The best may have been
saved for last at Air Cargo Europe Thursday afternoon. SWISS WorldCargo
put together a tasty gathering of fun facts, a teaser regarding a future
reveal of next month's successor to retiring chief cargo officer Oliver
Evans, and news that by 2016 the first of a half dozen B777s will join
the fleet, bringing increased capacity and replacing the A340s on long
haul routes.
The event revealed some positive financials
as well.
“In 2014 profits at the airline
rose 31 percent to CHF 347 million while cargo load factors stood at
79 percent despite the strong Swiss Franc,” Oliver Evans reported.
On sustainability, Mr. Evans pointed to
the SWISS approach to “profits, planets, and people as foundations
for our business model."
Mr. Evans also pointed to future innovations
in cargo transport, including an initiative between Swiss Post and Matternet,
who have teamed up and will be testing drone technologies this summer.
Hosted by long time public relations specialist
Bernd Maresch, who for years was associated with SWISS and now has extended
his activities to include sessions at ACE, this SWISS offering was informative
and crisp.
Ashwin Bhat, (second from left), a rising
star at SWISS WorldCargo who serves as vice president and head of Global
Area Management, brought the B777 aircraft story and some network expansion
news as well.
“Bringing in the B777s is a clear
strategy signaling continued emphasis on cargo growth. The aircraft
(as many know) are hidden freighters that will lower emissions by 25
percent while adding 25 percent additional cargo capacity, and as many
as 1,000 new jobs at SWISS.
“In terms of our network, this summer
we go double daily to Chicago, Beijing, SFO, and Montreal,” Ashwin
said.
Urs Stultz, (far right) vice president,
head of Central Services Group, discussed the innovative Quality Alliance
between SWISS WorldCargo, Cargologic and SATS, which commenced in January
2015.
“This Quality Alliance brings together
some similar mindsets. What we think will emerge is an open and transparent
process with no secrets, allowing for across-the-board premier care
for our customers.
Mr. Urs, a long time cargo pro from Swissair
to SWISS, also outlined some interesting aspects of the carrier's moves
toward digitization and paperless cargo e-services.
“On e-freight—like most other
companies—we do not want to add to mountains of paperwork.
“SWISS World Cargo is at 15 percent
booking by web and we are adding several apps to our cargo offering
ahead in 2015," Urs Stultz said.
Alain Guerin, (third from left) director,
head of marketing, noted that the carrier is looking at three vertical
markets and has assigned a specialist for each who are at work developing
further possibilities for SWISS in precious commodities/luxury goods,
postal-e-commerce, and pharmaceutical and health management.
“We are looking for customers so
that we can add value to their business,” Alain said.
çSince this press event was held in Munich, SWISS WorldCargo
tipped its hat to a new female executive who just joined the team in
Germany. Jochen Liebfritz, (far left) director head of Central &
Northern European Cargo, introduced Carolin Jaeckle Ramos, who recently
joined SWISS after spending the past 14 years at LATAM Cargo based in
Frankfurt.
“We have commenced road-feeder connecting
the entire German market with Zurich, including Leipzig for pharma,
and Dresden for watches and clocks," Ms. Ramos noted.
Geoffrey/Sabiha
