New Measures Implemented At ULDUG

     A new structure has been put in place by the board, as the ULDUG gets ready for its upcoming annual conference on September 11-13, 2012, taking place in Shanghai. For a group formerly constrained by IATA governance, the independent ULD User Group has implemented a number of heretofore inconceivable measures aimed at achieving more parity among its members, whether airlines or vendors. The board hopes that these liberating steps will attract more members to join the user group, especially with this year’s annual meeting taking place in China.
     In the category of “firsts”, here are some of the changes:
          • Eligibility of non-airline members to be elected as board members;
          • Eligibility of non-airline board members to become president or vice president for a four year term;
          • Election in 2012 to add non-airline members on the board;
          • System-access joining fee option for non-members;
          • ULDAG (ULD Advisory Group) – new name of former IULDUG Steering Committee
     
     The selection process for the election of the new non-airline board members has started; nominees had until May 31st to submit their candidacy. The new board will consist of six airline and three non-airline members, with members to be elected by their peers for airlines, and by industry group for non-airlines.                There are two categories for non-airlines—one for pooling companies (CHEP, Jettainer), and (one for?) ULD manufacturers, leasing companies, ground handlers, and others. The selection criteria include ULD expertise, motivation, passion, availability, and attendance at the Shanghai conference.
     While the structural changes reflect the evolution of the user group, the matching changes in membership fees structure remain timid and fall short of setting a new signal. Leaving the airline fees at $500 annually, unchanged since 1988 (not a typo) is an involuntary admission by ULD managers that getting recognition from airline executives for their toils and greater visibility for the larger economic impact of managing these assets, which enable both passenger baggage and cargo to be loaded on wide body aircraft and all cargo aircraft, pose a continuing challenge. Either way, it is a missed opportunity and something the members will need to focus on and address much more forcefully. The more mundane reality is that better funding would allow more robust planning and support going forward.
     When TIACA and GACAG chairman Michael Steen came to the 2011 conference as a speaker, it was a clear indication that asset management has come of age on the executive floor. Michael promised to help highlight its importance by featuring it at the 2012 Air Cargo Forum, which starts on October 2 in Atlanta. Whether and how this materializes is the question.
     Non-airline annual member fees are set at $1,500 and $3,500 respectively for attendance by two delegates at the annual conference with the whole slew of full benefits, including eligibility to run for a seat on the board, access to the IT system at no extra cost, financial statements and directors’ reports, and eligibility to host the annual conference.
     Discussions about a new name for the group have been ongoing for many months now and a survey is in the works to formalize input and come up with a moniker that befits its metamorphosis.
Ted Braun

Jade Kaput Amidst China RealityParty may be over as China’s future continues to unfold, but as Summer 2012 begins, a child plays between two cartoon military statues on display outside a shopping mall in Beijing.

      The sad news that the business situation in China has finally clipped the wings of Jade Cargo has sent a jolt of reality through an industry where many hoped the China/India slowdown was only momentary and would eventually just go away.
      Smart and slick, with new airplanes and a new outlook, well-heeled owners and an adventuresome business plan, Jade Cargo is kaput—in the go-go world of air cargo China, a market which once pumped so much into the global industry, can now be viewed as a past time.
      It’s June 2102, the house lights are turned up bright, and it appears that the party is over.
      In Thursday’s Reuters a Lufthansa spokesman confirmed that all shareholders had agreed to suspend Jade’s operations and dissolve the company, admitting the company’s involvement had been expensive even as a minority shareholder (reportedly DLH lost $20 million into the Jade venture last year).
Geoffrey

