Serge Tripet, Director Cargo at Gulf Air has been on the job for the past year but to our recollection Serge has not done much press during that time.
     He admits to have been hard at work behind the scenes lining up his programs and implementing new ideas and disciplines into the Bahrain-based airline's cargo program.
     Up in Northwest Canada at World Cargo Symposium March 12 Serge is ready to let it all hang out.
     His story is at once hopeful, and for a legendary air cargo resource of the Middle East an exciting turn early in 2010.

ACNFT:  What kind of year was 2009 and what lies ahead for Gulf Air Cargo in 2010?
ST:  I would be lying if I say we had a tremendous 2009.
     Like everyone else, we had a very challenging year with declining yields.
      However, a change in direction and strategy has helped Gulf Air Cargo to survive the economic crisis and we managed to keep our loads slightly above 2008 levels (taking capacity adjustments into consideration).
     Having said that, I am pleased with the overall cargo achievement in 2009.
     For 2010, our main focus will be to align our cargo strategy with the airline’s strategy.
     Capacity adjustments, new destinations, quality improvement and value added services implementation are some of the areas we will be addressing this year.
     In addition, we are about to replace our legacy cargo system with a new end-to-end, state of the art cargo IT solution.
ACNFT:  What do you consider the most pressing challenge for Gulf Air Cargo in 2010?
ST:  The introduction of our new cargo IT system and, of course, to continue making a healthy contribution to the airline.
     The implementation of the new IT system means training our people, changing management and adjustment of our processes.
     In line with the introduction of a new IT system, we will be looking at consolidating and improving the quality at our hub in Bahrain.
     We have taken the decision to join Cargo 2000!”
ACNFT:  New destinations and services offered?
ST:  We have opened three new destinations in Iraq (Baghdad, Najaf and Erbil) in the last few months and two more will follow in the coming weeks. And for the months to come, we are looking at even more new destinations but it is too early to discuss these.
ACNFT:  What are you doing differently in 2010 than before the financial crises?
ST:  Gulf Air new strategy is well-defined and focuses on three areas; a targeted, more focused international network; a superior, more consistent product and a modern, more efficient fleet that will optimize value.
     Connectivity will be a key factor to tap the demand.
     We have been doing things differently during the financial crisis by adapting our cargo strategy and the way we conduct our business.
     We have reacted to the recent recession that affected the entire cargo industry, by changing the way we do our business including our approach to customers.
     Gulf Air has become more proactive, more efficient, faster in our service and working much closer with our customers.
     Today, we take costs into consideration when we establish our rate sheets.
     Air cargo here is not only looking at yields but at contribution.
      Unfortunately, not many airlines consider costs as an important element to their revenue structure.
     Costs are a separate element which should be covered by revenues.
     We take a different approach and look at costs from the beginning.
     This approach has helped Gulf Air Cargo in 2009 and we will further enhance our strategy in 2010.
ACNFT:  What must the combination air cargo industry do to insure its future?
ST:  Manage the costs, improve logistics by implementing, for example, initiatives like e-freight.
     However, I believe that it is not enough to survive and we have to access the next generation IT supports to be ready to face the challenges ahead of us.
     Maybe we should look at how our colleagues handling the passenger segment are handling the baggage. RFID is for me the magic word.
ACNFT:  How did you come to choose an air cargo career? How long have you been in air cargo and at what level did you begin? Given the choice would you choose air cargo for a career again? If you could choose another career path what would it be?
ST:  Everything began in 1982 as I started my apprenticeship with an international forwarding company.
     I immediately loved to play around with names like New York, Hong Kong and others and it gave me the sensation of virtual traveling.
     In 1986, the opportunity to join Swissair cargo department in Berne, Switzerland, was the beginning of my love affair with aviation.
     I went through all the different levels, from agent to duty manager and went abroad in 1997.
     Since then, my nostrils have felt the need to smell the kerosene and I do truly love the aviation industry.
     Yes, I would choose air cargo for a career again.
     Today, however, I would definitely look at a broader transportation career and move into logistics in general.
ACNFT:  To review—what is the single most important thing on your mind as 2010 progresses?
ST:  To succeed in moving Gulf Air Cargo to the next level of quality air cargo provider by using our Bahrain hub.
     With a very sizeable airport allowing very dedicated cargo services, we enjoy a unique advantage in Bahrain.
     We manage processes in a very short time which you cannot find at other airports in the region.
ACNFT:  Any other issues you would like to address to our readers.
ST:  Bahrain's strategic location at the heart of the Gulf not only enables central access to the whole of the Gulf region; it also makes Bahrain ideally positioned to serve the wider markets of the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East.
     The combination of highly developed road, sea and air connections provides significant opportunities for logistics businesses wishing to deploy a multimodal logistics strategy.
     Businesses can also benefit from nearby business park developments, such as Bahrain International Investment Park, Bahrain Wharf and the new Logistics Zone.
     Bahrain is definitely a place not to be missed when it comes to logistics.
Geoffrey

