Lufthansa Cargo Adjusts Milano

      Reality bites of the air cargo business in 2009 has managers on the ball as maybe never before, moving precious assets where the action is.
      As example, Lufthansa Cargo has decided to return one of their two Milan-based MD-11 freighters to Frankfurt from Malpensa.
      Affected is the Wednesday flight to New York that obviously did not perform as expected.
      The weekend MD-11 cargo flight to New York and on to Chicago however, will be continued, confirms Lufthansa Cargo’s head of communication Nils Haupt.
      He strongly contradicts some media reports that the airline would give up freighter operations entirely at Milan Malpensa.
      Herr Haupt told ACN/FT:
      “The Saturday flight is doing fairly well, it’s only the mid-week service that was not supported strongly enough by the Italian market and therefore was not in full accord with our original expectation.“
      The carrier’s clients are not affected much by this decision since LH Cargo partnered with local capacity provider Cargoitalia by signing a block space agreement.
      It enables the German airline to utilize 30 percent of the MD-11F, Cargoitalia is deploying to New York every Wednesday.
      The collaboration commences today Wednesday, November 4th.
      However, further pacts with the Italian airline are not intended, emphasizes Haupt.
      LH Cargo commenced Milan operation last February by deploying two of their MD-11 freighters shortly after state-run Alitalia Cargo had gone bust.
      Concurrently the German airline decided to establish an offspring called ‘Lufthansa Italia’ to offer the market passenger flights to and from Malpensa.
      Meanwhile six passenger Airbus A319 are based at the airport connecting Milan with major European cities like London, Paris, Barcelona or Lisbon.
      All these flights are open for booking of smaller packages and express shipments thus contributing to a higher yield.
      In addition LH Italia offers domestic services between Malpensa and Rome, Naples and Bari with Lufthansa Italia’s Bari flights still being excluded from air freight carriage until further notice.
      It’s worth mentoning that some speculation has arisen since last week when Lufthansa Cargo said that it might not deliver an operating profit in 2009 just before the airline released its quarterly financial report saying:
      "Initial signs of a stabilization in volumes are far away from making up for the enormous and unrelenting pressure stemming from the massive fall in price levels."
      The airline noted that its air cargo business, the biggest in Europe has been doing better, but depressed rates continued to challenge revenues.
Heiner Siegmund

Air Cargo Americas
Meets In Miami

     More bang for the buck as Air Cargo Americas, in case you missed it, is starting today November 4 in Miami, Florida just off the main runways of MIA in a hotel convention complex at 777 NW 72 Avenue Miami, Florida 33126.
     This time ACA will include a companion show Sea Cargo Americas that could make this always worthwhile show, even more valuable.
     Certainly the prospect of air cargo getting its mitts on some decision makers doing business on the high seas and visa–versa beats a poke in the eye at least in the anticipation of some different action during this show.
     When you think about it at the heart of it all, ACA is driven by people who eat sleep and drink trade-the way it ought to be.
     The alternative of poorly attended publication shows or mammoth events where air cargo is thrown in almost as an afterthought seem to be slipping away as 2009 bears down on everyone.
     Charlotte Gallogly, President of Miami World Trade Center insists that ACA still was/is the largest air cargo exhibition in the Western Hemisphere.
     “For 2009 ACA offers excellent opportunities for companies to market their products and services to the leading manufacturers, exporters, freight forwarders, importers and distributors in the Western Hemisphere.”
     Those sentiments are echoed by Bill Johnson, Director Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami-Dade
     “The Fourth SeaCargo Americas International Congress and Exhibition is all about business and uncovering ways to increase two-way business opportunities for the ports, maritime companies and related industries in the Western Hemisphere.
     “SCA will feature leading executives and government officials who are responsible for the future direction of the maritime industry in the Americas. In addition to an extensive array of seminars, we will offer 2-hour workshops designed to increase the knowledge and skill levels of attendees.”
     No doubt Miami International remains top gateway to Latin America with the most flights and giant air cargo infrastructure, including more air cargo reefers in one place than anywhere on the planet.
X Air Cargo Americas includes Sea Cargo. Charlotte Gallogly, info@worldtrade.org. (305) 871-7910.
Geoffrey

Mayrhuber Feted In New York

     The Wings Club founded in 1942 is today recognized as the premier aviation club in the world.
     Over that past 67 years Wings has honored the greats of our industry dating back to Juan Trippe, Eddie Rickenbacker and CR Smith.
     Tradition held in 2009 as Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG was honored at a black tie evening affair inside the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan October 23.

      Honoring Wolfgang Mayrhuber were many greats of today and years past including (L to R) Herb Kelleher, Robert Crandall and Larry Kellner.
More www.wingsclub.org.

