The final results from the 2012 FIATA World Congress (held Ocotber 8-12 in Los Angeles) are better than anybody could have hoped.
     The attractive congress program and the concurrently running exhibition drew almost 1,000 participants from some 70 countries.
     FIATA President, Mr. Stanley Lim; TIA President, Mr. Robert Voltmann; and TIA Chairman, Mr. Alec Gizzi welcomed all participants to Los Angeles, noting many young faces in attendance.
     Ian Gordon, an intern at the offices of FIATA, said:
     “I found myself in sunny Los Angeles for the proceedings at a hotel in Beverly Hills and loved every minute of that experience.
     “TIA, the industry’s representative in the U.S., had organized the details with a certain flair and pizzazz so unique to Hollywood-country.
     “It was my first time attending a FIATA World Congress.
     “I woke up on the first day unsure of what to expect.
     “It was only on my way to the opening ceremony that I began to understand the magnitude of the organization and the power it has to unify the freight forwarding industry all over the world.”
     Kudos also to Marco Sorgetti, (right) FIATA Director General who is the quintessentially joyful individual who enters a room and makes everyone feel uplifted and included in whatever is on the agenda.
     He is also quite candid in a time when others favor a measured response.
     For example, as he assumed the post of FIATA Director General earlier this year, he said:
     “I am immediately impressed by the kindness of the people I met, both in the office and outside.
     “All are going out of their way to be helpful.
     “This is a very comforting feeling.
     “My top priority is certainly to understand the best way for me to contribute to FIATA’s success.
     “I believe the cooperation between airlines and forwarders on the one side, as well as forwarders and shippers on the other, needs to be strengthened in the light of a relationship which reflects modern business paradigms.
     “I think we should be all looking straight ahead and be ready to support one another.
     “Air cargo is a collaborative industry by definition and peer cooperation is essential for the industry to thrive.
     “Sometimes we make the mistake to think that others have less potential or credentials, and this is just making the collaboration tardier when it could be more satisfactory for everybody.
     “My impression is that freight forwarders are willing to do their bit and are prepared to cooperate.”
     Next year’s 2013 Congress will be held in the key logistics hub that is Singapore, while the Board of FIATA decided that the 2015 FIATA World Congress will be held in Taipei.
Geoffrey

     The Middle East’s global carriers such as Qatar, Emirates, and Etihad are famed for their expansionary zeal, huge branding campaigns, and ever-growing global networks serving both passenger and cargo markets alike.
     But the region has been something of a barren landscape when it comes to low cost carriers.
     Step forward flydubai, Dubai’s first homegrown LCC, now offering shippers a range of new routes and options.
     Established by the Government of Dubai in 2008, flydubai operates from Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport using a fleet of 23 brand new Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft. The airline currently serves 51 destinations (all within five hours of Dubai) across the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, Africa, Russia, and Eastern Europe.
     “flydubai Cargo is an important part of the services we offer,” said CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith (left). “Still a relatively new part of the airline, both the network and volumes transported by flydubai Cargo have grown over the past nine months and we are happy with the performance to date.
     “We moved 13 percent more goods in Q2 compared to Q1 illustrating the demand for an affordable service.”
     flydubai Cargo offers cargo services both via its own network and globally through a number of interline agreements. Its in-house services offer direct cargo options from Dubai to destinations not traditionally served by Middle East carriers, such as Belgrade, Bucharest, and since mid-October, Skopje.
     “Our routes to the CIS region are doing very well due to the number of direct routes we offer,” said Ghaith.      “In particular, we are seeing demand for shipments of auto parts and electronics.”
     Despite the global demand downturn, he said air cargo shipped via the UAE continued to flourish, with both Dubai International and Al Maktoum International Airport seeing rising volumes, not least because of Dubai’s role as a logistics hub and crossroads between East and West.
     “We transport a wide range of cargo, from perishables to textiles, electronics, couriered items, mail, and pharmaceuticals, appealing to customers across the world,” he added. “Moreover, we are the first and only carrier on some of our routes, which means that while shipments may have previously made several stops, they now go directly to their destination.
     “We also accept cargo up to 90 minutes before flights depart Dubai and then offer real-time tracking information so customers know where their goods are at every stage of the journey.”
     Ghaith said the traditional reliability concerns of shippers considering LCC uplift options was not an issue for flydubai, which boasts performance in the 80-plus percentile for arrivals and departures. “Goods travelling on flydubai flights can be connected in as little as one hour of arrival in Dubai, while it takes from eight hours to move shipments carried by interline partners, making for a very time-effective service,” he added.
     “The infrastructure offered by Dubai International Airport, plus associated organizations such as Dubai Airport Freezone, streamlines the process and allows us to move cargo quickly and efficiently between flights.”
     Ghaith expects further network growth in the future as the company expands from the Dubai catchment area that covers some 2.5 billion people and many of the world’s fastest growing industrial regions.
     “Air transportation can be the most convenient way to move goods and with the opening of new trade links, we are looking forward to seeing the division grow in the years ahead,” he said.
SkyKing

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