Delta's Neel Shah Takes Long View

     We sat down with Neel Shah, Senior Vice President, Chief Cargo Officer, Delta Air Lines for a post-CNS Update to learn what is on the agenda for Delta Cargo looking forward.
     According to Mr. Shah, top priority is “to continue improving the operation to catch up with our commercial excellence.” With all the right people in place, the object will be to “concentrate on reaching top tier with Cargo2000,” says Mr. Shah.
     For Delta and others, local and regional air cargo clubs are important touchstones for “grass roots support.”
     “The participants are active, really out in the business and are passionate while also being brutally honest. I have spoken to clubs in SEA, PDX, ORD, JFK and ATL and do so every opportunity I have,” said Mr. Shah.
     With a challenging 2012 behind and ahead of air cargo, it is no surprise that strategies have changed for those in the industry.
     “I changed my outlook from when we planned the year, but we are faring well in a tough market and expect to end the year somewhat below plan or on par with 2011. We are refining our vision and strategic plans for the balance of 2012.
     “We are bullish on Pacific-Latin America; our DASH domestic express product has been growing as has air mail.
     “We have fixed the commercial mess, revamped processes and procedures and instituted revenue management. The former DL and NW workforce is so integrated that I don't even think in those terms.
     “We have to keep our game, continue the good partnership with CBP (US Customs and Border Protection) and TSA (transportation security administration), work on international customs regulations through GACAG and use technology to its full potential.
     “We have been rewriting our manuals for ground handling procedures in a much more succinct and simplified manner—our staff know how to do their job.
     “Forwarders are a critical piece of the supply chain and represent 90% of our business, therefore we need to be engaged.
     “On May 24 we held our third annual key account forum with our top European customers at the Hotel Baltimore in Paris; these customers generate 100 million dollars annual business. It was followed by a celebratory dinner.
     “We all as an industry need more discipline; we need to get smarter—the key to survival in our industry is capacity discipline. The shippers must be educated on pricing and convinced [they need] to support and promote our collective prosperity for them to continue to benefit from our services,” said Mr. Shah.
Ted Braun

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     We were saddened to learn that JFK air cargo stalwart and Seaboard World Airways alumnus Frank Otto died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.
     Jim Larsen, the old cargo pro who worked at Seaboard World with Frank and later went on to guide the fortunes of The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey as Cargo Development Manager, spoke of his dear friend from his home in Southern New Jersey, where he and wife Annette are retired.
     “Frank’s son Francis spoke to me to tell me his father was not going to last much longer on Tuesday afternoon, as we were on I-95 heading to the Cape.
     “I called him back the next morning and he told me Frank had passed away.
     “I first met Frank at Eastern Airlines in 1960 and we progressed up the ladder together, first as baggage handlers, then as shop stewards, then as supervisors.
     “I left Eastern and went to work in Los Angeles for Continental Airlines, but came back a year later jobless.
     “Frank helped me get into Seaboard World and again we played leap-frog, moving higher and higher in the company.
     “When Seaboard World folded in 1980, Frank was Director of Cargo and I was Director of System Traffic.
     “We never lost touch and after a few failed attempts at starting my own business, Frank lured me into Ogden Allied, based at LaGuardia Airport.

     “When the position as Cargo Development Manager opened up at Port Authority, it was Frank who recommended me to the people that finally hired me.
     “As you can see, I really owe my career to Frank.
     “On a personal note, Frank was best man at my wedding to Annette and his wife Helen (who passed away last year) was a very good friend of my first wife Mary.
     “I can remember the day he announced he was going to be a father; I was at Francis' christening.
     “Friends come and go over the years, but Frank was always there.
     “I loved him, his wife Helen, and his son Francis as if they were my own family.
     “I will miss him and I hope we will meet again and be as crazy as we were once upon a time.
     “I’ve got a million stories, Geoffrey, about my dear friend Frank, too many for now, but maybe some time when you can share our 52 years together, I will tell you more.”
     Frank’s son Francis, offered this about his father and namesake:
     “My father, Frank W. Otto, died Tuesday, June 12 after a long and valiant battle against illness.
     “He entered into eternal rest as he had wished, at the home he built, surrounded by his closest, most cherished relatives and with his partner-in-crime: his dog, "The Mop," perched on his lap.
     “Dad approached this last phase of his life as he did all of the others, with an enormous amount of strength and dignity combined with an indomitable will that continued to amaze his family even through his final days.
     “Although his physical presence will be sorely missed, the manner in which he lived his life will continue to inspire us always.
     “We continue to pray for the repose of his soul and that he finds eternal rest in the company of my mother.”
     Bill Boesch, his friend and former colleague at SWA told FlyingTypers:
     “I knew Frank at Seaboard; he was in operations and I was in sales.
     “Over those years I developed a respect for him that lasted throughout the years.
     “Every time you called Frank for anything, he was there.
     “He was a true friend to many people and a legend at JFK.
     “It is hard to believe this fine man is gone, but the memories from our great times together will live within me for the rest of my life.”
Geoffrey Arend

Arrangements for Frank:
Flinch & Bruns Funeral Home, 34 Hempstead Ave., Lynbrook, NY, (516) 599-3600. Hours: , Friday June 15, 2-4pm and 7-9pm. RC Mass: Saturday June 16, 9:45 am, Our Lady of Lourdes RC Church, 65 Wright Ave., Malverne, NY, (516) 599-1269.

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