Vol. 11 No. 50                                                                                                                      Thursday May 24, 2012



High wire act in San Antonio, Texas. The big Latin agents meeting with IATA discussed what’s up in the air at ALACAT, while across town at Luminaria, aerialists performed hanging from the arch at the entrance of Hemisfair Park.

     A mouthful of a title, the 29th Congress and Expo of the Federation of Freight Forwarders, Logistics Operators and Cargo Agents of Latin America and the Caribbean – ALACAT was hosted last week by the Port of San Antonio from May 13-16.
     The air cargo panel featured an IATA presentation with the specific title “ALACAT Conference Air Cargo.” It went on to sketch out what IATA is and does, which is interesting given that IATA has a regional training center in Miami and country offices for Latin America and the Caribbean “focused on responding to the needs of its Member airlines, accredited travel and cargo agents, and industry partners.” Either way, one cannot repeat the basics often enough.
     The main message was the “… industry transformation project, otherwise recognized as e-freight…. what ha[s] been achieved, where are the obstacles and how IATA is supporting the initiatives to overcome them… air cargo is so fragmented, we are pursuing a more collaborative approach to achieve our objectives, through the establishment of the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group.” E-freight and e-AWB follows, and even if one has lived under a rock, the topic has been expounded on ad nauseam. The forwarders actually remain stubbornly resistant; take the recent remarks at the CNS conference in Miami, where it was stated that the forwarders were still waiting to be convinced and shown “what’s in it for me” and needed more education to understand what it does.
     The issue isn’t how many times the same message gets repeated; evidently forwarders expect someone—anyone—to make a compelling case why they should invest in e-freight. It goes without saying that these are very challenging economic times when many companies are fighting for survival, thus investing in something that will bear fruit down the road may not be top priority. At the same time, those who have already done what it takes to enable their businesses to benefit from e-freight did so because they understood what they stood to gain from it.
     And with that, it was time to tout the upcoming IATA LATAM cargo-day in early June in Mexico City, where all this will again be rehashed and a “complimentary IATA e-AWB workshop” is being offered.
     One for all and all for one!
Ted

     Take your car on vacation!
     Saudi Cargo now offers “Fly Your Car” service available from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to selected destinations in the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S.
     Consignees can receive their car in any one of 5 hubs (Brussels, Vienna, Frankfurt, Milan, and Amsterdam) with daily cargo flights from Riyadh to Europe. Alternatively, Saudi Airlines Cargo can truck the vehicle safely to its final destination from the gateway destination.
     “The ‘Fly Your Car’ product is a comfort solution, allowing customers the convenience of taking their own car on vacation with them to their final destination and back,” commented Shihab H. Al Amoudi, Head of Global Marketing at Saudi Airlines Cargo.
     “There is no size limitation on cars flying from Riyadh to Europe.
     “Special rates are available for a round trip,” Al Amoudi said.

     Welcome to 2012 and the season of dubious distinction, as industry awards fill trade magazines with ad revenue and people line up at fancy-dress bow-tie parties after spending the whole day on a trade show floor, six time zones away from home, all for some short-lived minutes of fame.
     It is all genteel and very civilized and predictable, as the same people and organizations seem to win all the time.
     We are reminded of that dreadfully sad movie They Shoot Horses Don’t They, which was about marathon dance contests during the 1930s, while we watch weary executives mingle around these awards events pretending like it is worth the effort and hoopla to stay up around the clock for a framed honorarium or a small trophy that everyone instantly forgets or worse, dismisses.
     So who benefits aside from the publications and the caterers?
     Your move.
     Sometimes things just get downright silly.
     Last year at the Air Cargo Africa 2011 show, an attendee sat waiting for his name to be called. He had been nominated in recognition of his work and it should have only been a matter of time before he found out if he was the winner.
     Members of the air cargo community were gathered at communal tables, patiently awaiting the arrival of a promised dinner while subject to the unfortunately long-winded, ponderous pre-awards speeches and acknowledgments, which seemed to drag the event ever further from a heavily anticipated meal. A matter of time became a matter of hours, as stomachs grumbled away and bodies shifted in their seats, and all eyes searched for a glimpse of food or the nearest exit.
     Of course, the exit came first. Said nominee took the opportunity to depart for a much-needed breath of fresh air and a casual conversation or two that wouldn’t necessitate hushed tones, when all of a sudden his name was called. Applause rolled over the audience like a sonar wave in search of the winner, only to find that, alas! He was gone.
     Apparently, the organizers of Air Cargo Africa 2011 did not learn their lesson, and Air Cargo India 2012 suffered a similar fate.
     The feedback for the event is pretty much the same: tighten up the announcement of winners and runners-up in every category, and feed your guests in half the time!
     Observers this year noted that many attendees in fact left the event midway in order to satiate themselves at the adjacent restaurant.
     If your attendees and nominees can’t even stay in their seats to receive and acknowledge the awards system, for fear of starving, what good are these awards doing?
     As our loyal FT readers may already know or have surmised from our frequent awards’ reviews (and subsequent condemnations), these awards shows are not operating with efficiency any more than they are operating with fairness.
     When you receive your ballots with your nominees freshly printed, how often do you see a nominees’ ad campaign on the very same page on which you are meant to cast your vote? Does that seem a little fishy to anyone else? Because I smell high tide over here.
     Imagine going to your local voting booth to demonstrate your democratic freedom, only to find it littered with “Vote for [insert candidate’s name]! He/She is the best at delivering [insert promised results]!”
     In fact, in most of the U.S. it is against the law to have campaign advertisements within a certain distance—usually 100-200 feet—of a voting booth.
     This kind of double-down advertising isn’t even subliminal. Pardon my use of a word redefined by The Simpsons, but at this point, it’s become superliminal—to the extreme.
     If these awards shows can’t get their voting system on the up and up, the very least they can do is feed their attendees at a reasonable time. People tend to pay more attention if they aren’t hungry. In a silent hall, an empty stomach certainly speaks louder than words.
Flossie

