#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE

Chicago Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino, Emirates Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Adel Al Redha, and Choose Chicago CEO Don Welsh celebrate Emirates airline's inaugural flight at O'Hare International Airport into Chicago on Tuesday, August 5, 2014.

Emirates Airline may have inadvertently rubbed a tender spot in U.S. politics as it launched blue ribbon, non-stop service from Chicago to Dubai via a B777 aircraft.
     EK arrived in Chicago—landing directly in the city that headquarters Boeing.
     Today Boeing is involved in a debate over the future of the U.S. Import-Export Bank (Ex-Im Bank) guaranteeing aircraft loans on airplanes.
     Emirates currently operate 138 B777s and have ordered a record breaking additional 150 B777s with a list price value of $76 billion.

The Anderson Factor

      Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson has gone high profile on Ex-Im Bank, demanding some reform at the bank in terms of how it impacts his airline.
     Pulling no punches, Mr. Anderson said in testimony before the U.S. Congress on June 25 that he opposes reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank charter—due to expire September 30 in its present form—unless there are changes to the way the bank finances the sale of wide-body aircraft, because it gives foreign airlines an unfair advantage in competing for international passengers.
     “That fight is heavily tilted in favor of foreign airlines receiving government subsidies, both from those airlines’ home governments, and, amazingly, from our own,” Anderson said.

Buy Eight Get One Free

     “Export-Import Bank loan guarantees to Emirates are equivalent to $20 million per plane, effectively giving the carrier one free plane for every eight new planes it buys,” Mr. Anderson declared.
     Once upon a time, renewal was automatic for the 80-year-old Ex-Im Bank, founded February 2,1934.
     But some reform-minded legislators are charging that “excessive crony capitalism is at work at the service” and are threatening to pull the plug and let the Ex-Im Bank charter expire altogether.
     “Delta supports substantial and effective reform to the Bank’s charter to ensure U.S. airlines and our employees are not put at a further competitive disadvantage through U.S. government subsidies to foreign airlines,” Mr. Anderson insisted.

Fairness & Balance Sought

     “Delta’s concerns are specific to Ex-Im’s continued financing at better-than-market rates of widebody aircraft to airlines that are creditworthy and/or receive subsidies from their home country.
     “Any reauthorization of the Bank must—at minimum—contain reforms to address this issue as well as address transparency deficiencies and a failure to conduct required impact analyses,” Mr. Anderson said.
     “For airlines that are not screened out on the basis of creditworthiness, state ownership, or state support, Delta recommends Ex-Im be required to (1) conduct real analysis on the benefits and harms of its widebody financings on U.S. airlines and our employees and (2) provide complete transparency on the financings in which the bank is participating.”

Boeing Going

     It should come as no surprise that Boeing would rather the dance just keep on going.
     “If U.S. export credit is in doubt, airplane customers will likely hedge their bets by turning to companies—like Airbus—that do have export credit guarantees,” Boeing Capital President Marc Allen said July 31.
     “And if Ex-Im goes away, it is predictable Europe and Airbus will use export credit pricing to provide its aerospace industry an advantage over ours—with China, Russia, and other emerging players to follow,” Mr. Allen added.

Drilling For Dollars

      Ex-Im Bank makes money; when you think about it, despite that nasty banking meltdown seven years ago, most banks (usually) make money.
     According to The Congressional Research Service, some other Ex-Im Bank projects include a $19.9 million guarantee on a loan from HSBC Bank to a Nigerian company purchasing a liftboat that provides living quarters, hydraulic cranes, and stable platforms to offshore oil and gas production platforms purchased from Offshore Liftboats based in Cutoff, LA, and a $694.4 million loan guarantee to Australia's Roy Hill Holdings.
     The Roy Hill Holdings loan guarantee supports the creation of an Australian iron ore mine and was granted by Ex-Im on the condition that hundreds of millions of dollars in mining and rail equipment be purchased from Caterpillar Inc. and two other U.S. companies, including General Electric.
     The deal reportedly supports some 3,400 U.S. jobs, including hundreds of positions at suppliers to Caterpillar.
     But some Michigan and Minnesota lawmakers are not so sure that the new Australian mine's production will not hurt prices on international markets and harm U.S. ore producers.
Geoffrey

Delta vs Bank      Emirates opened daily services last week between Dubai and Chicago, home of Boeing Aircraft Co.      U.S. Congress authorization for the renewal the Export Import Bank Charter expires September 30. Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States.      Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Airlines goes before Congress and declares opposition to renewing the Ex-Im Charter in its present form, saying the Bank gives foreign airlines an unfair advantage.      “Export-Import Bank loan guarantees to Emirates are equivalent to $20 million per plane, effectively giving the carrier one free plane for every eight new planes it buys,” Mr. Anderson said.

