Abu Dhabi Exclusive—High fliers reached for the skies Thursday in Abu Dhabi as United Cargo President Jan Krems delivered the welcome address for the “Flying High – Safeguarding Animal Safety and Welfare” track at the IATA World Cargo Symposium.
      Jan reached out to FlyingTypers to speak about the rewards and the challenges of transporting live animals.

We Talk To The Animals

      “Of course, our PetSafe service is an important part of United Cargo’s business,” Jan smiled.
      “We’re one of the largest animal transporters in the worldwide air cargo supply chain, and the market leader among U.S. belly carriers.
      “We carry an average of 550 pet shipments a day, and in peak seasons we carry as many as 1,000 pet shipments in a day.
       “But anyone who knows me, or knows the people involved with PetSafe, knows this is much more than just a ‘business segment’ to us.
      “The experts at our Global PetSafe desk and those in locations around the world are pet owners and animal lovers themselves.
      “We know how people feel about their pets, and we recognize that whenever we accept a PetSafe shipment, we’re transporting a living, breathing member of our customer’s family.”

Gone To The Dogs A Long Time Ago

      “I have three dogs of my own, so I, along with everyone in PetSafe, was happy and proud when United was voted ‘Best Pet Friendly Airline’ by Global Traveler Magazine in 2016.
      “It’s rewarding to be able to reconnect people and their pets, whether it’s reuniting a U.S. Army veteran and the dog he served with overseas, as we recently did in South Bend, Indiana, or if we’re reconnecting a relocating family with their pet in their new hometown.
      “But a lot of preparation, training, and careful attention is needed to do pet shipping right, and there are challenges unique to the transport of live animals.
      “That’s why our Global Manager of PetSafe Product Development Sue Kazlaw-Nelson and I were pleased to participate in the track and speak about what we do to safeguard the health and safety of the pets we fly.”

Sweet Sue Vantastic

      “We have over 90 custom-designed, climate-controlled ‘PetSafe vans’ designed to transport pets in safety and comfort in all weather conditions,” Sue Kazlaw-Nelson said.
      “Our deluxe onsite pet hotels and offsite facilities accommodate pets during long connection times and before international travel.
      “Experienced animal handlers provide pets with comfort stops, walks or ‘play time,’ along with food, water breaks, and lots of attention during their journey with us.”

Best Surprise Is No Surprise

      “International pet shipping requires another level of planning and precaution,” Jan Krems said.
      “There are nearly as many different rules and regulations for importing and exporting animals as there are countries we fly to. “Since we provide PetSafe service in nearly 300 United and United Express cities, we have pet shipping experts—at our PetSafe Desk and all over the world—who know exactly what the rules are for each destination so we and our customers avoid any issues.”

Pets Rule

       “There are also many regulations governing the environment for traveling pets on the ground and in the air,” Sweet Sue said.
      “These specify conditions for the areas animals stay in while they wait for a flight; how we feed, water, and walk them; and when an overnight stay or comfort stop at one of our onsite or offsite kennels is required.
      “There are rules about what makes an enclosure or crate air-worthy and how much room the animal needs so it can move around freely.
       “Additionally, there are rules defining how many animals we can carry on a flight, how much space each one needs, the temperature in the cargo hold, what other cargo can be carried on the flight, et cetera.
      “In each case, United has our own policies that we meet, which are often stricter than government regulations,” she said.

With You Every Step Of The Way

      “We want our four-legged passengers to be happy travelers,” Jan Krems said, “comfortable, and have a safe and pleasant journey, just like the two-legged passengers on United’s flights.
       “The core of the challenge of transporting pets is, unlike the forwarder partners we frequently work with, many PetSafe customers are not shipping experts.
      “So along with the many details involved in any shipment, our PetSafe experts spend a lot of time educating customers about how best to prepare their pets for the journey.
      “It requires much more time and interaction than any other type of business we do, but these calls and consultations are necessary to ensure that pets (and their owners) have the best experience when traveling with us.”
Geoffrey

A different experience is on deck for the second big air cargo conference of 2017.
      While some of the faces will undoubtedly be familiar to regular conference attendees, the vast majority of the speakers are unique. This year also introduces a varied and inventive new program.
      “This year,” said IATA Cargo Network Services (CNS) President Lionel van der Walt President, who is about to launch the first program of his own making, “I have challenged the CNS team to leave no stone unturned to ensure the 2017 CNS Partnership Conference (April 30-May 2) in Orlando, Florida, delivers a huge success in terms of value to each and every attendee!”
      “Maximum effort is being made to ensure that the conference will exceed attendees’ expectations, especially in terms of our greatly enhanced agenda,” Lionel added.

