region. /episode/index/show/evashow/id/39437820

CAAS Winter 2025 - Powered by AI 12/17/2025

CAAS Winter 2025 - Powered by AI This extraordinary year continues to deliver new surprises for the air cargo sector and the world alike, particularly in the field of cross-border e-commerce logistics. As highlighted in our E-commerce Report on page 4, higher US tariffs and the end of US ‘de minimis’ exemptions have had a profound impact on e-commerce flows, prompting a significant shift in China-US freighter capacity to other markets globally. An initial steep decline in air freight volumes from China to the US has subsequently moderated, although it is still significant – especially from Hong Kong and southern China. Exports of low-value and e-commerce goods from China to Europe are up by around 60% – double the growth rate a year ago. Some European airports such as Budapest (BUD) have seen their overall air cargo volumes rise by close to 50% this year, although the rapid growth began even before US President Trump’s interventions this year. Çelebi Group CEO Dave Dorner, in an interview on page 12, estimates that cargo through BUD has risen by around 200% in the last two years. As the Europe Report highlights (page 20), Europe’s top 10 cargo airports have seen barely 1% growth in international air cargo traffic this year, whereas smaller, specialist cargo airports – often favoured by e-commerce shippers – have grown much more rapidly. Alongside BUD, Prague, Warsaw, Liège, Brussels, and East Midlands airports have reported significant rises in cargo traffic. Elsewhere, various cargo airports in Asia have recorded strong growth again this year, with southeast Asian countries including Vietnam and Thailand among those helping to replace China as sources for US imports. Another highlight in Asia is India, as the country’s exports and air cargo capabilities continue to build. Those capabilities will include a new major airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region from the end of this year with the opening of Navi Mumbai International Airport (page 34). Its opening as ‘complementary capacity’ to BOM marks a key stage in the fulfilment of a dual-airport strategy for the region, and for India’s air cargo market. The new airport is also less than 20km north of India’s largest container port, JNPT, and there are ambitious plans to create synergies between these air and ocean nodes. Potential synergies between air and ocean freight are a recurring theme in this edition of CAAS, highlighted in the interview with Kale Logistics’ CEO Amar More on page 28, along with the potential of Ai within air cargo. Both also featured among the discussions at October’s ACHL conference in Copenhagen (page 46). But speakers at ACHL cautioned that the potential of Ai within air cargo was limited by the quality of the data that feed it, which must remain a priority focus area for stakeholders throughout the sector. /episode/index/show/evashow/id/39437695