Tag: e-commerce (Page 3 of 3)

Alaska Airlines Offers Devoted Customers More Air and Ground Benefits

June 1, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

New promotions reward loyal guests with quicker ways to earn elite status and more miles

Starting today, Alaska Airlines customers and members of the award-winning Mileage Plan have three new promotions to enjoy. In addition to guaranteeing 2020 elite status through 2021, the airline is extending a 50% bonus of elite qualifying miles for flights taken through the end of the year. Plus, for the first time ever, Alaska Airlines Visa^® cardholders can use their card to earn elite qualifying miles, and consumer cardholders can earn double miles for qualifying restaurant purchases.

“We are thankful to our loyal guests for their support during this unprecedented time,” said Ryan Butz, Alaska’s managing director of loyalty. “In addition to continuing to offer flexibility and assurance when booking flights, members can now earn miles and status when using our Alaska Airlines Visa credit card. We look forward to seeing our guests onboard when the time is right and hope this promotion can aid local restaurants and economies.”

50% Bonus of Elite Qualifying Miles – Limited Time Offer

For all flights completed June 1 through Dec. 31, 2020, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will receive a 50% bonus of elite qualifying miles to help earn higher elite status more quickly. (*Registration isn’t required for this special, limited time offer.)

Alaska Airlines Visa Cardholders – First Time Limited Time Offers

Earn toward status while you spend. Cardholders can earn 2,500 elite qualifying miles for every $5,000 spent on purchases with an Alaska Airlines consumer or business Visa card from June 1 through Sept. 30, 2020, up to a maximum of 10,000 elite qualifying miles per cardholder.
Want to support your favorite local restaurants? Alaska Visa consumer cardholders can earn two miles for every dollar spent, up to $1,500, at restaurants and take-out, including delivery services from June 1 through July 31, 2020.

Alaska’s Mileage Plan features 16 global partners, which fly to more than 800 destinations around the world.

Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 115 destinations across the United States and North America, providing essential air service for our guests along with moving crucial cargo shipments, such as food, medicine, mail and e-commerce deliveries. With hubs in Seattle; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; and Anchorage, Alaska, the airline is known for low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. With Alaska and its Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 800 destinations worldwide.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).

Vic Scheibert (l), President of Alaska Operations, Trident Seafoods, and Joe Bundrant, CEO, Trident holding up the first Copper River salmon.

Alaska Airlines & Partners Serve Season’s First Copper River Salmon to First Responders

May 18, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Trident Seafoods, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Copper River Marketing Association and Tom Douglas partner to salute local medical professionals

Alaska Airlines Captain Brent Carricaburu presenting the first Copper River salmon, which weighed in at 33 pounds.

More than 200 health care workers at Swedish Medical Center – Ballard will be among the first to enjoy the season’s first catch of prized Copper River salmon. Alaska Air Cargo this morning delivered the first catch of fresh, sustainable Copper River salmon to Seattle, which will be delivered to grocery stores across the country.

Helping fishing communities, fisheries and processors like Trident Seafoods, Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Cooper River Seafoods get the coveted salmon to market, often in less than 24 hours from being pulled from the water, is Alaska Air Cargo’s specialty. The airline plays a critical role in the economic vitality of Cordova, Alaska, where more than 50 percent of residents work in the fishing industry.

“Alaska Air Cargo has long been a partner of the Alaska seafood industry,” said Torque Zubeck, managing director of cargo for Alaska Airlines. “Now more than ever, we provide a critical service that directly impacts the economic vitality of the region. In Cordova alone, more than half of residents are directly involved in the fishing industry or related business.”

As a thank you for their efforts on the frontlines of the battle against coronavirus, Alaska Airlines, Trident Seafoods, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Copper River Seafoods, Copper River Marketing Association and famed Seattle chef Tom Douglas are partnering to provide a delicious meal to health care heroes, and feed the community, while raising money for Food Lifeline.

“I love everything about Copper River salmon,” said chef Tom Douglas. “I love the richness of its delicate flesh and flavor. It’s very short season makes it a true delicacy. I am glad we get to share it with our health care workers and the Greater Seattlecommunity.”

Alaska Air Cargo employees begin to unload 9,000 pounds of Copper River salmon, part of the first shipment to arrive in Seattle.

Douglas will feature salmon donated by the seafood processors and the Copper River Marketing Association to prepare over 200 meals for Swedish Hospital medical professionals working on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. Pilots, flight attendants and management employees from Alaska will be on hand Saturday to deliver the meals and thank workers for their efforts.

