Vol. 12 No. 52                           THE GLOBAL AIR CARGO PUBLICATION OF RECORD                          Thursday June 6. 2013

 


     “As the German Minister of Commerce of the State of Hesse honored us with a visit today, he also saw the various airline company displays to get an idea of the companies with whom we have to compete.
     “There is Saudia, Emirates, there is Qatar and Cargolux.
     “There is even Virgin Atlantic Cargo?
     “One thing for sure—this is a very competitive business.
     “And the competition gets more intense when the economic environment is more difficult.
     “Lufthansa Cargo continues to provide a positive bottom line although margins are slim.
     “In Qatar recently at IATA WCS, we heard of Qatar Airways investing whatever it takes to raise itself in air cargo without apparently applying any of the rules of economics that we were taught in school.
     “They have a very clear strategic view of what and where they want to be and they do whatever it takes to get there,” Mr. Garnadt said.


     One thing that Volker Dunkake does not have trouble with, is the curve.
     When properly thrown, the curve can move from 12 o’clock to 1800 hours in a second, and is the hardest pitch to hit in baseball.
     So as Volker, an air cargo pro was thrown a curve when the company he worked for, Lufthansa Cargo Charter Agency was suddenly dissolved, it is probably no surprise that he found a way to continue in a business he loves.
     As General Manager of start-up company Air Charter Logistics based in Frankfurt, Volker is bright and animated and focused on freight.
     “We began May 1 and just sold our first charter today,” Volker smiled.
     “Air Charter Logistics moves ahead with charter brokering and selling capacity, but we are not limited to just pure sales.
     “ACL brings a total solution concept to provide additional logistics support.
     “My years in charter have left the impression that more can be done to deliver better service to the customer, and that is exactly when we intend to do.
     “Feedback has been good, we discover that our business partners from the past are open to see us, trust our experience to get the job done.
     “That’s why we are here.”
     As Volker speaks straight to the heart of what he knows and likes and, in fac,t does as well or better than most, there is not a curve in sight.
Geoffrey



     “Business in 2013 is very tough indeed; market volumes are up slightly, but growth in supply easily exceeds growth in demand, leading to intense competition,” SWISS chief cargo officer Oliver Evans declared.


     “By focusing on those parts of the market that are growing the fastest (pharma, etc) and by attention to customer service and quality, we have reached and indeed slightly exceeded our first quarter targets.
     “So, as Air Cargo Europe continues this week, we expect another very successful event—indeed, the best annual industry event concentrating on the European market. Swiss WorldCargo attends again (Hall A4, Booth 101/302) with Lufthansa Cargo, hosting customers, suppliers, partners, and friends.”


     “SWISS is a mid-sized airline, but our leadership of specific market sub-segments puts us in the big leagues.
     “We are therefore very grateful to our customers and suppliers for all their support.
     “Here is where we stand today:
     “In terms of new services, we successfully launched daily services to Singapore with A340 equipment on May 12th, and will soon be adding Kiev to the network.
     “In terms of advances made in quality of service delivery and product line, quality and reliability are our hallmarks, with top scores amongst all C2K airlines in half of all the milestone categories,” Oliver said.


     “In terms of future plans, our entire team is busy planning for the introduction of the best cargo/passenger combination aircraft in the business—the B777—to go into effect starting 2016.
     “The new aircraft will offer up to 25 percent growth in capacity on the routes on which they will be deployed, so that SWISS will keep up market share and opportunities for our customers to grow with us.”
Geoffrey/Flossie

 


     “Overall, business is a bit slower than we expected.
     “Between the impact of the sequester in the U.S. and the continuing uncertainty in the Eurozone, the economic recovery doesn’t seem able to gain any consistent traction,” said Jim Bellinder, Vice President Sales at United Airlines Cargo
     “We’re at Munich, Hall A4 Stand 301-402 to engage with as many customers as possible, to deliver the message about our new attitude and approach, and to collaborate in finding creative, innovative solutions to add value to the supply chain.
     “I’d be happy if everyone we engage with in Munich understands we are a different company today with a humble approach, and we are focused on finding a way to do business.
     “Also, I want everyone to realize we truly appreciate all the business we get from our customers and we don’t take one single piece of freight for granted.


     “We continue to be encouraged by the expansion of our TempControl service for pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive commodities.
     “United Cargo believes our service is the best in the industry.
     “We recently added Beijing, Shanghai, and Seoul to the cities certified to handle TempControl shipments, bringing the total to 40 cities worldwide.
     “Our new Manager of Specialty Sales, Mary Tussing, was previously was in charge of TempControl product development.
     “She is bringing great focus to adding new routes, new commodities and new business to TempControl.”