More testimony here.

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     Early August carries different meaning depending on where you live in the world.
     My friends in Europe have probably just embarked on a glorious month long holiday, while those in Asia are probably doing the same—but maybe for a week rather than a month! However, if you live in the southern U.S. and specifically Atlanta, you are getting ready for the school year, which starts in three short days.
     So much for summer!
     I thought I would share a few thoughts with you as we head into the back half of 2014.
     One thing striking about 2014 is that there appears to be quite a nice trend developing on the demand side, with volumes up rather significantly in all regions of the world.
     The sad part is that yields are not increasing at the same rate, which continues to put an enormous strain on those operating full freighters. Unfortunately, I don’t believe this situation is going to change anytime soon, even if volumes continue to grow at a 5 percent pace, because the influx of new bellyhold space is creating an incredibly hard ceiling for air freight rates.
     This phenomenon will only accelerate into 2015, thus keeping a tight lid on airfreight rates for the foreseeable future.
     WorldACD just published a report that stated global yields have fallen by 10 percent since 2011 and the only product sector that has enjoyed a yield increase was Pharma.
     There are obviously regional differences, but there is no denying the macro trends, and yields have a long way to go before they get back to a level that allows for long term freighter sustainability. It is no surprise that many long time freighter operators see the writing on the wall and are making the difficult decision to divest themselves of the dedicated flying and focus on the money-making bellyhold operation.
     The largest and most stunning of these reversals comes from AFKLMP, which only five years ago had a business plan with over 30 freighter aircraft.
     Another area where change will continue to come is at the USPS, where a massive federal bureaucracy is in the middle of their domestic and international RFP’s for the carriage of U.S. Mail.
     FlyingTypers published a great piece on the USPS Procurement process a few weeks ago.
     I was very involved in USPS discussions back in 2009 (as top executive at Delta Cargo) and none of us were too happy with the outcome, but there really wasn’t much of a choice in the matter. It is safe to say there was very little “negotiating” as part of that process back in 2009. Now a new mail contract is being negotiated against a backdrop of massive losses at the USPS and their goal of squeezing every possible penny out of their logistics costs.
     The airlines shouldn’t look to Congress for any help because Congress will allow the USPS as much flexibility as they need when it comes to the procurement of airfreight, because the only thing the U.S. Congress can agree on these days is new ways to screw the airlines. Unfortunately, no matter how much they squeeze the airlines, foreign or domestic, it will be a drop in the bucket compared to the enormous structural issues imposed by Congress that forbid USPS from acting like a real business.
     Until they figure this out, the airlines can carry the mail for free and it won’t make one bit of difference to the USPS’s bottom line.
     I would like to conclude by offering a few words of encouragement to my friend Jan Krems as he begins his journey up north in Chicago.
     He has been given a wonderful opportunity to turn around one of the most iconic brands in the history of air cargo, but it will be no easy task.
     United Cargo has really struggled to find its footing since the merger with Continental, and their woes were summarized by a very difficult cutover to their new UC360 system in July of 2013. That time period probably represented the trough, and now with Jan at the helm they have a chance to regain some of their former glory.

     The wonderful thing about Jan is he will bring a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to the team that will be absolutely contagious.
     He has a real instinct for the commercial side of the business and the respect of the customer base given his steady hand at AFKLMP for the past 27 years.
     This is exactly what United Cargo needs right now, since a heck of a lot of revenue has escaped over the past four years. Change will not be easy and progress will come in small doses, but I have no doubt that United Cargo will be better at the end of the day.


(Editor’s Note—If President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was a bell in the darkness from the early 1930s until 1945—not only announcing the light, but also commanding it with his clear strong messages over American radio networks—then the voices of excellent air cargo executives like Neel Jones Shah ring a similar tune, offering a welcome and much-needed reality check as the air cargo industry moves forward in global transportation.
Neel is Chief Commercial Officer at Able Freight. Mr. Shah, in addition to a number of other consulting engagements, has also just signed a long-term agreement to advise the CEO of Sendum Wireless, as they begin their push into global GPS solutions for the air cargo industry. This autumn Neel’s busy travel calendar includes Fruit Logistica in September, followed by TIACA in October, where he will be involved helping out “with a couple of the workshops.”)

