American Airlines Cargo to expand pharma service capacity
30 / 04 / 2021
American Airlines Cargo has expanded the capacity of its ExpediteTC solution for transporting temperature-sensitive pharma shipments following a successful trial.
The carrier partnered with pharma packaging firm CSafe Global and data logging business CargoSense to conduct trials that concluded how it can effectively expand the capacity of its pharma service.
The trial involved CargoSense sensors being placed into CSafe Global passive cold chain packaging. The sensors then monitored the internal package temperatures while American Airlines Cargo’s aircraft operated in a variety of climates.
The trial results showed that the temperatures of each package remained constant, despite changing conditions during transit, and mean the service can be extended to all mainline fleet.
“The successful trials allow American to nearly double its capacity for handling ExpediteTC solutions and extend the airline’s cold-chain solution network to 30 new stations, including in-demand cities like Cincinnati, Memphis and Pittsburgh,” the carrier said in a statement.
Roger Samways, vice president of commercial for American Airlines Cargo, commented: “When it comes to cold chain shipments, reliability is crucial for our customers.
“By expanding our offering of temperature-critical shipping on all mainline flights, we are able to provide our customers with access to more than 180 markets, marking the largest cold-chain network in our history.”
Tom Weir, CSafe Global’s chief operating officer, added: “It was a privilege to work with American to conduct these trials and leverage our innovative thermal shipping solution technologies to ensure even more temperature-critical shipments can travel effectively.
“Many sensitive, often life-saving goods travel the world thanks to effective cold-chain networks, and we are proud to play a part in that alongside American Airlines.”
Rich Kilmer, chief executive of CargoSense, said: “When American Airlines presented us with the opportunity to help demonstrate the efficacy of their fleet for the transportation of pharma products, we worked to quickly provide them with validated sensors, our state-of-the-art logistics visibility software platform, and custom analytics needed to show their reliability in real-world scenarios.
“We are excited the pharmaceutical industry can now leverage American’s full fleet at a time that is critical for all of us.”
American Cargo said its pharma cargo trials and ExpediteTC expansion will further support the its role in distributing temperature-sensitive cargo such as vaccines, pharmaceuticals and other life science products.
ExpediteTC, which was founded in 2009, offers active and passive shipping solutions across the carrier’s global network of temperature-controlled facilities.
The carrier also has a 25,000 sq ft temperature-controlled hub in Philadelphia that specialises in pharma handling.
American Cargo’s expanded options for cold chain shipments are available on its digital booking platform.
