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Dear Geoffrey,
I read with interest your article “U.S.
Senate Stumbles Into Cargo Area”. I also saw on TV last night a
Delta flight attendant complaining about the TSA. She mentioned that cargo
is a concern.
Years ago Bob Crandall made a very telling statement
to me. He said most people basically understand the airline passenger
business as many people fly as passengers. But very few understand the
Air Cargo business as none of us are boxes.. He was right. The air cargo
business is a very complex industry and is one of the foundations of world
trade. Your statement that the belly cargo passenger business, all cargo
business and the express business sre different is understood by very
few people outside the industry.
The Senators have good intentions and are trying
to do their job but they are mainly guided by their staffers who have
very little if no air cargo experience. I am continually impressed by
the high caliber of the leaders we have in the air cargo business and
if congress is truly intent in understanding this complex industry it
should put together a panel of industry leaders with a to help guide them
in these important decisions.
Bill Boesch
Dear Geoffrey,
I loved Ted's article on the Stumblin' Senators,
with the conclusion of the story hitting the nail on the head.
Unfortunately our government cares more about the public view the governments
policies on security rather than the actual security itself.
Back in 2009, a client had an issue on an original
Certificate of Origin on a shipment to Israel.
The only way to get the new COO to Tel Aviv before
customs closed for several days was to hand carry.
A new one was typed up, I booked a flight, and
was flying from ATL to JFK 4 hours later to catch the late night JFK to
TLV flight.
Normally I would have stayed a few days and checked
out some sights, but I had to get back to Atlanta immediately, so my return
flight direct to ATL was 8 hours after I arrived.
Upon arrival, explained to customs why I was
there, met a courier from my agent in the parking lot, and went to the
airport bar. Never left the airport.
As soon as I can check in, I start the process.
So the first security screener is walking up and down the security lines
verifying names, tickets, and passports.
This is where it gets interesting for me. Believe
it or not, they thought it was odd a person would fly into the country
and leave the same day. When they saw my entry stamp on my passport, a
second screener was immediately summoned.
I answered their questions, explained the reason
for my trip.
They held on to my passport and told me to wait
in line, they would be back.
Well, after explaining my story to 5 different
people, having my carry on x-ray screened twice, and physically screened
once, I end up in an office with another security person. Once again I
explain everything and give him every answer he wants. He has me turn
on my laptop, show him some company documents, before asking the name
of the person I met with the COO.
He picks up his phone, says the guy's name, and
2 minutes later is speaking with the guy I met, at home while he is eating
dinner with his family. He confirmed my story and I was put in the front
of the line for a final screening.
Was it fun? No.
Was I extremely annoyed at telling the same thing
to six different people? Yes.
Do I want to go through it again? No.
However, do I completely understand why I was
profiled and how I met that profile? Yes.
I would love for the security at our airports
to have the resources and training they need.
I would love for the compensation to be such
that a higher quality for screeners be in place.
In the end, the majority of experiences would
not be intrusive and most people would fly right through security. Although
we have elected these representatives to create policies this country
needs, once they get in office all they care about is making sure they
have a good enough public opinion to be reelected.
Thanks for the great articles, I read every one
that comes through.
Best regards,
Josh McDowell
ETS, Inc. / Expedited Transportation
Services, Inc.
770-817-3041 - Direct Line
678-614-3810 – Cell
Dear Geoffrey,
While I might agree that your Senators may be
prone to knee jerk reaction in light of the recent security threats, we
should give some credit to TSA and CBP who both have approached industry
to discuss workable solutions.
It may be a foregone conclusion that we will
see something along the lines of risk assessment prior to loading at a
foreign port in the air mode similar to ocean, but if done right, that
might not be such a bad thing.
The 4 hours vs. 8 hours is really a lame argument
since we have the same requirements in Canada and send the information
at wheels up. Generally that's in the 7+ hours range. No big deal. The
problem is short haul flights under 2 hours.
We don't even have the goods or the information
sometimes at 4 hours out. Export reporting with risk assessment done by
the importing country before it gets loaded would solve that problem.
E-Freight is an initiative already undertaken to make all the possible
data available electronically.
Now, we just have to hold the owners of the data
accountable for the accuracy and timeliness of the transmission.
All that's required is the intestinal fortitude
to make the right decisions to include the whole supply chain and not
put all this exclusively on the backs of carriers.
Mike Morey
Director, Operational Strategy
Air Canada Cargo HQ
YUL
RE: Giving
Thanks With Harold
Dear Geoffrey,
As a result of the article you published
on the Turkey Lunch for Atlanta Customs Brokers in Vol 9 No 125, we fried
351 pounds of Turkey and served 437 meals, by far the largest event ever.
Now we are looking forward to 18 Nov 2011
for our annual feast to be bigger and better. Thanks to you.
Harold Hagans
ACBIFF@atlantacustomsbrokers.com
Dear Harold,
No, my dear friend thanks to you.
It is completely in the spirit of giving thanks
that makes this U.S. holiday so great and welcome each year.
We can all learn and benefit from your sense
of charity and community.
When I think of holidays that we celebrate during
the year my favorite is Thanksgiving.
No gifts , no expectations just people gathering
together for a meal.
This is a holiday where you bring folks and sometimes
even strangers into your home and want to make sure that no one ends up
on this day alone.
Harold, you do that for people in Atlanta air
cargo and that is just great.
The other thing I always like about Thanksgiving
is that no matter where you are from or what your religion or nationality
or color or political persuasion—if you are an American, then Thanksgiving
is your holiday. None of this “it isn’t my holiday”
as response to universal greeting “Happy Thanksgiving.”
We cannot be sure in 2010 that the first Thanksgiving
celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1620 at Massachusetts became an event because
of the landing on Plymouth Rock or because the rock didn’t land
on them.
What we can be sure of is that for many of us,our
life in this blessed USA is still wonderful and privileged.
So good for you Harold, for passing Thanksgiving forward.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Geoffrey
Flying Typers Returns Monday November 29. |
Just
when the good news that aircargo was looking up came a shocker. That devices
as innocuous as Hewlett Packard printer ink cartridges stuffed with a
white powder-like pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) and connected to
circuit boards could be easily slipped into the bellyhold of commercial
airliners without arousing any suspicion has prompted every stakeholder
in the aircargo community to look at cargo security.
European
Aviation Safety Agency EASA approved an innovative new courier unit that
can be installed and extend capabilities of Airbus A300 and A310 freighter
aircraft.
