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Airbus unveils A350F test aircraft in packaging livery

Airbus has unveiled the livery of its first A350 freighter on a social media post, with the aircraft decked out to look like a parcel. The paint scheme was selected as part of a competition that attracted 4,000 design entries. "Its unique livery perfectly reflects the #NewGenFreighter's mission: transform air cargo operations," Airbus said in a LinkedIn post. "Congratulations to everyone who brought this milestone to life, from the competition winners to our #TeamAirbus experts across branding, engineering and painting teams," the airframer added. The aircraft shown in the video is registered as F-WXLD (MSN700). In total, Airbus has built two A350Fs for the test campaign. The unveiling of the aircraft's paint scheme comes as the model edges closer to its first flight. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the first flight of Airbus' next-generation A350 freighter was expected to take place towards the end of September. Quoting industry sources, the newswire said the airframer is hopeful the first flight will take place on around 24 September, although there is always the chance that technical issues or inclement weather could push that date back into October. In response to questions from Air Cargo News, Airbus said: "The maiden flight is expected later in 2026, followed by the first delivery in the second half of 2027." Airbus is hoping to start to deliver the aircraft to customers by the end of next year. The company is targeting simultaneous certification from EASA and the FAA under the latest Amendment 27 safety regulations. The airframer said earlier this year that certification is targeted by the middle of next year. The aircraft will be able to carry up to 111 tonnes of payload with a range of up to 8,700 km. The aircraft will feature the largest maindeck cargo door in the industry, which Airbus says will make it easier to load larger shipments.

Malaysian ports must improve infrastructure to keep pace with intra-Asia trade

Malaysia needs to accelerate investment in port infrastructure to capitalise on growing intra-Asia trade, delegates at the Logistics Symposium 2026 in Kuala Lumpur heard yesterday. Westports Malaysia CEO Vijaya Kumar Puspowanam said intra-Asia trade continued to expand despite the conflict in the Middle East and ports must be prepared to expand capacity quickly, given their standing as major chokepoints in the supply chain. He said: "We're confident in adding capacity, especially at the port. We have to be willing to take the risk faster and more confidently because ports are the biggest chokepoint. If there's continuous demand, and if we continue hitting trigger points of 80% utilisation, we'll be confidently building capacity, at least for the next 15 years." Westports, which operates nine terminals in Port Klang, is developing Westports 2, which will add eight terminals and double the annual handling capacity, to 28m teu, in the 2040s. Mr Vijaya Kumar also highlighted capacity constraints at Port Klang, claiming even a single maintenance operation could result in significant congestion. He said Westports had lacked land to expand and had approached the government in 2019 to increase capacity. It secured government approval in 2023 to proceed with the Westports 2 expansion. Meanwhile, Kuantan's chief commercial officer, Mazlim Husin, said the port, which can handle up to 500,000 teu annually, was prepared to expand its capacity to meet future demand. The port has two basins, the first operating at full capacity and the second offering a draught of about 60 metres. Mr Mazlim said: "In this second basin, we have capacity to build, in terms of more yachts, more boats and more basins." MTT Shipping and Logistics MD and co-founder Kenny Ooi Lean Hin added that Asean had emerged as one of the major beneficiaries of shifting global trade patterns, driven by supply chain realignments as China diversifies its markets into the region. He said Malaysia must take "a broader view of the logistics ecosystem" to accommodate anticipated growth in cargo volumes, including addressing bottlenecks at ports and in drayage services. He noted that trucking capacity was shrinking due to poor turnaround times, congestion around ports, driver shortages, and other operational challenges, and stressed that capacity building across the logistics sector was essential to support future growth. He asked: "Why are we not having enough capacity to meet the future growth? There's no point having just a port's capacity expanded if the entire ecosystem cannot support it."

Loss-making Toll Group sells hard assets to rein in cash

Here comes our usual pay-to-play (A$52 per file!), mid-summer update regarding Toll Group after the Australian 3PL lodged its annual results (to the end of March) with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission a couple of weeks ago. The good news? Well, pass. Or? Delve into the financials and "assets held for sale" on the left side of the balance sheet provide some relief. The bad news? Rising interest payments to serve (rising) debt obligations was a major highlight, unfortunately. More broadly, the financial picture doesn't ...