     A new study finds air cargo critical as a competitive factor for Switzerland, important for strengthening the Swiss economy and safeguarding domestic jobs.
     Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Stölzle, Dr. Joerg S. Hofstetter and Joachim Ehrenthal conducted the study titled "Air freight as a competitive factor for the Swiss economy" under the umbrella of the Center for Aviation Competence (CFAC) at the University of St. Gallen.
     The study, supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), Swiss International Air Lines and others, involved 152 industrial and commercial companies and 65 logistics service providers based in Switzerland.

     The study found, “Air cargo is an important competitive factor for the Swiss economy.”
     “In exports one in three Swiss francs leaves Switzerland by air, and in imports one in six francs enters the country by air.
     “At the same time, only about 0.7 of every 100 tons of exports leave Switzerland by air and only about 0.2 of every 100 tons of imports enter Switzerland by air.
     “Improvements in airfreight thus have a large leverage effect on the Swiss economy.
     “So despite its low volumes, Swiss air cargo deserves particular attention. Airfreight is an essential and daily part of Swiss value chains.
     “Air cargo enables Switzerland to participate in international value chains, and opens and secures source and sales markets for the Swiss economy.
     “Since Swiss airfreight is mainly transported on passenger flights, cargo also contributes directly to maintaining the range of passenger services available to and from Switzerland.
     “Without airfreight, up to 90% of all long- and medium-haul flights serving Switzerland would not cover their costs. So Swiss air cargo also helps to maintain a broad and dense network of long- and medium-haul air services for Switzerland and its inhabitants.

     Other key findings of the study are:
          (1)   Air cargo is an essential and daily element of Swiss value chains.
          (2)   70% of Swiss companies regard airfreight in Switzerland as a basic necessity.
          (3)   One-third of Switzerland’s exports by value leave Switzerland by air, and one-sixth of all imports, again measured by value, enter the country by air.
          (4)   61% of the shippers and 44% of the recipients of air cargo expect a substantial increase in their shipments through Swiss airports by 2030.
          (5)  Swiss air freight is largely transported on passenger flights that would not be profitable without cargo's contribution to their overall revenue results. The range of passenger services offered to and from Swiss airports (especially long-haul services) is thus directly linked to air cargo volumes and demand.
          (6)   Most Swiss companies are satisfied with Swiss airports' current infrastructure, with the services offered and the value-for-money they provide, and with the regulatory environment regarding night movement and night driving bans.
          (7)   The strengths of air cargo in Switzerland over other European airports are felt to be its handling speed, the possibility of short-notice bookings, the reachability and opening hours of handling agents and the efficient interaction throughout the air cargo chain.
          (8)   The perceived weaknesses of air cargo in Switzerland compared to elsewhere in Europe include the reduced availability of direct flights, insufficient frequencies, the limited availability of full-freighter services and the opening hours of the Customs authorities.
          (9)   Swiss companies wish to see further development of the infrastructure at Swiss airports to improve the handling of air cargo during peak times, and expansion of the capacity for temperature-controlled imports and valuables exports.
          (10)   If Swiss airports fell substantially behind other airports in Europe in terms of their efficiency and the range of services offered, this would have serious consequences for Switzerland.
More: http://www.logistik.unisg.ch/luftfrachtstudie

