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   Vol. 13 No. 66   Friday August 1, 2014



Quotable First Six Of 2014

Quotable

Einstein once said:
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”


      As we pass the midway mark for 2014, FlyingTypers begins a multi-part summer reading series that looks back at issues published during the first half of the year.
Richard Malkin      The idea is to offer a look back at various topics from just a few months ago so that we may reflect on what has happened and draw conclusions to better inform air cargo’s future.
      If you missed some news this “refresher” might prove useful.
      We know we serve some pretty smart, inventive, and engaging people in today’s air cargo business—people who are probably too busy to remember all the pressing—and constantly revolving—issues of the industry.
      In the case of our opening remarks by 101-year-old “super senior” and FlyingTypers Editor Richard Malkin, (left) what was said in January 2014 dates so far back in air cargo history that all the questions might already be answered.



Quote 1
"Pre-Jet Air Cargo"— January 6, 2014

Credit Air Express International (AEI) for being America’s (and possibly the world’s) first forwarding company wholly devoted to air transport.
The route to this development revealed a bit of a twist in history: Opportunity knocked at the door of 24-year old Chester Mayer, (right) a New York customs broker, when Pan American Airways which handled its own import clearances, found itself entangled in a serious customs problem. This led to a decision by Pan Am to farm out its customs clearances to an independent customs specialist.
     The offer was made to Mayer, and almost overnight AEI came into existence in Miami.
     The time was the nadir of a cheerless Depression—but the remembered counsel by some old Roman whose name he could not recall was to “let nothing pass that will advantage you.”
     Eventually AEI edged into shipping small packages by air via airplane, flying boat and even zeppelin.
     These shipments supplemented surface borne traffic.
     All-air was Chester Mayer’s close-held dream. It was fated to come true.
Richard Malkin

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Quotable 2“Peak Portends Better”—January 13, 2014

After a 2013 of largely non-plussed market commentary, Stanley Hui Hon-chung was moved to enthuse that “fuelled by burgeoning demand from the traditional Christmas peak season, we expect this promising growth in cargo to continue throughout the rest of the year.”
     Those are strong words indeed from the phlegmatic Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong.
SkyKing

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Quote 3 “Did Cargo Report Earn Its Wings”—January 29, 2014

A joint press release by the industry triumvirate—TIACA/IATA/FIATA plus ICAO—reported that after “a two-year research project… the ‘higher-skills,’ which include leadership, team-building as well as market and financial analysis techniques…” concluded that the “availability of air cargo-focused programs that teach these higher-level skills is limited.”
     Officially titled "Air Cargo Industry Education and Training Task Force-“Identifying The Educational Needs For A Vibrant Air Cargo Industry In The Future,” the authors of the report “agreed that the industry as a whole must address this deficiency," and went on to list a number of dire consequences, should their ideas not be followed.
     These include “difficulty of attracting qualified talent to successfully lead the industry through future challenges” and “the loss of rising managers to other (unidentified) sectors of the logistics industry or to other industries.”
     Just as “Higher Skills’ came out Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google, at the 2014 World Economic Forum in Davos warned the jobs problem will be “the defining one” for the next two to three decades.
     Given the constant development of new technology, Mr. Schmidt said that more and more middle class workers would lose their jobs and “it was not clear if workers have the right skills to be rehired.”
     He compared the situation to the industrial revolution, while calling for more industry-wide innovation: “it’s a race between computers and people – and people need to win.”
     Schmidt added, “as more routine tasks are automated, this will lead to much more part-time work in caring and creative industries; the classic 9-5 job will be redefined.”
Ted Braun

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Quote 4 India Déjà Vu All Over Again—February 5, 2014

