Engraving illustrates the 1734 New York City trial of Peter Zenger, Publisher of The New York Weekly Journal who was accused of libel. Defended by Andrew Hamilton, Zenger was acquitted and this precedent established freedom of the press in the United States.

     We had planned to go to IATA CNS May 3-6 in Miami, Florida, and had even purchased our air tickets and secured a hotel room to cover the conference.
     But then came word from the handlers for IATA CNS that FlyingTypers would only be allowed a single press pass for the event.
     This after half a dozen years of allowing us three passes (none sales) to attend and report on various activities and personalities at the event.
     We are still welcome to come to the event, the nice lady assured us, but must pony up $1,485 USD apiece (or $2, 970USD for the two of us) to gain admittance to CNS Partnership 2012.
     Earlier, we had refused to run advertising for CNS Partnership in exchange for press passes, thinking that the proposal was absurd—it would have been unfair to all the companies that pay to advertise in FlyingTypers.
     We also thought that FlyingTypers and any other interested publications and reporters should by practice be allowed to attend sessions and open events.
     So, Geoffrey & Sabiha (pictured right) will not be at IATA CNS Partnership 2012 in Miami.
     Ted Braun, our European Bureau Chief, will attend.
     Ted is a meat and potatoes guy who will cover sessions and do a great job.
     Plus he speaks several languages fluently, with much more than a working knowledge and intelligence about air cargo.
     We regret that we might disappoint people who were expecting us, but promise to catch up along the trail as the year rolls along.
     The way we figure it, covering the conference sessions is one activity and the other is getting up close and personal with the people who populate IATA CNS three days a year.
     Our threesome used to be able to do just that at IATA CNS, but now all of that is over according to the people running IATA CNS Partnership.
     We have always loved the underlying tension as airline people and freight forwarders get together at IATA CNS.
     It is a lot of fun and of course collegial, and it is always great to see these two groups set up a middle ground to drink, schmooze, and meet for a couple of days. It had been that way at IATA CNS since the group got started with Tony Calabrese and Günter Rohrmann; Buz Whalen and Pat Phelan; Isaac Nijankin and Bill Boesch, John Emery and a dozen people that I usually remember at around 0200 and a nightcap.
     But alas, nowadays it appears to be all about money. Publications are falling over themselves to gain a marketing sales edge with trade show sponsorships and meaningless awards.
     What seemed to be clearer a few years back has fogged over a bit in 2012.
     We can only wonder exactly what protections air cargo journalists enjoy when IATA CNS hires a private trade show company and permits them to levy a charge against members of the working press.
     It’s most interesting that here in America, where we consider our freedoms a sacred trust (starting with freedom of the press), IATA CNS in effect squashes efforts to deliver fair and balanced coverage at CNS Partnership. What’s fair and balanced in essentially paying for news coverage? On the flipside of that query, what happens to the newsmen who can’t afford to pay? Once you set up a system where journalists must pay to attend, you instantly stratify coverage and, in essence, leach out stories so that everything begins to sound the same, with the same bent.
     Money creates a terribly homogenized filter for the truth.
     Maybe IATA CNS is doing us a favor, but it certainly is doing a disservice to the air cargo public.
     We’ll miss some of the fun and screwball things that can happen at IATA CNS, like the year one German delegate answered his hotel room door in a terry-cloth bathrobe only to get slapped with a summons during the price-fixing scandal.
     Or the night we sat up by the pool with a couple of people we thought we didn’t know, only to discover that once upon a time we shared offices down the hall from each other, just off the airport at JFK.
     “You were very arrogant then,” my new best friend told me.
     Looking back, I can believe that now.
     Casting a view even further back, here are some links to our coverage of IATA CNS during just the past three years.

    Looking ahead, for attendees and others who cannot afford or are otherwise unable to attend IATA CNS Partnership, we uncork our imagination to deliver the best coverage of the event beginning in just under two weeks.
     We appreciate your answering our calls and emails as we attempt to do our job.
     First up for IATA CNS, we offer an up close look at the current state of IATA CNS and the Partnership with President Michael Vorwerk.
     It’s good reading and nice work if you can get it, IATA CNS week in South Florida.
Geoffrey/Flossie

RE: Aerotropolis & The Blue Fairy

Geoffrey,

     Your last "editorial " sure raised some eyebrows. Specifically:
"ORD, the last time we checked, was still the address of every important, all cargo flight outside of Memphis in heartland USA."
     I think that FedEx would disagree, as in addition to MEM, they have a huge facility at IND. And DHL, which has a huge facility at CVG. Or UPS, which has the world's largest automated cargo facility located at… Louisville, not Dubai.
     But I get it, it seems the integrators are not quite the subjects of the FlyingTypers article.
     After all, if they were, I'm sure there would have been coverage of the fallout regarding the largest acquisition in the history of air cargo, just last month.
     Fair enough, but back to the comments about every important cargo flight in the heartland belonging to Chicago and nowhere else.
     I guess Lufthansa Cargo has it wrong with their recently increased Detroit service. Or Cargolux, with their recently increased Indianapolis service. Or how about Columbus Rickenbacker, which has reinvented itself as a center for distribution centers and forwarders and provides for a steady stream of Evergreen, Kalitta, and Southern Air 747s inbound from Asia via ANC.
     With the success of these mid-west USA freight operations, it is no surprise that STL thinks they can get their share.
     After all, the majority of the freight on these flights, including the flights to ORD, is destined to the road feeders.
     I might agree that STL has gone about it wrong, but non-integrator main deck cargo capacity certainly isn't limited to ORD.
     Yes, the nice new shiny cargo facilities are located in the UAE, China, etc.
     The world of air cargo doesn't end there.
     Some honest reporting about the U.S. heartland would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bruno Ekberg
PS - Attached are some pics of an Il-76 Vodka Burner, and Atlas Air 747 at PIT. They must have landed here by mistake ;-)

Dear Bruno,

     I think you have it right.
     Those IL76s either landed in PIT by mistake or were about to run out of kero.
     Just loved your letter.
     As long as there are readers like you out there we can be assured to get the story straight.
     We never forget how important you are.
     FlyingTypers recognizes, appreciates, and salutes the great gateways of America and should have included them in our commentary.
     All air cargo services and hubs, be they integrator or line carrier, should never be minimalized, or worse, forgotten.
     FT did cover the UPS/TNT deal that created a $60 billion dollar company and we also offered exclusive coverage of Lufthansa’s new all-cargo services to DTW.
     Our conversation continues and we cherish being able to go on this way.

Best greetings,
Geoffrey

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