Fraport From The Ground Up

     The notion of security invincibility amongst air cargo integrators has been smashed, but when the question is ground handling and how margins can be increased, Managing Director Fraport Cargo Services Winfried Hartmann has some ideas.

      Mr. Hartmann told The 12th Ground Handling Conference taking place in Vienna November 29-December2:
     “Currently, the state of the air cargo industry is not all that different than other areas of commerce, including the automobile business supply chain.
     “Everyone concentrates mainly on their special area of responsibility—period.
     “The idea is to optimize only within one’s own boundaries, whilst none are able to invest in total process quality.
     “In general, the air cargo industry in 2010 is working the same way as it did 30 years ago.
     “It seems air cargo can have this luxury despite the global economic crisis, local wars, health epidemics and volcanic eruptions which hit our industry nowadays.
     “Still, the parties are involved in conflict-loaded relationships, which promote rather than avoid friction losses.
     “Among other things the potential for conflict has its origin in the entitlement of the involved parties on system leadership.
     “For example, this fact supports the disadvantage of traditional air cargo when compared with integrators that have taken over significant air cargo market shares in the last decades.
     “A good example of all of this is e-freight.
     “For years the air cargo industry has been discussing the advantages, and we can say now in 2010 that it has at least confirmed a consensus to do e-freight.
     “So now as dozens of countries, airlines, airports, handlers and forwarders report: ‘We are ready for e-freight,’ what is the result as year 2010 nears the end?
     “Currently, only 0.4 percent of annual air cargo volumes are shipped paperless, meaning 99.6 percent of air cargo is still flying ‘classic old style,’ followed by a paper trail almost as long as the air routes.
     “We are all convinced of the advantages of e-freight, but seem frightened of putting the initial investment needed for a change.
     “My view is that the way to make the e-freight argument is to put a price tag on it and demonstrate the extra costs of a classical paper trail shipment.
     “Once actual costs become common knowledge, change will be triggered.
     “Another area in which change needs to continue is air cargo security.
     “In Europe, a common air cargo security policy was brought off the ground in 2006, which changed into a bureaucratic nightmare after it was implemented by various governmental agencies across EU.
     “Without really knowing or understanding the circumstances of the air cargo process, inconsistent rules were created; unworkable techniques have been dictated and massive investments with no related gains in security for the total air cargo chain are now in place everywhere.
     “Like the historic Main that flows just nearby our gateway in Frankfurt, air cargo also flows like the water in an ancient river; air Cargo always seeks the easiest path.
     “The lack of a clear central policy toward air cargo security has, in some cases, caused a migration of air freight toward ocean freight and other markets and stakeholders.
     “What can ‘we’ do, meaning everyone in the air cargo process chain?
     “I believe in collaboration and partnerships.
     “Not partnerships in term of one partner doing all the work and the other not; air cargo needs partnerships that are geared to overall process success, like a rope team on its way to a hilltop.
     “What is needed is a partnership that uses a joint approach to take over various functions in the process chain whilst respecting the independence of all involved parties, with an aim towards achieving synergies that streamline the total process.
     “The air cargo process offers a well suited possibility of vertical integration (airline – handling agent – forwarder = supply chain).
     “But these ideas require a radical rethinking by all parties involved.
     “It is long-term success that counts, and not the short-term margins.
     “Change will include investments in infrastructure, processes, information technology, environmental protection and employees.
     “Additionally, what is needed is compatible improvements along the process chain and the interfaces, coordination and integration of tasks and solutions and an assumption of responsibility by the involved parties.      “Predictable and reliable support along the process chain enables us to offer the principle of a ‘one stop shop’ to our customer.
     “If everybody is enabled to offer his core competencies without having to fear an immediate suspension from the ‘game,’ the classical airfreight chain with the addition of the forecasted growth rates can expand and achieve a quantum leap into the 21st century.”