     An article that appeared some time ago in Green Aviation & Logistics Group’s Dubai-based newsletter revealed some startling statistics.
     According to Green A&L, 87 percent of Americans are seriously concerned about the environment and 79 percent say a company’s environmental practices affect the products they purchase.
     If those numbers hold up, then this should make CIOs worldwide sit up and identify IT changes that must be made to conserve energy.
     Green IT refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT.
     In the article “Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices,” San Murugesan defines the field of green computing as "the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems— such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment.”
     While I agree that Green IT should be environmentally sustainable, is sustainability really just related to hardware?
     I take a slightly different, but complementary view on the subject.
     Let’s begin by looking at the facts relating to our rainforests.
     This is really one of the problems we are trying to solve through sustainability. According to http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm:
     •  We are losing Earth's greatest biological treasures just as we are beginning to appreciate their true value. Rainforests once covered 14 percent of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6 percent and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.
     •  One and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second, with tragic consequences for both developing and industrial countries.
     •  Rainforests are being destroyed because shortsighted governments, multi-national logging companies, and land owners perceive timber as the only value of rainforest land by .
     •  Nearly half of the world's species of plants, animals, and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter century due to rainforest deforestation.

Watch on the Main recalled as Greenpeace activists in 2006 attached posters showing flames to trees on the banks of the river Main in Frankfurt under the motto 'The Amazon is Burning for our Food'…

     Is there merit in implementing the long awaited paper-free office? Microsoft’s Bill Gates has been predicting a world where magazines, textbooks, and other paper forms will be redundant.
     Gates believes we will all carry information on tablet computers.
     For instance, iPads can be held like a clipboard with a flat screen on the front. Some would argue that this is rapidly becoming the norm.
     Furthermore, look at the growing popularity in electronic books that can be downloaded from the Internet and read on similar devices.
     But how far is this noble cause in terms of reality?
     Should paperless (less paper) be the goal?
     Despite the growth of electronic documents, email, PDAs, iPads and PDFs, the human race still prefers to rely on paper.
     How many of us have the nerve to turn up at an airport without a paper version of our electronic ticket?
     How many authorities still insist on manually stamping documents as proof of authenticity?
     How many forwarders trust an e-AWB as an accepted means to clear and deliver their shipment?
     The widespread mistrust in the ability of IT to perform adequate and regular back-ups of stored information and, more importantly, in the ability to restore information on demand, forces us to take hard copies of our documents, often storing them in filing cabinets.
     There are occasions when documents will be misfiled, which merely adds to our misery.
     The antiquated paper document storage systems also increase the physical space and cost required to store documents and records.
     Many of us still embrace hybrid systems needed to manage a combination of electronic and paper-based documents, which is extremely difficult to control effectively.
     A major part of the reason behind the desire to retain these paper-based versions is that it is much easier for an employee to work with documents or records in the same format, rather than having to keep switching between looking at the screen and a document on the desk.
     And while electronic document management (EDM) makes it easy to store, transmit, and share information within an organisation, individual users still tend to run off a copy from their nearest printer to read the content and work with it.
     Nevertheless, for many businesses, moving to such a system can prove a major advance in tackling the paper mountains, with massive cost savings achievable.
     So how do we stem the tide?
     The benefits are clearly there. First, however, it is best to set aside the mythological “paperless” dream and embrace what is possible.
     That way, even the smallest steps forward can be taken as a victory, rather than a disappointing compromise.
     One small step for mankind (sorry, Neil!) would be to fully embrace IATA e-freight.
     The IATA e-freight project aims to take the paper out of air cargo. The plan may not be perfect, but as it is said:
     “If you can’t do better, clap!”
     If I look objectively at my small sphere of influence, Calogi is electronically processing over 85 percent of the dnata CTO shipments.
     Enabling the industry to remove the paper air waybill and accompanying documents from all shipments processed via the dnata terminals will result in cost savings to the industry. To move this forward, Calogi made a series of simple changes:
          1.   Update the CTO system with the air waybill data electronically upon execution
          2.   Allow the forwarder to view the Delivery Order online
          3.   Produce online copies of the air waybill and make the same available to the airline/destination forwarder/handler/shipper and consignee
          4.   Produce online copies of the import and export CTO invoices
          5.   Automate the process of charges correction advices
          6.   Send 2D bar codes to mobile devices to automate access to the Cargo terminals
     The result is an environmentally friendly system generating savings of around 1 million USD for the terminal handler.
     There is also a positive impact on the environment with not having to transport by air nearly 148 metric tonnes of paper from Dubai every year. My calculations lead me to believe that this would save the equivalent of over 44 acres of rain forest every year.
     Not so obvious, in terms of their positive impact on the environment, are our air waybill printing at the terminal and dock booking initiatives.
     A forwarder no longer needs to divert drivers to their offices to collect the air waybill prior to delivering export goods because the air waybill is already printed in the terminal operation’s manifesting office.
     Furthermore, by executing the air waybill and booking the dock, drivers can deliver the goods directly to the terminal at an allotted time and reduce the queuing. This means a more efficient use of trucks and less mileage, which ultimately means less petrol burn and fewer emissions.
     It’s a win-win situation for the industry and the environment.
     While these are small initiatives in the big scheme of things, I challenge every airport to further the cause by identifying and implementing at least two initiatives that could contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable environment.
     Meanwhile, let us start by taking small steps and make IATA e-freight a reality. A huge mindset change, but within our grasp
     I’m 100 percent behind e-freight and have the technology to make the initiative a reality.
     Join me and help save the planet.
Patrick Murray