“We’re thankful for Alaska Airlines, Copper River Marketing Association, Trident, Ocean Beauty, Copper River Seafoods and especially Tom Douglas for providing our heroic health care workers at Swedish Ballard with the meal today,” said Swedish Ballard Chief Operating Officer Kasia Konieczny. “While this pandemic has been difficult for us all, it is great to see the community coming together, like these partners, to provide for one another.”

On Sunday, May 17, fish lovers are invited to partake in the festivities, while social distancing, of course. For a limited time and while supplies last, Trident and Douglas will be “Grilling for Good.” He and his Serious TakeOut team will prepare grilled Copper River sockeye salmon entrees available for purchase through the Tom Douglas website, with all proceeds donated to Food Lifeline.

Alaska Air Cargo transports more than 30+ million pounds of cargo annually—including seafood, mail and freight —and operates the most extensive air cargo operation on the U.S. West Coast of any passenger airline.

DHL Express Upgrades its Fleet with 6 New Boeing 777 Freighters

February 24, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

First delivery of 2020 batch accomplished, recent 777F touched down at its operational home base Cincinnati last Thursday
DHL continues strengthening its intercontinental network by renewal of its long-haul aircraft fleet
State-of-the-art aircraft also supports the Group’s goal of improving its carbon footprint

DHL Express, the world’s leading international express service provider, is receiving six new Boeing 777F-200 cargo aircraft this year. The first of these planes to come in 2020 landed last Thursday at its future base of operations, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). In 2018 DHL ordered 14 new Boeing 777F, with four delivered in 2019, six to come this year and the remaining four to be taken into service in 2021. The current freighter will be operated by DHL Express’ partner airline Kalitta. The renewal is part of the overall modernization of the long-haul intercontinental fleet of the courier company and replaces older planes. The Boeing 777F is equipped with top-of-the-line fuel-efficient technology and features the longest range at full payload of any widebody freighter aircraft. This allows DHL to operate with higher efficiency while meeting the increasing global demand for express logistics service.

“We’re excited to welcome more Boeing 777Fs to the DHL Express family this year,” says John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express. “With the modernization of our intercontinental fleet, we can simultaneously enhance our proven ability to meet growing demand, improve our environmental footprint and deliver best quality service to our customers. DHL has made its mark time and time again with innovative solutions and technologies. We are pleased to continue demonstrating to partners and customers alike how these advancements stand to elevate the entire express logistics industry while bringing us closer to achieving our Strategy 2025 goals.”

In the center of its Strategy 2025 DHL Express focusses particularly on ‘E-commerce’ as a growth driver and ‘efficiency’ for further increasing its profit. With a payload capacity of 102 tons and a range of 9,200 km, the B777F has the largest capacity and range of all twin-engine freighter aircraft. They are also more fuel-efficient, reliable than older planes and reducing CO2 emissions by 18 per cent. DHL Express operates over 260 dedicated aircraft with 17 partner airlines on over 3.000 daily flights across 220 countries and territories.

“We expect further growth in cross-border e-commerce trade and, as a result, increased demand for our express logistics services and expertise in intercontinental deliveries,” says Travis Cobb, EVP Global Network Operations and Aviation at DHL Express. “With the new Boeing 777Fs, we can increase our intercontinental connections while reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption. This enables us to continue to provide customers with the excellent quality they’ve come to expect from us while we work to expand our global services.”

Lessor BBAM Orders 3 Boeing 737-800 Converted Freighters

February 10, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

SINGAPORE, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Tuesday that lessor BBAM had ordered three 737-800 converted freighters to serve the growing e-commerce market and express sectors of the air cargo market.

The planes to be converted will come from BBAM’s existing fleet. “This agreement shows how we can serve our customers by delivering efficient and reliable airplanes and a portfolio of services that extracts value throughout the life of those jets,” said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing.

Boeing also said it would inaugurate a 737-800 passenger to freighter conversion line in China this summer.

The new line will be at Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Ltd (GAMECO), a joint venture between China Southern Airlines Co Ltd and Hutchison Whampoa.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Lincoln Electric SUV to use Ford-backed Rivian ‘Skateboard’ Chassis

November 28, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

DETROIT — A battery-powered Lincoln SUV, due in mid-2022, will be the first Ford Motor Co. vehicle built on a custom electrified chassis that resembles a skateboard, which was developed by Ford-backed startup Rivian, according to several people familiar with the program.