     “In terms of advances made in quality of service delivery and product line, our new technology system, United Cargo 360° (UC360°), will be a game-changer.
     “The system will be rolled out in phases, beginning with our first phase later this year.
     “This end-to-end integrated system has benefits for our cargo customers at each step in the shipment process, from booking on our website or with our Sales and Contact Centers, all the way through to final settlement with our Accounting team.
     “The new system will streamline our business practices, so we’ll be more flexible and quicker to respond to customer and market demands.
     “It’s a system that will be easier to use immediately, and one that we can easily adapt and modify in the future to support our plans for product development and improved customer service.”


     “We're really excited about getting the 787 Dreamliner back into the skies.
     “United re-started domestic U.S. flying late last month, and we’re going to launch 787 international flying on our new route between Denver and Tokyo Narita on June 10.
     “This summer we plan to inaugurate 787 service on existing international routes including Houston-London, Los Angeles-Tokyo, Los Angeles-Shanghai, and Houston-Lagos.
     “And we expect to take delivery of two more 787s from Boeing in the second half of 2013,” Jim Bellinder said.
Geoffrey

 

 

     David Kerr, Vice President Etihad Cargo had just announced an arrangement with Jettainer in addition to an almost non-stop string of new aircraft, destinations and a whopping 19% jump in the carrier’s cargo business so far in 2013 versus 2012.
     “Etihad Airways and Jettainer have partnered to launch a new lightweight and double-width Unit Load Device (ULD), known as type ALF,” Mr. Kerr said.
     “Etihad Airways will take delivery of 250 of the new ULDs this year, and the airline estimates that the significant weight reduction will result in fuel savings in the order of US$350,000 in 2013 and approximately USD$1.1 million in 2014.
     “The introduction of these lightweight double-width units into our passenger and cargo operations is evidence of our innovative approach to sustainable logistics and ensures that our services remain among the best in the world,” Mr. Kerr said.
     “We are on a journey for the long haul with a dedicated, professional and dynamic team.
     “But we are here in Munich and everywhere else we fly, not to tell air cargo stakeholders what we’ve got, but to find out what the industry needs and wants from us.
     “The more we learn, the better we can deliver,” David Kerr said.
Geoffrey/Sabiha

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     During this ongoing week of Air Cargo Europe we have included commentaries from several industry leaders at the event.
     Here is one industry leader who finds himself out on the road this week in Asia with thoughts to share with friends and colleagues in Munich.
     Neel Shah is one of the smartest, most persistent air cargo executives in the business today.
     When he moved from the top cargo post at Delta Airlines a few years ago rather than slow down, Neel hit the ground running advancing some cutting edge technologies for perishables shipping.
     Here Neel tells FlyingTypers:
     “Certainly will miss not being at Air Cargo Europe and most importantly the very important networking in the halls and the social events.
     “Networking is the one activity that never disappoints at industry events.
     “Business really can be done over a handshake at a trade show, and result in real incremental revenue for both parties.”


      “With the way things have started in 2013, no doubt that a lot of folks will be looking for new business opportunities in MUC.
     “The hard freight market continues to be soft and I don't see any big improvement until the end of the year even though the global economies appear to be getting out of the funk they have been in for the past few years.
     “On balance the air cargo business still seems very fragile so we cannot rest just yet.
     “I have been spending quite a bit of time in the perishable business the past several months and am happy to report that this commodity is doing quite well and volumes are up rather significantly over 2012.”


      “Somewhat disappointing is the fact that the air cargo agenda hasn't really moved forward over the past several years.
     “We are still trying to tackle the same issues and progress is coming in very small increments.
     “I believe that almost everyone would like to see some fresh topics on the discussion agenda.
     “No question that our mission got a little harder because an icon of this global business for more than the past quarter century has retired and moved on to greener pastures in his life of retirement.
     “The industry is really going to miss Ram because he pointedly devoted the last 10 years of his career to further the industry's agenda rather than focus exclusively on Emirate's P&L.
     “Now Ram was more fortunate than most because he built a great team and instituted great process control so his business was always under control allowing him the opportunity to be the voice of the industry.
     “But today that is all history, time has moved on.
     “I am wondering who is going to step up and take the lead?
     “We need the next generation of leadership to show us what they have, and to dedicate their effort and intellect to moving the industry forward.”
Geoffrey/Flossie

A good way to get to Hall 4A where the airline displays are at Air Cargo Europe is to skip the downstairs crowd and take the escalators up one floor and follow the long corridor with moving walkways that leads to the Hall. Today, enroute to Hall 4A, we notice there is a prayer room. We entered the space and spent a devout few minutes. Upon entering Hall 4A we went insde the big Emirates display stand and Ram was still not there.
Ram retired yesterday, closing a one of a kind career at Emirates SkyCargo. Happy trails, Ram. (GA)

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