Chasing Hot Copy

     We are sitting here in Queens, New York, not too far from JFK, thinking about the past few days.
     Not so much about the kids, for a change (although daughter-in-law Christina is on the May 2010 cover of Esquire Magazine, voted most beautiful woman in the USA by readers).
     Right now, our thoughts are immersed in the 2010 Iceland volcano – a story that may not be over just yet.
     We followed that story as it was happening, every day, until the airports of Europe reopened and beyond. As a result, Air Cargo News FlyingTypers created eight issues in a row.
     We accomplished this with the help of reporters, readers, associates and friends around the world, all ready to contribute.
     But we also were able to do it because in our heart we have and always will be daily newspaper reporters.
     Sure, the newspapers (in my case, The New York Herald Tribune) are now long out of business.
     But I started running hot copy, back in the old days of cold type, so however much the format changes, I guess the ink still runs in my veins.
     As it happens, living in the greatest city in the world also opens the door to some unique experiences.
     This week the Film Forum, a theater in Manhattan that shows old movies, is showing a series of the greatest films ever made about the once-booming newspapers and the people who populated the newsrooms, creating the world that we are all a part of today.
     Watching these films can tell you why we love the work we do.
     In case you can’t make it to NYC to view these movies in person (airing between now and mid-May), here is the line-up, as well as a few words from reviewers.

The Tarnished Angels:
"(It) betters the William Faulkner source text in every way, from the quality of characterization to the development of the dark, searing imagery. Made in b&w CinemaScope… it should be seen in a theater or not at all."
-- Dave Kehr

While The City Sleeps:
"Lang's worldly admiration for the newfangled power of modern communications in the service of the civic good is matched by his wonder at the human specimens who make it their playground."
-- Richard Brody, The New Yorker

His Girl Friday:
"A celebration of the spirit of American journalism at its finest. Captures the romance, the cynicism, the idealism, and just the pure chaos that is the part, and sometimes the best part, of working for a newspaper."
-- A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Nothing Sacred:
"Combines the giddy foolishness of screwball comedy with a satire of just about everything--small-town taciturnity, big-city pretentiousness, media hype."
-- David Denby, The New Yorker

The Harder They Fall
Ex-sportswriter Bogart (in his last film) opts for fight-fixing Rod Steiger’s bucks as he promotes no-talent Mike Lane to the championship — but Max Baer has other ideas.

Citizen Kane
From its Gothic opening at looming Xanadu, through its conflicting accounts of a news magnates’ public rise and private fall, to its legendary final shot, Orson Welles- O-Rama!

Five Star Final
Tabloid editor Edward G. Robinson’s gloating over skyrocketing circulation turns to glass-shattering horror when mortality ensues over defrocked clergyman Boris Karloff’s latest exposé.

Ace In The Hole
Billy Wilder: “I can do big news, small news, and if there’s no news, I’ll go out and bite a dog.”
In Wilder’s most venomous attack on American greed, cold-blooded reporter Kirk Douglas exploits a doomed man, then wins a Pulitzer.

The Big Clock
Monomaniacal magazine mogul Charles Laughton orders Crimeways editor Ray Milland to track down a murderer — with all clues pointing to Milland himself.

      And just in case you need some filler to keep a good thing going for the subway ride home, Film Forum says it will have copies of Neal Gabler’s expose of Walter Winchell, ace reporter and gossip columnist who once ruled the newspaper world in New York, for sale at the popcorn stand.
     The Film Forum is celebrating its 40th anniversary as New York's leading movie house for independent premieres and repertory programming and has been a nonprofit cinema since 1970.
More: http://www.filmforum.org/
Geoffrey

If You Missed Any Of The Previous 3 Issues Of FlyingTypers
Click On Image Below To Access

FT042110

FT042710