Emirates Vows Price Fix Defense

     Australia taking cargo price fixing legal action against Emirates SkyCargo, charging collusion with other airlines is met with firm denial by EK, which says it intends to defend itself at Sydney hearing scheduled 9/11.
     But we wonder why Aussies selected 9/11 as return date for complaint against the biggest airline from a Muslim country in the world?
     At best the scheduling is just dumb, and at worst, repugnant and insensitive.
     Suppose, we should never forget that the land down under is home to Qantas Freight that threw Bruce McCaffrey, a thirty plus year USA veteran of Qantas Freight under the bus to do jail time in a plea bargain at the dawn of all this price fixing business.
     Good that Emirates SkyCargo is standing its ground.
     About time somebody did.
Geoffrey

Doha Exclusive—Vikram Singh is Qatar Airways vice president of cargo. Right now the Doha-based carrier is involved in an aggressive plan of moving to new markets despite the worldwide slowdown. We wonder what is driving these moves and what lies ahead?

 FT:  What is Qatar Airways approach to a tough 2009?
 VS:  Qatar Airways is reinforcing its aggressive expansion plans, continuing to enter new markets despite the worldwide slowdown. Throughout the course of 2009, Qatar Airways is introducing a number of new scheduled routes to our expanding network.

Charlie Storcks, (left) Qatar Airways Cargo Regional Manager the Americas and Vikram Singh, (right) Vice President Qatar Airways Cargo pictured at CNS Partnership Conference. Qatar Airways Cargo launched Houston Service March 30, 2009.

     Amritsar – in the northern Indian state of Punjab will be served with four weekly flights from October 11. Goa – the popular holiday destination will be served with four weekly flights from October 25.
     Although both destinations will be serviced by A320 aircraft, the new routes allow a direct connection to / from Doha and the QRC network for small urgent consignments.
     Melbourne from December 6, (subject to government approval), three days a week initially then increasing to daily from January 1, 2010.
     This is an exciting new development opening up new opportunities for our existing customers in Europe, UK, Middle East and new customers out of Australia.
     The Boeing B777-200 Long Range to be used on the service will ensure good cargo uplift opportunities, even with high passenger loads.
     The late evening arrival and departure is ideally suited to cargo ensuring import cargo is available for collection the next business morning and it allows export cargo to be processed throughout the day for carriage that same night.      Announcements will be made soon on the handling services to be used and our new management structure in Australia.
     Sydney – a launch date has not yet been announced but is expected to launch sometime in the New Year, subject to government approval.
     As to European destinations Qatar Airways has announced two further European points will be launched in the coming months.
 FT:  You have spoken in the past of ongoing service options upgrades. Can you detail them and what lies ahead?
VS:  For 2009, Qatar Airways has unveiled a host of frequency and capacity upgrades on a number of key European routes from the start of the 2009/10 Northern Winter schedule: will see Athens up from 9 flights a week from October 25, rising to double daily by March 2010.
     Paris goes up from 11 to 14 flights a week from October 25.
     Stockholm will be served from 4 to 5 flights a week beginning October 25.
     Madrid goes from 4 to 7 flights a week from December 2.
     QR has already increased frequencies on a number of other routes including Lagos now served daily, Manila double daily, Muscat 21 flights weekly.
     Elsewhere Kuala Lumpur now gets 10 QR flights a week
     We are also adding capacity planned for Algiers to six flights weekly from October 1 and Tunis to five flights from October 5.
 FT:  Any new products coming onstream at QR Cargo?
VS:  Qatar Airways Cargo is finalizing an agreement with Envirotainer for use of their temperature controlled units in selected sectors on our network.
     The demand for carriage of goods such as healthcare, pharmaceutical products is growing at a fast rate and access to temperature controlled units allows Qatar Airways Cargo to actively pursue these business opportunities.

