Ask Anne Marie MacCarthy, Global Sales Manager Aer Lingus Cargo (based at Dublin Airport), how she came to choose a career, and the answer is refreshingly simple and straightforward.
     “I needed a job,” she says with a smile that reveals her pleasure and thrill at being a top cargo executive at the Irish national airline.
     “Actually, one day I just went out to Dublin Airport and started knocking on doors of the freight forwarders and airlines, and even Irish Customs, looking for work.
     “So I have spent my entire working life in air cargo.

     “I began as a customs runner for a freight forwarder and eventually went out on the road for that company.
     “At the time, air cargo was almost entirely a male dominated business, and frankly as a woman it was a bit easier to at least get a toe in the door, so I went into sales and marketing.
     “In 1990 I joined Lufthansa Cargo in sales, where I worked for seven years, ending up as sales manager for Ireland, which was a really great experience.
     “One thing became immediately apparent moving from freight forwarding to airline that still holds true at Aer Lingus—no matter what happens during a shipment, the buck stops at the airline.
     “After Lufthansa I was head hunted to Emery Worldwide, so it was back to freight forwarding and total logistics with a truly great company and some wonderful people.”
     If it sounds like Anne Marie has made a success and a lot of friends in air cargo, believe it.
     But while considering the fabric, color, and atmosphere of air cargo, Anne Marie gets right down to business.
     In 2012, Aer Lingus Cargo is willing and able to do business, offering a surprising list of European destinations and opportunity for some real savings every step of the way.
     “From Boston, New York, Chicago and Orlando, Aer Lingus Cargo via Ireland serves Birmingham, Edinburgh, London, Gatwick, Heathrow, and Manchester, plus over 30 destinations across Europe.
     “It is the ability to move via less crowded Ireland to all these destinations that offers shippers a definite advantage and opportunity to grow business, with extraordinary customer service and attention to detail,” she said.
     “Just last month we moved our cargo offices for Aer Lingus back to the airport at Dublin, in the same building where I started my career.
     “The purpose of course is to put air cargo management literally right on top of the action, but for me the move is also a return of sorts.
     “I do really love being back there.”
     Of course, no article about Aer Lingus can overlook the ongoing donnybrook with carrier Ryanair and LCC airlines’ self-absorbed gadfly, CEO Michael O’Leary.
     On June 19, 2012, Ryanair announced its intention to launch yet another bid to take over Aer Lingus at €1.30 per share, for a total of €694 million.
     On June 20, 2012, Aer Lingus issued a press release stating that, having reviewed Ryanair's proposed offer, the company board must reject it and advise the company's shareholders not to take any action in relation to it.
     Aer Lingus pointed out that any offer from Ryanair was unlikely to be capable of completion due to, firstly, the EU Commission's 2007 decision to block the airline's bid for Aer Lingus at the time, and, secondly, the UK Competition Commission's ongoing investigation of Ryanair's minority stake in Aer Lingus.
     Also, Aer Lingus’ board believes that Ryanair's offer undervalues Aer Lingus, considering the airline's profitability and balance sheet, including cash reserves in excess of €1 billion (as of March 31, 2012).
     But no one doubts O’Leary will continue his quest to add Aer Lingus to his Ryanair stable.
     For Anne Marie, even though business everywhere is challenging, 2012 is a time to think of new partnerships.
     Willie Mercado, Cargo Sales & Reservations Manager North America, and Debbie Gaine, U.S. Cargo Sales Manager East Coast, joined our small gathering at JFK with Anne Marie.
     It should be mentioned that Willie gets great credit and attention for his years of selfless service to the entire air cargo business on the U.S. east coast as President of the JPK-based Air Cargo Association.
     In a world where most air cargo clubs or associations hang on by the effort and determination of a few stalwart organizers and workers, Willie has been the stand up guy for New York/New Jersey ACA for longer than anyone can remember.
     We all owe Willie a lot of deep thanks for a job above and beyond, and also for the biggest one-day air cargo event on the planet, JFK Air Cargo Day, held the last Thursday of March each year.
     Willie Mercado emphasized that the Aer Lingus Cargo network, which lifts consignments via A320s across Europe, is second to none, connecting from North America via speedy Gateway Ireland.
     Debbie marked her 25th Anniversary at the carrier and was also celebrating her daughter’s confirmation the previous Sunday.
     “Boxes do speak,” Debbie said of air cargo.
     “In fact, at times they can even scream, with the smallest ones making the most noise.
     “It is our job to make sure that we always pay attention to detail and make sure we never let the customer forget how important he or she is to us,” Anne Marie smiled.
Geoffrey/Sabiha