 


     The first time I met Edeltraude Kampits, who died in Vienna on March 3, 2012, the pioneering air cargo woman and former manager of Austrian Airlines Cargo was known as Traude Frigge and was situated at Austrian Cargo in Vienna, at the airport where the cargo was handled.
     For every work day after that, I imagined Traude looking over every phase of the AUA Cargo operation, cigarette in hand, giving orders and standing tall at 5 feet, two inches—the only female in a jungle of men.
But Traude not only held her own; she dominated. Her bright red blazer was a signature of the fact she was in the room.
     Being a woman in air cargo during the time of Traude could not have been easy, but she never looked back, and rarely (if ever) looked for much help.
     This wonderful and unique lady made it possible and raised the bar for any woman to follow a cargo job because of her great self-confidence and determination.
     For many years at industry meetings, Traude was the first and only female ever to invade the old boys’ club and make them like it.
     Traude was smart and savvy and did not casually suffer fools, but rather spoke right up and called things as she saw them.
     We sat down in her office almost twenty years ago and she talked extensively about the air cargo business.
     As we went back and forth, she smoked to the point that the cigarettes turned the room into a chamber of fog, like a scene in one of those old film noir Bulldog Drummond adventure serials of the 1930s—the only missing element was an occasional toot from a distant fog-horn.
     I recall that time stood quite still with Traude; she possessed a delicate yet forceful German accent and powerful, albeit diminutive, presence, packaged in a cigarette and red jacket.
     Marlene Dietrich was in the cargo area, and this foreign correspondent, note-pad in hand, was hanging on every word.
     Traude Frigge probably never expected that in 1995 she would be the only female airline air cargo top executive in the world.
     Certainly the vice president cargo at Austrian Airlines could never have dreamed that she would have an airline career that spanned over 30 years, and that one day she would be chairman of that oldest of boys’ clubs—the IATA Air Cargo Committee—but that’s exactly what happened.
     In fact, less than a year after our meeting, Traude traveled to the U.S. and delivered the keynote speech at IATA’s CNS Partnership Conference.
     She made many major contributions at AUA, including driving the launch of road feeder services into the Eastern countries in early 1989, thereby feeding new business into AUA line flights and other world carriers serving Vienna.
     "Valuable freight is moved in convoys, and some include security guards,’she said of that operation.
     “Communication is constant via satellite link. All AUA road connections to the east are listed in a host computer system under separate flight numbers.
     “We have developed several makets by ourselves.
     “Our success is evident as very few carriers currently serve these destinations.
     “Based on our long experience, application of information technology, and overall investment, we expect these markets to contribute handsomely to Austrian's bottomline, ”she said.
     “I think to be successful you have to take more than a specialist’s narrow view.
     “I learned sales, reservations, and marketing by basically doing each job.”
     Traude also shared what it was like in 1995 to chair a meeting of the IATA Cargo Committee in Geneva.
     "We generally close the door and brainstorm—often inviting guests, including Customs officials and other governmental types, to make presentations.
     “This past session was a good one with 28 in attendance,"she said matter-of-factly of the 1995 meeting.
     Traude, no doubt could hold her own with anyone and often made a point with a hearty laugh and a wave of her hand, despite the fact that, at that time, it was suggested that the integrators might swallow up the air cargo business.
     "Integrators!”she laughed.
     “We deliver same day all over Europe.
     “Air cargo doesn't need to reinvent the wheel.
     “The industry will be best served having common standards.
     “Combination carriers still have rate and schedule advantage.
     “The future is still in our hands,” Traude said.
     After she retired in 2001, we launched FlyingTypers and I noticed her email address on our circulation list and thought about her often.
     Later she married Peter Kampits and her last name changed, but FlyingTypers was still a regular read. The last time we heard from her was on March 1, 2006 when she wrote:

Dear Geoffrey,

     Maybe you still remember me I served as VP Cargo for Austrian Airlines until about 5 years ago.
     Now I am a happy and very busy retiree but I follow with great interest your articles in Air Cargo News and Flying Typers.
     The stories about Dubai which came out last week I liked particularly, because every word was true.
     I was in Dubai various times during the last few years for holidays, and of course also see my old friend Ram Menen.
     Every time I arrive there, the city has grown again and it almost unbelievable how fast things can be developed.
     But what is even more important - people are extremely friendly and helpful and the area is absolutely safe !
     Keep on writing these excellent articles!
     With best regards from Vienna.

Traude Kampits

     Family and friends, including children and grandchildren, held a poignant memorial service for Traude this past March 23, with Peter writing simply:
          “Where do you tarry too-
          “In our hearts you will always be with us.”
     Traude was laid to rest in the family plot at Ottakringer Cemetery in Vienna.
     Her dear friend Bill Boesch recalls:
     “Traude was a pioneer in the air cargo industry.
     “She was a strong person that had great leadership skills.
     “She helped steer the air cargo industry as head of IATA’s Air Cargo Committee during very turbulent times and gained the respect of all the carriers.
     “Her leadership kept our industry on course and we all owe her our utmost respect.”
     Rest in peace, dear first lady of air cargo.
Geoffrey

Get On Board Air Cargo News FlyingTypers
For A Free Subscription
Click Here To Subscribe

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

FT051512

FT052112