 FT:  Can you describe a timeline for New Doha International?
VS:  New Doha International Airport is scheduled to open by 2012 and will include a state of the art Cargo Terminal, with fully automated handling systems and many special handling areas such as freezers, chillers for perishable and temperature controlled products, as well as secure storage areas for valuable and vulnerable cargo.
     Warehouse handling areas will be air conditioned for added protection of the cargo being handled.
     A stand-alone live animal facility will be a key feature of the new Cargo complex.
FT:  We have noted that despite the slowdown QR continues to receive and order new aircraft. What are the freighter plans?
VS:  In mid 2010, Qatar Airways Cargo is set to receive the first of its new Boeing 777 freighters. The delivery of these aircraft will add an extra dimension to the airline’s dedicated freighter network.
     Exciting plans are being developed to interface the present A300-600F services with the new opportunities the Boeing freighters will bring. Right now Qatar Airways operates 69 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft operating to over 80 destinations in an expanding global network.
     We are receiving new planes into the fleet at an average rate of one per month and have massive aircraft orders worth over US$40 billion, including 80 Airbus A350s, 24 Airbus A320 Family of aircraft, 60 Boeing 787s and 32 Boeing 777s.
     Qatar Airways is one of the customers of the twin-deck Airbus A380 ‘super jumbos’ with five on order and scheduled for delivery from 2012.
FT:  What Else Is Prioritized at Qatar Cargo?
VS:  Qatar Airways Cargo has recently joined Cargo 2000, in an effort to help standardize performance measurements throughout the industry and is currently testing the system on selected sectors in the process towards full certification.
 FT:  How did you start in this business?
VS:  I began my airline career in 1992 with KLM Cargo in India where I worked in Calcutta, Chennai and Delhi. Experience ranged from Cargo Ops, Sales and management including setting up stations till 1996. Moved out of India in ’97 and into the passenger business in sales and regional management roles in Abu Dhabi and Iran till 2000. With KLM's Alitalia JV moved to Africa to manage sales and marketing on the continent.
     In 2003 moved to the Netherlands to head up B2B Marketing and later to manage KLM's Global Accounts business and merged it with Air France in 2006.
     Was made responsible for Customer Management for KLM in 2006. In 2007 I moved into a Business Innovation-Corporate Strategy role till I left to join QR Cargo and got back into air cargo. Notably, in 1996 I had a brief stint with a freight forwarder, before I switched to the passenger airline business, which gave me valuable insight of the forwarding world.
 FT:  When you joined Qatar Cargo tell me what surprised you?
VS:  I have been pleasantly surprised with the world-class air cargo hub we operate here. It is definitely one of the best-kept secrets in international air cargo.
 FT:  If there were a couple or even one thing about air cargo that you could change what would it be?
VS:  The industry needs more transparency. More transparency will bring value-based pricing and innovation to the entire supply chain. The Internet can and must play an important part here.
Geoffrey

     Full belly-hold compartments on the way to Afghanistan but not a single pound of air freight on outbound flights. That is the sober day-to-day reality for Afghani carrier Safi Airways. The stiff and extremely time consuming security controls are too big an obstacle for getting this business to a common practice like almost anywhere else on this globe. In Afghanistan it needs days if not weeks until shipments get a green light for being loaded on board of an aircraft and flown out.
     Besides the harsh security regime another reason accounts for the fact that almost nada is leaving the country in the cargo compartments of passenger aircraft: the lack of industrial production. Consequently only personal effects and home bound sniffing dogs (after having fulfilled their duties to find drugs) are being brought out of the war-stricken country by plane.
     Basically there could be business however, after all there are many fields in the fertile parts of the country where fruits, roses, grapes, and vegetables are planted and harvested. But the truth is that “they are rotten before they make it to the airport and our planes,” describes Safi’s CEO Tilmann Gabriel (left). The lack of modern infrastructure, poor and insecure roads and the time absorbing security controls prevent nearly everything from being exported. As things stand it will take time until trade flows might come halfway to normal.
     For 2006-established Safi Airways the air freight business is still in a preliminary stage “so every single shipment produces a new learning curve,” confesses Tom De Geytere, (right) the carrier’s Chief Financial Officer on whose shoulders lays also the responsibility for pushing cargo things ahead.
      “Boxes and packages are not going to bring us millions but we are setting targets,” the Belgium-born executive says.      “Because I cannot manage 15 different sales agents I decided to outsource the entire air freight biz and hand it over to just one player.”
      The dices obviously are tossed but since there is no ink on the contract yet, Tom doesn’t want to reveal the lucky sales agent’s name. Only the Frankfurt flights will be excluded from this step. “In Germany we teamed up with local Mueller & Partner and their sub-agent Aircargonet. There no changes are intended,” says the former Cargolux executive, who joined Safi last April.
     The privately-owned Afghan carrier is utilizing three passenger aircraft momentarily, two B737-300s and one B767-200ER. Soon the fleet will be doubled bringing the total number of aircraft to six. Whether these will be Boeing or Airbus variants is undecided at this point.
     “We are in close negotiations with both manufacturers and will decide this issue soon,” states CEO Gabriel.
     Fact is that the ageing B737-300s and the B767 will be phased out to be replaced by modern equipment. Once the new aircraft are part of Safi’s fleet the carrier will add Delhi, Jeddah, Moscow and Beijing to the network. Domestic flights within Afghanistan are not intended for the time being, Gabriel says.
Heiner Siegmund

   Our exclusive series “Women In Air Cargo” asks our readers to send some words and a picture about somebody that you know who is female and has made a difference in air cargo.
  This effort is not limited to just success or failure, it is meant to raise awareness about the legions of unique women who in most cases are unsung heroines in the air cargo industry.
  So write and we will share your story with our readers around the world.