Women At American Airlines Cargo

Tulsi Mirchandaney

Olga Pleshakova

Lucy Ntuba

Lina Rutkauskien

Danita Waterfall Brizzi

Carmen Taylor

Michelle Soliman

     According to a source close to FlyingTypers, the puzzling question of discerning what exactly GACAG does has just been answered.
     The role of GACAG is to react to industry issues, both future and current.
     In other words, GACAG is a think tank.
     Given its composition, the individual priorities of its member organizations and its respective constituents are not the same, yet they collaborate and speak for the industry with a single voice in the matter of common concern and interest.
     For example, take the GACAG e-commerce task chaired by Steven Smith with DHL Supply Chain, which, while dealing with electronic air cargo matters, also touches on security, although there is another task force for security.
     In this case, it promotes the use and acceptance of security declarations in electronic form.
     This in turn impacts the shipper and consignee, airlines and forwarders alike.
     Another task force handles sustainability, which includes environmental issues and focuses on the future of the air cargo industry.
     Individual airlines have been experimenting with some well-advertised trials to operate aircraft with biofuel, and the proof of concept phase is fairly advanced.
     Where it gets complicated is that biofuel is still five times as expensive as jet fuel, global and national norms and supply challenges are in pre-infancy stage, and there isn’t much the GACAG members can do at this point.
     Also, with fuel prices dropping of late but economic volatility still in full swing, it is hard to devote scarce capital to this opportunity, despite its beneficial PR effect. Reversing the EU unilateral ETS policy will take a bigger hammer.
     With October’s Air Cargo Forum 2012 in Atlanta fast approaching, the various GACAG members will be represented in one capacity or another.
     Perhaps this more sober description will reset some of the pent-up demand and accumulated unrealistic expectations of what volunteer industry organizations and their members can do.
     There remains little doubt that there is much to do.
     But GACAG, which is still mostly unknown in air cargo and gets few kudos for naming itself a strange acrostic that is awkward to say, could try and appropriate that famous, one-word slogan developed by IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, Sr., in the 1920s: “THINK.”
     That way, every time the subject of GACAG comes up, as in, “What is it? What does it do? What does it mean? What has it done for air cargo lately?” the answer would be simple and direct:
THINK!
Ted/Geoffrey

     That Counter-Piracy Conference, convened by the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and global port operator DP World in Dubai during the last week of June, and covered here exclusively, unveiled yet more evidence of how deeply piracy on the high seas is undermining world trade.
     A recent report titled “The Economic Cost of Somali Piracy 2011” by Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP), a program run by One Earth Future Foundation, found that Somali-based piracy cost the world between $6.6 and $6.9 billion in 2011. Of this total, the $160 million collected by pirates as ransom payments represents just 2 percent, with the vast majority spent on deterring pirate attacks—safeguarding vessels, their crew, and cargo.
     In his opening address, DP World Chairman, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said the economic consequences of piracy on trade could not be overstated, especially in view of prevailing global uncertainties.
     He noted that the cost of piracy to the international community was now one billion dollars more than Somalia’s GDP.
     “The macroeconomic impact on countries of the region and beyond will have long term negative consequences if this menace is left unchecked,” he added.
     “This unacceptable and on-going human tragedy, as well as the impact on economies and the flow on impact of that on communities, is what constantly drives the UAE Government and DP World to bring global focus to the problem.
     “For the fifth year running, the busiest sea-borne trade route in the world—the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean region—continues to be held to ransom by a relatively small but aggressive group of pirates.”
     Costs vary by ship and trade, but piracy expert Eirik Hooper concluded that each vessel transit through waters where pirates are active costs on average $125,000. But, he said, that figure can be as high as $255,000 for some container vessels, which instead of employing guards or re-routing, increase speed and rely on their high freeboard for protection, a strategy which drives up fuel costs.
     “Overall, the shipping industry is very concerned that, without some specific trigger to push for more forceful action to limit the pirates’ activities, the current situation has become a new status quo,” he said.      “Whilst hidden within the cost structures of most of the shipping lines, these additional costs and inefficiencies will yet be passed onto consumers in import markets, and are in real danger of becoming institutionalized.”
     Although some successes have been made by companies in countering piracy, Somalia-based pirates have reacted by becoming even more violent.
     “The violence is escalating,” said Sulayem. “The number of seafarers dying as a result of piracy has tripled from 8 [in 2009] to 24 [in 2011]. So far, since 2007, 62 seafarers have died as a direct result of piracy in this part of the world.
     “The good news is, for the first time in five years, attacks on merchant shipping in the waters off Somalia are down.”
     He said the latest figures showed that after 176 incidents in 2011, there had been only around 30 in the first six months of this year, and the pirates’ success rate had been halved from 28 percent in 2009 to 14 percent last year.
     “Maritime piracy is as old as maritime trade itself, and yet we have not been able to eradicate it,” he said.      “Indeed, with the ransom taking that has come to dominate modern piracy over the past five years, piracy has a new and even more sinister face.”
     Sulayem also reminded delegates that even as the conference was underway, more than 200 seafarers were still held captive, in often appalling conditions. “The trauma, fear and unspeakable suffering these innocent people and their families are going through is difficult to imagine,” he said.
     Comprehensive, sustainable solutions to maritime piracy had still not been achieved despite an increased military presence, better monitoring of suspected pirate motherships, and better information sharing on key trade lanes,” he said.
     A “higher level of collaboration” between all parties would further improve the anti-piracy effort, which would eventually need to improve prosperity and stability in Somalia—also being affected negatively by its use as a base for pirates.
     “The fact is that attacks by pirates don’t just endanger the lives of hundreds of seafarers and disrupt vital economic activities, they also undermine efforts to restore prosperity and stability to Somalia,” said Sulayem.
     “Piracy’s destabilizing impact can only be mitigated through collaboration across political, military, financial, and legal arenas.
     “The need of the hour is to explore new ways to secure the freedom of those held captive, curb the reach of the pirates, and provide comprehensive support to Somalia.
     “We are in a strong position to collectively inject a new momentum in our common search for an effective, enduring solution to piracy.
     “As we begin, our thoughts and prayers are with those seafarers who are struggling to find hope in the darkness of captivity, and meaning in their chosen profession as merchant sailors and economy builders.
     “Let us sincerely hope all of them are soon freed and reunited with their families.”
Sky King