India Taps Zaidi To Top Aviation

     In what could best be described as a pioneering move by the Government of India, the country will see an experienced aviation veteran—Dr. Nasim Zaidi—taking over as Secretary of Civil Aviation (the highest bureaucrat managing the Civil Aviation sector in the government). Until today, Dr. Zaidi held the post of Director General in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and like past Secretaries, he is also from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) and has a deep understanding of civil aviation in the country. He has been associated with the civil aviation ministry since January 2003 and headed the DGCA since November 2008. He was also India’s representative at the International Civil Aviation Organization for a three-year period, before he took over the DGCA.
     With his master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, the 58-year-old Mason fellow for Public Policy at Harvard Institute for International Development, Dr. Zaidi also has a post-graduate diploma in business finance in addition to his doctorate in biochemistry.
     Dr. Zaidi takes over at a time when the aviation sector is on a growth path. However, he has a lot of work at hand. Questioned before taking over from Secretary M. Nambiar, Dr. Zaidi said that the whole sector was aware of where it was 10 years ago and where it is now. He wanted to create a framework for the next ten years that would include airport issues, ground handling, capital inflow, human resources, viability of airlines and sustainability. In short, the government was keen to push aviation in the next decade while strengthening regulatory systems.
     One of India’s most seasoned ‘civil aviation’ civil servants, Dr. Zaidi can take credit for seeing India through one of the toughest periods in its aviation history. In the last two years, as head of the DGCA, Dr. Zaidi faced what he described as one of the most challenging assignments of his career. He warded off the threat from the Federal Aviation Authority to downgrade India from Category One to Category Two.
     The ICAO audit saw India on par with international standards. It also brought recognition from the FAA. In fact, the FAA is rumored to have commented that India could be a role model for Asia as far as a regulatory regime was concerned.
     One of his major tasks will be to lay the groundwork for trained manpower. In the next ten years, if aviation growth continues as it is today, there will be need of at least 4,50,000 staffers from the present 1,50,000 working in aviation. As far as the airlines are concerned, manpower will treble to 90,000 personnel. The country does have high flying and maintenance academies. While the CAPA (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) is starting an academy in Mumbai and Concordia University from Canada is also keen to invest in education, training, workforce, pilots, etc, there is a lot that has to be done.
     So, while the going will be smoother for Dr. Zaidi—now that the sector is looking up—it will be one in which India could become a pioneer in setting the ground rules for aviation among developing nations.
Tirthankar Ghosh

SkyCargo Deepens DHL E-Pact

       Emirates SkyCargo partnership with DHL Global Forwarding is deepening with renewed focus to drive the e-freight agenda across both networks with the purpose of becoming the industry leaders in implementation.
       “Emirates is a huge advocate of e-freight and is already one of the leaders in the industry in actual numbers of shipment carried on the e-freight lanes,” said Ram Menen, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo.
       “In 2010 alone, Emirates SkyCargo has carried nearly 30,000 international e-freight shipments – more than any other carrier,” Michael Schächer, Head of Global Airfreight, DHL Global Forwarding (right) said:
       “We will work with Emirates SkyCargo to ensure that driving e-freight volumes stays a key strategic program for us.
       “DHL Global Forwarding already handles more than a third of all international forwarder-issued e-freight shipments today.”
       Elsewhere Emirates said that it will launch four times weekly services to Basra, its 110th international destination and the sixth new destination in the 2010-2011 financial year.
       “Basra is a significant market for Emirates,” His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group said.
       “It has been a strong year of growth for Emirates and this announcement is further proof of our robust expansion plans,” Sheikh Ahmad concluded.

One Tough Cop Talks Security

      “To a large extent, air cargo security is based on the system of safe supply chains,” says Harald Zielinski, director of Lufthansa Cargo Security.
      The former street cop, who once walked a beat in Frankfurt just like his Dad before him and most recently became the first foreign citizen to present views on current and future air cargo security standards before the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington D.C., added:
      “The European Union as the legislator in Europe has implemented the secure transport chain.
      “Cargo is moved in a secure and controlled environment from the producer, over to the forwarding agent and ends up at the airline.
      “All companies that are a part of this secured transport chain must be regularly audited and certified by the authorities. This guarantees that all of the many shipments that the forwarder consolidated and, for example, stacked on pallets, have been security-checked. So cargo is security-checked on all the stations along the route even before it is delivered.
      “In our environment, 99 percent of Lufthansa Cargo’s freight consignments are delivered by internationally active forwarding agencies.”

Lise Marie Turpin

Rachel Humphrey

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