Women In Cargo Hall Of Fame

Budoor Al Mazmi

Lisa Schoppa

     Air Cargo News FlyingTypers leads the way again as the world’s first air cargo publication to connect the industry to the broadly expanding and interactive base for social commentary—Twitter.
     Here are updates from Twitter so far this week. To be added to this 24/7/365 service at no-charge contact: acntwitter@aircargonews.com

August 18:    These days when we all hear the downside of breaking the law maybe a conference that addresses preventive measures that keep things straight is a good thing. Miami Sept 9-11ALTA (Aviation Law Americas) Conference. Smart advice, nice people like Michael Holland Partner Condon & Forsyth others. www.alta.aero/aviationlaw.

August 18:    In Houston IAH opens 61K sq ft cool chain facility November 1 operated by Tradewinds Cargo Handling with direct ramp access located next to Fed Insp Ops. Kerry Galegher Mgr.

August 18:    Air China lengthens its stake in Cathay Pacific to nearly 30% buying out CITC Pacific shares for more than $847 million USD. Swire Pacific holds 41.97%.

August 18:    Domestic air cargo in China up 3.2% in July, int'l rose 1.1% as first plus action in a year Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

August 18:    Continental Airlines goes to Edmonton, Alberta from Houston Bush Intercontinental starting November 1 with a daily B737.

August 18:    In Missouri USA environmentalists question $4.1 billion dollar plan to add truck-only lanes to I-70 route Kansas City to St. Louis the major freight corridor.

August 17:    Wall Street Journal on Republic, a holding company that flies sub service for many USA major airlines- beating out Southwest the dominant discount carrier—acquiring Frontier: "David and Goliath victory for Republic, a tenth the size of Southwest."

August 17:    Middle East Logistics Awards in Dubai as Ram Menen, Sr Div. VP EK Sky Cargo enters Hall of Fame. Personality awards to Fahad A.Hammad, CEO of Saudia Cargo, Jinendra Sancheti MD TNT Express & Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, VP, DP World.

August 17:    Malaysia and Algeria MOU allows each other's passenger & cargo operations with 3rd and 4th freedom rights. Deal to be inked soon.

August 17:    Thai Airways International lost US$156.73 million Apr/June Q2 but hopes projected profit later this year will pull 2009 into black.

August 17:    "Jade Cargo & Air Logistics Group deal now has Air Logistics GSA for Jade India & the Middle East," Kay Kratky, CEO of Jade Cargo said.

August 17:    In a year when less of less is more, Hong Kong (HKIA) said July tonnage was only off 8.3% year on year. First seven throughput minus 18.1%.

August 17:    Boeing and EgyptAir converted 2 777 orders into 8 737-800s. Carrier operates 5 777s and gets 6 777-300ERs beginning 2010.

August 17:    National Air Cargo weekly DC 8F from Sharjah via Hahn to YIP. Carrier also serves Bagram & Kandahar Air Base weekly (Fridays) from YIP.

August 17:    First order for 15 GE Explosive Trace Detection System follows recent approval for use at TSA Certified Cargo Screening Facilities. Security Itemiser DX is lightweight with a one-hour battery to analyze from a single sample pos & neg ions for detection of complex explosive substances.

August 17:    U.S. Gen Svs Admin auction 12 lighthouses. Minot Ledge lamp 1-4-3 flashes since 1850- means I Love You. http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/nhlpa/noas2009.htm.

Contact! Talk To Geoffrey

Dear Geoffrey,

     Thank you for publicizing the recent appointment of Thorsten Lafleur.
     But can I kindly ask you to make a correction?
     In your opening sentence (twitter tWeek Monday) writes “Thorsten is the new boss of IATA Cargo 2000”.
In fact this is not correct.
     My position as President of Cargo Network Services (CNS) also includes the role of Executive Director of Cargo 2000.
     We also have three Regional Directors that I am sure you know—Mike White in the Americas and Lothar Moehle in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Tom Presnail in Asia Pacific.
     In the newly-created post of Technical Director, Thorsten will report to me and will work closely with our Regional Directors and members to support the continued implementation of our quality management system.
     In the past two years, we have increased the full-time resource we provide for our members and Thorsten is another welcome addition to our team.
     Once again, thank you for you interest and support of Cargo 2000.

Kind regards,
Michael
(Michael Vorwerk is President CNS.)

Michael,

     Thanks for writing.
     What we read was:
     “Cargo 2000s Thorsten Lafleur as Technical Director has responsibility for the global development, maintenance, and industry-wide adoption of the overall business process and standards of the Cargo 2000 project.”
     Sounds like boss to us, boss.
     But understand where you are coming from and stand corrected.

Greetings,
Geoffrey