We are losing Earth's greatest biological treasures just as we are beginning to appreciate their true value.      Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6%.      Best to set aside the mythological 'paperless' dreams and embrace what is possible.      The IATA e-freight project aims to take the paper out of air cargo.      The plan may not be perfect but as it is said: If you can’t do better then applaud the effort!      Enabling the industry to remove the paper air waybill and accompanying documents from all shipments processed will result in cost savings to the industry.      In Dubai alone, not having to transport nearly 148 metric tons of paper by air every 12 months could save the equivalent of over 44 acres of rain forest every year.

Patrick Murray is Head of Calogi.
The Calogi portal includes a number of dedicated seamless solutions that also include an e-freight module supportive of IATA’s e-AWB, e-CSD, and shipper-to-agent and agent-to-agent document transfer, and the forwarder to Calogi shipment data transfer.

Please click here or on image above to listen to the music

   Once upon a time, long before FlyingTypers, I worked at KXEO Radio in Mexico, Missouri, running specialized programming at KWWR- FM.
   The best part of my job was creating original studio productions and scheduling block programming of old-time radio shows of the 1930s & 1940s, including The Lone Ranger, Gangbusters, The Shadow, and others.
   From programming and sales at a radio station, I moved to New York City, where I worked as a club reviewer and music critic for The Hollywood Reporter while also starting up a monthly tabloid at JFK International Airport called Airport Times, The Cargo Paper.
   While working for The Hollywood Reporter, I interviewed Elvis, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, and many others.
   During the early years of publishing Air Cargo News, my passion for music and programming continued, as Air Cargo News created a 27-hour anthology of music and interviews with survivors of The Hal Kemp Orchestra, an anthology featured on public radio stations in New York and elsewhere.
   The music was recorded and transcribed from two hundred 78 rpm phonograph records that Kemp created from 1928 until 1940, when he died tragically and the band went out of business.
   Today one way I enjoy relaxing is by creating playlists that are shared with family and friends, although I listen to mostly classical music on a daily basis.
   This playlist was created after looking at a wonderful picture of a full moon and a United Airlines airplane that ran in FlyingTypers in July 2013.
   You will note that some songs are repeated by different artists.
   Audrey Hepburn’s reading of “Moon River,” for example, is entirely different from Henry Mancini’s full orchestra treatment (Johnnie Mercer wrote the lyrics). Mancini’s full orchestra version of “Moon River” topped the hit parade charts in the Americas when “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” played in the movies, although I have always felt the Hepburn reading is better, more personal, and quite sweet.
   My view of music is less about style and generation, and has always been informed by something Duke Ellington said:
   “If it sounds good, it is good;” that’s what the great “Edward A” proclaimed.
   Sun & Moon works nicely from track to track, but for me the most enjoyable listening happens when you can hit “random” and allow the playlist to change every cycle—if you own a Spotify account, the link to open Sun & Moon in your own music library, where you can randomize and resort the list, is here:
Geoffrey