The all-wheel-drive Lincoln SUV could compete against Rivian’s R1S, an electric sport utility vehicle slated to go into production in early 2021 that will be priced from $72,500. Both models will use Rivian’s so-called skateboard, a flexible platform that combines electric motors, batteries, controls and suspension.

On Tuesday, Ford declined to comment. Rivian did not respond to a request for comment.

The new Lincoln, which carries the internal program code U787, also could compete with premium offerings from others, including General Motors Co, which plans to introduce at least two new electric SUVs by 2023, one for Cadillac and one that could revive the Hummer name, sources have said.

Ford invested $500 million in Rivian this year and plans to help it begin production next year at a former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois.

When Ford made the investment, it said it would use Rivian’s skateboard to develop its own electric vehicle, but did not disclose details.

It is not clear where Ford intends to build the Lincoln SUV, which will be among the first of several battery-powered utility vehicles planned for Ford’s premium brand in North America and China, according to supplier sources familiar with those programs who asked not to be identified.

Ford expects to introduce a compact Lincoln electric crossover in late 2021 or early 2022 and a mid-size companion in 2023, the sources said.

The U.S. auto industry plans to invest billions of dollars over the next few years to build all-electric pickups and SUVs, sectors of the market that have been among the most profitable, especially for Detroit-based automakers.

But analysts have questioned whether demand from consumers and commercial customers will come close to matching production.

Founded in 2009, Rivian has raised $1.9 billion from investors, including e-commerce giant Amazon, which has ordered 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian. The first Amazon vans will be built in Normal and are to be delivered in 2021.

Ford aims to sell an electric F-series pickup in late 2021, sources have said. It also will offer the electric Mustang Mach E SUV next year as part of plans to invest $11.5 billion by 2022 electrifying its vehicles.

Daimler to Make Mercedes Benz Heavy Trucks in China

August 21, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – German auto maker Daimler AG <DAIGn.DE> plans to build Mercedes Benz-branded heavy trucks in China by revamping truck plants owned by its local joint venture, according to a document seen by Reuters and two sources familiar with the matter.

The plan will deepen the alliance between Daimler and its Chinese truck JV partner, Beiqi Foton Co Ltd <600166.SS>, and comes after the purchase of a 5% stake in Daimler last month by its Mercedes Benz passenger car partner, Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd (BAIC), Foton’s parent group.

“Localization of Mercedes Benz-branded trucks had been planned years before, so it has nothing to do with BAIC Group’s recent stake purchase in Daimler,” one source said.

In 2016, Daimler’s then head of its truck business told German media that it planned to make Mercedes Benz-branded Actros heavy trucks in China by the end of the decade. No details of the plan has since been reported or announced.

Under the plan, Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive (BFDA) will add Actros to its production lines which are mainly used to make Auman trucks, the joint venture’s sole truck brand, the sources said.

The JV plans to revamp its No.3 plant, which will have an annual capacity of 60,000 heavy trucks, and expand capacity at its No.2 plant to 100,000 units from 60,000 now, according to a document on the JV’s website. The value of the investment was not known.

The No.3 plant will build both Actros and Auman trucks, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the plan had not been made public.

Daimler’s office in China did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment. Foton declined to comment.

All Mercedes Benz trucks currently sold in China are imported and priced significantly higher than domestically made Auman trucks.

Founded in 2012, the truck joint venture sold just over 100,000 units in China last year. Daimler is seeking to further develop its truck business with Foton, but the lack of a solid supply chain in China remains an obstacle, the sources said.

“One of the biggest challenges is to build up a good local supply chain, as many heavy truck components for Mercedes Benz trucks cannot be locally sourced for now,” the second source said.

China’s heavy truck market has fared better than the overall auto market this year, thanks to a growing e-commerce industry and improvements in traffic and logistics infrastructure.

China sold 732,000 heavy trucks in the first seven months this year, down 1.4% from the same period a year earlier, while the overall auto market dropped 13.5%.

Other major heavy truck makers in China include FAW, Dongfeng and Sinotruk.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Darren Schuettler)

JetBlue Sues Walmart for Trademark Infringement

June 24, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JetBlue Airways Corp has sued Walmart Inc for trademark infringement, after the world’s largest retailer began using the name Jetblack for its text-based personal shopping service.