Air Cargo Crossroad 2010

     For anyone who thinks that maybe air cargo cannot possibly go from the frying pan of continued diminishing returns into the fire of a basic dilemma as it awaits the new year 2010, better think twice says Julian Keeling, President & CEO at Consolidators International, Inc. (CII), an air cargo wholesaler and freight forwarder based in Los Angeles.
     "We're a high cost service in a low cost world," Julian declares.
     "Shippers keep pressing for even lower rates while airlines and forwarders struggle to make a profit quoting, by air cargo standards, already historically low prices," stated Keeling.
      Keeling is well aware of recent rate increases announced by a number of carriers.
     "How many back room deals are out there to undercut these new rates?" he wonders aloud.
     "Too many to count," Keeling answers.
     The CII executive believes 2010 will witness a continuation of the "jungle" atmosphere in which air freight now operates.
     "As a 40-year professional in the business, it is indeed sad this great industry utilizing the newest aircraft and the most advanced technology cannot earn a decent profit on its unequalled ability to move merchandise of every size, type and description across oceans and continents in less than 24 hours," lamented Keeling.
     The cargo executive was scornful of the innumerable comments, pronouncements and statements issued by the various airline and forwarder trade groups like IATA, ATA and the Air Forwarders' Association "who keep repeating the mantra how vital air freight is to the global community while customers increasingly turn to lower cost ocean freight."
     He cited as a particularly harmful example the recent decision by the Ralph Lauren organization, one of the most successful companies in the apparel business, to eliminate all air freight in favor of lower cost ocean shipping "except in the most dire emergencies."
     Keeling said the air cargo industry should make a "supreme effort" both to find new customers for air and to generate increased business from existing shippers.
     "How long can we generate only 4 per cent of the total transportation pie and remain a viable industry?" he asked.
     Julian believes 2010 will be a stronger year for air cargo than 2009, "but that hardly calls for the sound of trumpets as 2009 was the worst year in terms of freight percentage decreases since our industry began 60 years ago."
     Mr. Keeling predicts about a 6 percent increase in international volume with no growth in domestic freight. "Domestic cargo has hit a brick wall. The combination of incredibly low trucking rates and generally higher levels of trucking services is cutting into the heart of domestic freight," he affirmed.
     "The greatest growth will come in the electronics and high tech segments, happily among the strongest global industries.
     “Consumers seem to have insatiable appetites for new, feature-loaded cell phones, flat screen TV sets, miniaturized laptops, i-pods and the rest.
     “Fortunately, air freight is the ideal conduit for both electronic parts and finished equipment," he averred.
     “Consolidators International, with its emphasis on the Australian trade, expects "solid" growth in 2010.
     “Our emphasis on Australia and to a lesser extent New Zealand together with niche markets like the tuna industry, is producing excellent results for our company," affirmed Keeling.
     “CII is predicting a 20 percent rise in volume during the next twelve months with "commensurate profitability."
     Sounds like Julian heeds or at least agrees with the reasoning of that old sage and New York Yankee baseball great Yogi Berra who always says:
     “When you come to a fork in the road—take it!”
SB, Geoffrey

Awards Leave Some At A Loss

     What goes around comes around again. You know we’ve done this story before. Once again the crazy season is upon us and here we go again.
     Recently we received a couple of letters from highly placed air cargo executives wondering of our annual air cargo industry awards.
     Sorry, we reply, wrong publication.
     But the queries remind us that right now as air cargo gathers for another round of industry trade shows and companies look ahead to 2010—some setting up their media advertising programs—up pops the pitch for awards indicating that not too far down the road will come another round of air cargo industry awards.
     Trade shows, industry organizations and especially publications right now are handing out awards at what seems like a feverish clip.
     There are awards for everything, from company of the year, to person of the year, to most influential, to lifetime service.
     If the trend continues, don’t be surprised if soon somebody gives out a trophy at some point for attendance.
     Every month and sometimes every week comes another award until it seems that a blizzard of these commendations create upon the general sensibilities, a blur of who won what, when and why.
     The idea of recognizing and awarding exemplary effort is nothing new; in fact handing out awards is as old as organized business itself.
     But right now award giving seems to be a bit over the top.
     First of all everybody appreciates recognition for a job well done.
     There are plenty of deserving efforts put forth that should be recognized.
     But we believe that there are too many awards.
     It really gets thick when companies run “vote for us” advertising as an integral part of their marketing campaigns. Since when did soliciting for votes equate into bonafide excellence in service.
     One vaguely off putting result of the race to awards are winners running full-blown advertising programs of their awards with organizations that gave them the honor in the first place.
     Forgetting everything else, isn’t there something a tad less than believable going on here?
     Advertising programs and event sponsorships and tables to attend a gala that are sold as part of an awards package are a set up, period.
     The guys on the street here in New York City would call it payback, pure and simple.
     Hard working companies and people in air cargo don’t need that kind of grief at what should be a moment of enlightenment and reflection for a job well done.
     If we are to believe awards are legit, we think a great deal more openness and transparency is needed in the award process.
     “Of course there are too many awards,” Stan Wraight (who won an award recently in London) said.
     "There are also too many trade and industry shows.
     “Therein lies the rub.
     “To get people to attend shows, they give out awards.
     “This is not rocket science here.
     “I bet if one airline, logistics company or forwarder were to make a point of attending every one (all advertised as musts for air cargo specialists) you would need one or two full time employees and an annual budget of more than $100K.
     “Sadly today, there is no ultimate or pinnacle of air cargo award.
     “TIACA gives awards but I doubt that any non-TIACA member ever won one.
     “I remember that during my KLM days “Airline of the Year” was the top award, but even that has faded in importance.”
     Heiner Siegmund, Air Cargo News FlyingTypers Senior Contributing Editor gathered:
     “By and large there is no transparency as to what is the criteria for almost all of the awards.
     “Award announcements go something like:
     "Our readers have decided . . .
     “Nobody knows how many of these readers really participated in the surveys.
     “In other words the prerequisites for the vast majority of awards are totally nebulous as example:
     "Best Cargo Carrier of Middle East", "Outstanding Cargo Carrier of Indian Subcontinent,” and so on.”
     “Sometimes the ability to make the most 'noise' wins.
     “Air cargo is growing so fast that many regions are looking for their own award schemes.
     “Good thing would be if the major and most respected cargo carriers would form a sort of informal alliance demanding that the number of awards should be reduced to - let's say - four or five per year honoring different transport and service categories.
     “IATA or some other multinational and neutral body should manage the process by initiating and conducting those surveys in close cooperation with international airfreight and transport media.
     “This would be a better and more credible approach.
     “However, I'm pessimistic of the practicality here since the process would need two players— the media and the cargo airlines.”
     No doubt that there is plenty of constructive thought out there when it comes to the giving and receiving of air cargo industry awards.