RE: Always Showtime At BRU

Dear Geoffrey,

     We have read the July 2 comments from Ted Braun about Brussels Airlines, and in particular about the recent launch of our recent JFK service.
     Let me first say that I like to read FlyingTypers.
     I like to read the stories and the personal comments.
     The almost narrative journalistic approach is refreshing.
     Unfortunately, this time I really have to disagree with the analysis of Mr. Braun. I have the feeling that Mr. Braun is not aware of several very good reasons that justified the launch of a Brussels Airlines service to New York.
     Let me share with you some of these reasons.
     New York is the largest Transatlantic market ex Brussels.
     As the Brussels-based home carrier, we were completely absent from this market for almost ten years. Can we afford that and leave this market to others by not serving our clients and loyal tour operators?
      The US is the third largest feeder market of our Africa flights. The US market is of critical importance in the success of our Africa product. If you need to rely on the flights of partners, you cannot develop your own independent commercial strategy for the US/Africa traffic potential. Brussels Airlines had until the launch of its own JFK operation no JFK travel solution and we experienced that AFR passengers who want to travel to New York made use of the flight offer of our competitors.
      There was not Star Alliance service between Brussels and JFK. Oneworld and Skyteam are both present on this market. Can we leave the very important JFK route only in the hands of competitive alliances?
      Brussels Airlines is not going ‘solo’ on Brussels–JFK. We have the full support of the Lufthansa Sales Team in the US. On top, we joined the so-called Atlantic ++ Transatlantic venture of Lufthansa/United/Air Canada. Our flight is steered via this venture and gets the full sales support of the Atlantic ++ partners.
      There was no European in-flight product on the route and we know that an important part of the market prefers a European service.
      It was only after an in-depth study that we decided to launch this route.
      In June we registered a load factor of almost 80 percent on our JFK service. We became the O&D market leader on the route. These very encouraging results are not exactly an indication that we are heading towards a Sabena scenario. Another carrier recently announced that it would end its BRU-JFK service this autumn, by the way.

Kind regards,
Geert Sciot
Vice President Media Brussels Airlines

Dear Geert,

      Thanks for your feedback, which we always welcome, whether in agreement or disagreement.
      Indeed, you have explained the rationale for the JFK flight. 80 percent load factor is a good number; the real question for me though is whether it is making a profit, on the JFK/BRU portion alone or, as you indicate, as a significant contribution for ongoing traffic through to Africa.
      Ten years is a very long time to have been absent in perhaps one of the most competitive air transport markets. With all due respect to any study, the JFK traffic in question has been served one way or another and I simply questioned the decision and its timing in a volatile global economic climate, and financial challenges for the airlines that have to husband limited resources. I wish you well.

Regards,
Ted

RE: Dame Donna Bella Cargo Builder

Dear Geoffrey,

     Thank you very much for FlyingTypers and especially for the updates on Donna Bella (DHL).
     Really enjoy your depicting the contribution of women in the air cargo industry in the issues of FlyingTypers.
     Keep it up.

Sam Mukonzo
CEO
Oceania Freight International Limited (Uganda)

RE: Sense Of Renewal At American

Geoffrey,

     I found Mr. Name Withheld’s letter dated 6/25 quite aggressive (former BN employee).
     As a former PAA employee, I have also seen the rise and fall of many great airlines.
     The solution is never easy, but one thing is for sure, it takes a little more work and analysis than what your reader kindly suggests.

Mike Lippina

RE: Indian Aviation Development Spreads

Dear Geoffrey,

     Please note the article appearing in your said subject under heading “Indian Aviation Development Spreads” had the wrong picture.
     Rather than Mr. Vipul Mitra (Head – state tourisms and aviation department) your photo is indeed one of a celebrity; superstar of Bollywood, the renowned actor Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. You need to be corrected.
     Rest of the article is readable, informative, and useful for the fraternity.

Best regards from Mumbai.
Gajanan Golatkar
Vice President, Clearship Group
Dixons Cargo Consolidators Pvt. Ltd,

Dear Mr. Golatkar,

     Thank you for the heads up, and Hooray for Bollywood! We appreciate the correction.

Best wishes,
Geoffrey

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