In a complaint filed on Friday night in Manhattan federal court, JetBlue called Jetblack a “transparent attempt” by Walmart to capitalize on the goodwill associated with the carrier’s trademarks.

JetBlue also said Jetblack was likely to cause “significant consumer confusion” as Walmart expands the service, and warned that Walmart intends further infringements by using additional “Jet+color” names such as Jetgold and Jetsilver.

Walmart did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment. The lawsuit also names Walmart’s Jet.com unit as a defendant.

Introduced in May 2018, Jetblack calls itself a “personal shopping and concierge service that combines the convenience of e-commerce with the customized attention of a personal assistant.”

Walmart launched Jetblack in part to help the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer expand beyond its brick-and-mortar base and compete with such services as Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Prime, especially among consumers in urban areas.

JetBlue is based in Long Island City, New York.

The case is JetBlue Airways Corp v Jet.com Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 19-05879.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas)

JetBlue sues Walmart for trademark infringement over Jetblack service
FILE PHOTO: A JetBlue aircraft comes in to land at Long Beach Airport in Long Beach

Honeywell Profit Beats On Strong Aero & Automation Sales

October 19, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Honeywell International Inc (HON.N) beat expectations for third-quarter profit on Friday and lifted its full-year forecasts for cash flow and margins as it rode a boom in e-commerce driven warehouse investment and aircraft production.

Shares of Honeywell, which makes everything from aircraft engines to catalysts used in petroleum refining, were up 2.5 percent at $159 in premarket trading.

Honeywell has benefited from a rise in global travel that has driven record orders for jets, leading to robust demand for its avionics, braking systems and other aircraft parts.

Recovering demand for business jets, for which the company makes engines, thanks to a tax windfall handed to Corporate America by President Donald Trump in January, has also helped the company.

Sales at the aviation unit, the company’s biggest business, rose 10 percent to $4.03 billion. Margins expanded by 80 basis points to 22.1 percent in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

Honeywell’s results come a day after Cessna jet maker Textron (TXT.N), one of its customers, reported a 12.5 percent growth in its backlog at $1.8 billion, citing an improving business jet market.

The company has also taken advantage of a boom in e-commerce as it supplies warehouse automation equipment and software to customers such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

Sales in safety and productivity solutions unit, which houses the warehouse automation business, climbed 11 percent to $1.58 billion, while margins jumped 150 basis points to 16.6 percent.

Excluding items, Honeywell earned $2.03 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.99 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

The company’s revenue rose 6.3 percent to $10.76 billion, topping the consensus of $10.75 billion.

Honeywell increased the low end of its 2018 adjusted free cash flow to $5.8 billion from $5.6 billion, while keeping the top end unchanged at $6.2 billion.

The company now expects full-year margins to rise 19.5-19-6 percent, up from 19.4-19.6 percent. Excluding the impact of divestitures, Honeywell said its full-year earnings will be in a range of $7.95 to $8.00 per share.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

FedEx To Hire 55,000 Workers For The Holiday Season

September 12, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – FedEx Corp said on Wednesday it would hire about 55,000 workers and increase hours for some existing employees for the holiday shopping season as the U.S. package delivery company prepares to cater to the expected jump in shipments due to online shopping boom.

The company said it would also expand its U.S. ground-shipping operations to six and seven days per week for the busiest shopping season of the year.

FedEx said the six-day ground-shipping operations would be extended throughout its U.S. network all-year round.

“The rise in demand for e-commerce goes beyond peak. It’s a year-round phenomenon…,” said Raj Subramaniam, chief marketing and communications officer.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Carvana Opens Country’s Largest Car Vending Machine in Tempe, AZ

June 20, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Carvana (NYSE: CVNA), a leading e-commerce platform for buying used cars, today launched its largest Car Vending Machine to date, located in the company’s hometown, Tempe, Ariz. Standing nine stories high, the all-glass tower holds up to 34 vehicles and provides a fun, unique way to pick up vehicles purchased on Carvana.com. This is the company’s third Car Vending Machine launch this month, marking the 12th location overall. Tempe joins 11 other cities across the country that are home to Carvana Car Vending Machines: Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Nashville (Tenn.), Raleigh (N.C.), Charlotte (N.C.), Jacksonville (Fla.), Tampa (Fla.), Orlando (Fla.) and Washington, D.C.

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Carvana opens largest car vending machine

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