India’s only air cargo show—Air Cargo India 2014, the every other year event opened amidst hopes for a resurgent air cargo industry driven by an active India market coming back after a luke warm 2013.
Vinod Kaul, a senior tradesperson and business development manager described the action:
 Peter Scholten Saudia Cargo    "There was lots of positive energy, hope and air of expectation that the situation will get better.”
Nabil Sultan Emirates SVP Cargo      While everyone at that event said that there was an urgent need for closer cooperation in the supply chain, Nabil Sultan, Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo of Emirates Airlines, took that thought one step further to highlight the fact that there were fundamentals that needed to be put in place to ensure that profits roll in: from fuel-efficient planes to yields and tonnage.
     Peter Scholten, Vice President Commercial, Saudia Cargo emphasized that India’s passenger carriers with cargo businesses should be encouraged.
Tirthankar Ghosh

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Quote 5Where Fruit Freshens February—January 27, 2014
Biggest most important event held in 2014 from February 5th until February 7th in the German Reichshauptstadt Berlin is Fruit Logistica.
All the players by the thousands locked into the event with great on the hoof opportunities for business development and learning.
     This yearly event is not to be missed.
     A core part of Fruit Logistica 2014 was “Future Lab” where the latest developments in the perishable trade and supply chain are presented, discussed, and thought through. “These projects can potentially have a significant impact on the medium-term development of the fresh produce sector," says Gérald Lamusse, Fruit Logistica Global Brand Manager.
     “In half-hour sessions, the ‘Future Lab’ covered topics such as ‘Quantum leap in lettuce breeding,’ to ‘Information superhighway for fruits & vegetables,’ ‘Customized Fruit – to your health!,’ ‘Water – scarce, valuable, indispensable’ and ‘Fighting Black Sigatoka,’” Lamusse declared.

cauliflower

     Watching a “leap in lettuce” is perhaps not your favorite kind of floorshow, but the message at least is clear.
     Today in most parts of the world, the times are long gone where farmers, fishermen, and other producers just needed to carry their products to the next town to reach market.
     In 2014, feeding seven billion people worldwide is one thing, but feeding them in quite different ways is likely the greatest challenge of modern times.
Jens

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Quote 6Sentinel Of Seaboard, Seaboard Sign JFKLetters—February 18, 2014

Dear Geoffrey,

     I noticed that the “Seaboard Way” sign guarding the main entrance of JFK International Airport is pitched over and lying half way down, making it unreadable for travelers.
     On behalf of the memory of Seaboard and its people, I ask if you could please help bring attention to this situation to the airport operator The Port Authority, to get this landmark fixed rapidly.
     Seaboard World Airways Cargo, now part of FedEx, was a major all-cargo carrier that was headquartered at JFK, dating back to the days when the airport was named Idlewild.
Vincent Chabrol     The memory of the contribution that the carrier made to building—both the air cargo business and the airport—has to be honored and maintained decently.
     Thanks for your assistance.

Vincent Chabrol
V20100@ aol.com


Dear Vince,

      Thanks for writing.
     You are indeed the “Sentinel of Seaboard,” and anyone who thinks that after all these years there is no one at the airport that gives a damn, now knows better.
     That sign looks ill-placed, and we think it was probably bashed by a snowplow this winter.
     We cannot help but notice in the backdrop of your picture the now faded International Hotel, where once Jimmy Doolittle was honored and Ron Burrage held sway at the podium, and Ike Dornfeld, Dick Rowe, and Bob Aaronson gave speeches.
     Today the International Hotel sits closed and vacant at the very entranceway of the airport that features the almost tipped over SWA sign.
     The image brings to mind that empty town and its flickering movie house, and the hopes and dreams in the film The Last Picture Show.
David Z. Plavin     Recently David Z. Plavin, (right) who once served as Aviation Director for the airport operator Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and is now a well-respected aviation authority (dvz consult), suggested in a piece for Eno Center for Transportation, that it might finally be time for the agency to get out of the airport business.
     “There once was a time when the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) had an international reputation as ‘the gold standard’ of public enterprises for its independent professional staff, its facility management capabilities, and for the farsightedness of its investments in promoting the New York/New Jersey region,” Plavin wrote.
     “Unfortunately, this is no longer true.
     “Instead, today’s Port Authority (PA) has become the punchline of a bad joke.”
Geoffrey




If You Missed Any Of The Previous 3 Issues Of FlyingTypers
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