     A highly-placed air cargo executive who asked to go unnamed thinks that maybe awards committees need to look a little closer as they go about the business recognizing true winners:
     “We think too much of our senior teams and not enough of the people making it happen every day at the terminals, sales offices and GSA locations.
     “Air cargo needs to recognize the great job all our people do to make this industry successful.”
     “Maybe there should be some new award categories to include a broader spectrum of people and businesses.
     “For example, what would be wrong with selecting the best third-party cargo handling service company or for that matter recognizing the best GSSA’s?
     “Both are every day integral forces in air cargo that rarely if ever, get respect, let alone receive an award.
     “There are plenty of other categories that could and should be considered outside of the aforementioned “narrow band” of award recipients as the industry gears up for the rest of 2008.
     Another top executive in air cargo (unnamed) thinks awards should come in part from customers with some benchmarking:
     “Performance should be based on profitability and the views of our customers.
     “They should decide who is performing best and we should use more analytical methods such as Cargo 2000 or other industry resources to measure performance.”
     That said, we raise one more point here:
     How about bringing back some vestige of the triumphant and beautiful grand trophies that were awarded during the first generation of aviation?

Pictured left to right—The Harmon came into being in 1926 when Clifford B. Harmon, a wealthy sportsman and aviator, established three international trophies to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronaut.   The Harmon Trophy—the aviator's award—is given for the most outstanding international achievements in the preceding year, with the art of flying receiving first consideration.   The Bendix Trophy for cross-country races, sponsored by the Bendix Corporation, begun in 1931. The award was established to encourage aviation progress. Winner of the first race was Major James H. Doolittle who flew from Los Angeles to Cleveland, Ohio at an average speed of 223 miles per hour.   The Pulitzer established in 1920 by American publishing magnate, Ralph Pulitzer, who created a speed contest to encourage U.S. designers to build faster airplanes. GDA

     The Bendix, Harmon and Schneider Trophies are magnificent works of art, simply gorgeous honorariums, given to the likes of Doolittle, Lindbergh and later to others who advanced aviation.
     Air cargo should create a grand award that is both beautiful and believable and passed on from year to year to new generations in the industry.
     Meantime no doubt the air cargo awards trend will continue.   
     PT Barnum, the great American showman, who made the Circus and sideshow freaks famous 100 years ago once said:
     “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
     Surveying the manner in which the industry creates winners and losers out of hardworking air cargo companies and people and, even in some cases expects folks to pay for that honor, to us is just too dumb to be believed.
     Maybe there should also be an award for the award givers as “Best Presenter of Dubious Distinctions.”
     Your move.
Geoffrey Arend
This column originally ran in June 2008 and has been updated.

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

November 3:    Panalpina & Atlas Air renewed their unique and long standing arrangement. Panalpina provides capacity between Europe, No. America & Mexico via “Dixie Jets” hubbing in Huntsville, Alabama operated by Atlas Air.

November 3:    EK SkyCargo ad-hoc 747-400F JFK-DXB on Nov, 10/17/24 & Dec. 1/8. Rates etc. 718-553-6900, 800-366-6845.

November 3:    Thanks for the memories… In USA FAA said nighttime flights can continue at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. FAA said curfew "not reasonable-burdens commerce".

November 2:    Never say Never . . . Now that Cross-Straits flights between Taiwan and China are routine, next are talks toward an agreement for air cargo.

November 1:    AF gets A380 as Ryanair set to open four routes to/from Bordeaux Dec. 17 as “choice to high fares & unfair fuel surcharges of Air France”.

Women In Cargo Hall Of Fame

Charlotte Gallogly

Batool Hussain Ali

Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb

Karen Rondino