Singapore’s Changi Airport is something of a mystery. Widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading airports, a wander around its calming terminals reveals facilities designed to within an inch of perfection.
     Unlike most global hubs, it is rare to even see queues. A seat is always easy to find and the staff is polite, helpful, and well-trained.
     The Swiss may keep things ticking, but judging by Changi, Singapore has taken efficient reliability into the digital age. The entire experience is a pleasure rather than a chore.
     And Singapore has reaped the benefits of its excellence, handling 53.7 million passengers last year compared to just 42 million in 2010.

     But there is one fly in Changi’s almost flawless ointment—cargo. To quote a famous Depeche Mode song, the awarding winning airport simply ‘just can’t get enough.’ Over the last decade annual freight tonnage has shown almost no growth even as many of its regional and global rivals have racked up major gains as Asia has flexed its economic muscles.
     This year most of Asia’s leading freight hubs have seen throughput expand rapidly, but Changi has again disappointed, with volumes in the first eight months of the year increasing just 0.7 percent to 1.22 million tons.
     In a bid to unravel the Changi conundrum, FlyingTypers caught up with Steven Lee, chairman of the Singapore Aircargo Agents Association.

FlyingTypers:  Why is Singapore not benefitting from the resurgence of Asia’s air freight industry this year?
Steven Lee:  It is partly due to the rising cost of operations. Manufacturers have a challenge in securing bids to manufacture certain products as they need to compete with developing countries. Singapore’s focus is to be a smart nation by concentrating on improving productivity. This means that manufacturers are trying to produce more high end products. Also, cargo flown as airfreight is more compact and lighter, which also doesn’t help volumes.

FT:  Do you believe Singapore is still competitive on price?
SL:  Yes, but unfortunately as mentioned earlier, the escalating operational costs are the hindrance.

FT:  How is the lack of volume growth impacting your members?
SL:  Most of our members are impacted by the lack of volume but due to the reduction of space the yield is still sustainable on certain routes. Some members also focus on niches. For example, oil and energy, pharmaceuticals etc.

FT:  Are you offering members advice to help them cope with this sustained period of under-performance at Changi?
SL:  Agents must be prepared to get automated and take every advantage of new technology to increase productivity to reduce cost. One of the areas is through the faster adoption of E Freight.

FT:  How has Singapore’s air cargo community been affected by cuts in capacity by SIA?
SL: The impact is not great as there are new freighter services, for example, from ANA and Hong Kong Airlines.

FT:  How have the incentives provided by CAG for freight, such as landing fees and rental rebates, helped the freight sector over the last year?
SL:  The incentives have helped and most initiatives have been fulfilled.

FT:  Are you hopeful we’ll see a traditional peak season later in the year?
SL:  Yes, it goes without saying, the year-end peak is the only avenue to make up for any shortfalls.

FT:  Are Changi airport and operators based in Singapore suffering from competition from the Middle East?
SL:  I think we are reaching the same level field of play. The threats will continue, but in my opinion we are still ahead of the Middle East.
SkyKing

(Editor’s Note: Here’s one for all the Mr. Lees. But word of warning—if you listen to this tune it will rattle around inside your head all day long!