       
CNS Is About Business

      “Our all-out effort to deliver at CNS is driven with the clear understanding that the raison d'être of the conference is to facilitate and promote partnerships and business.
      “This objective to facilitate networking is at the forefront of all our decision making.”

      “Based on my personal experience and the numerous feedback received from last year’s attendees, CNS Partnership this year will focus the agenda on topics that drive home added value to attendees in their day-to-day business, once they get back to the office after our event. “

Heart & Soul Effort

      The official conference program begins on Monday, May 1st, with the Opening Plenary from 8am to midday.
      This year, the CNS Partnership theme is “Preparing for Tomorrow’s Reality” with Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen (right) as keynote speaker.
      “As a freight forwarder,” Lionel said, “Flexport utilizes technology to overcome and manage the complexity of international trade.
      “Ryan will be sharing his thoughts with attendees as to what the industry could do better in order to achieve further efficiency and to address some of the key challenges we will be facing in the months ahead.”

      “The keynote address will be followed by a panel discussion where a cross section of shippers will provide the audience with their perspective as to what the U.S. air cargo industry needs to change in order to better meet their needs,” Lionel said.
      “We tend to overlook the shippers at our events, and this is something I want to change going forward.
      “Shippers play a key role in our value chain and we should pay more attention to what they have to say.”
      Rogier Spoel, (left) Policy Manager at the European Shippers Council, will lead that panel, which will include representatives from companies such as Bridgestone and Caterpillar, amongst others.

A Day With Jones Day

      “Our opening day will also include a legal and geopolitical overview by the company Jones Day, where current legal and political trends and their potential impact on the air cargo value chain will be discussed.
      “Michel Looten, (right) Director, Maritime at Seabury Group, adds an update on the future of sea freight and its potential impact on the air cargo industry.”

Clancy Closer

      “The last session of day one is the much anticipated economic and air cargo landscape update by Brian Clancy, (left) Managing Director at Logistics Capital & Strategy.
      “The afternoon of day one of CNS Partnership Conference 2017 has been reserved for meetings and much needed networking,” Lionel said.

Humanitarian Morning Session

      “This year at CNS Partnership we have decided to strengthen the content of our day two agenda based on feedback received from last year’s conference attendees.
      “The agenda runs from 08:30am to midday, and we kick the day off with an Airlink humanitarian relief update.”

The Value Chain

      “The important and vital role air cargo plays in the world is followed this year by a panel discussion on the potential impact of current and new technologies on the air cargo value chain in the short to medium-term.
      “IATA Head of Cargo Glyn Hughes will lead the discussion, which will feature Freightos CEO Zvi Schreiber, CargoMatrix Inc. CEO Eytan Sheetrit, UPS Vice President of Engineering John Dodero, and PROS, Inc. Executive Account Manager Zeke Ziliak.”

       
The Panel Talks Compliance

      “Next, Tim Strauss, current VP Cargo at Hawaiian Airlines and soon to be VP Cargo at Air Canada, will lead a panel on the future of government regulatory compliance and agency modernization projects.
      “Discussion participants include M. Craig Clark, Branch Chief, Advance Data Programs and Cargo Initiatives, Office of Cargo and Conveyance Security at U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Michael Morey, (right) Director Advanced Cargo Solutions at Franwell, Inc.; and Christopher Daniels, (left) Business Development & Proposal Manager at AMK9.”

      “The final session of the morning will focus on the challenges airport authorities are facing to improve the efficiency, quality, and speed of air cargo operations at U.S. airports.
      “Peter Ulrich, (left) Partner & Managing Director at the Boston Consulting Group will lead the discussion, which will include representatives from MIA, DFW, ORD and LAX.”

      “The rest of day two will be dedicated to networking and all-important stakeholder business meetings.
      “However, we have also scheduled two sessions in the afternoon for those who have time and are interested,” Lionel said.
      “The first session is a CNS update on the progress that has been made in terms of our 2016 priorities and an overview of the key projects and industry issues we are working on in 2017.
      “The second session is an IATA-led discussion on the importance of air cargo business intelligence, including an update on IATA’s Cargo Direct Data project.”

      “CNS has paid attention to what our stakeholders are saying and hopefully they will see and agree that this change in agenda focus makes sense and adds tangible value,” Lionel insists, adding:
      “Ultimately, the Partnership Conference is centered on the principle of facilitating business and we will continue our efforts to align the agenda with that vision.”

      “Based on the number of registered attendees to date (March 13), I expect a record attendance at this year’s conference and would urge anyone who is interested in meeting with our industry stakeholders—be it airlines, freight forwarders, airports, ground handlers, etc.—to join us in Orlando.
      “CNS encourages the small to medium freight forwarding community to participate in CAN Partnership.
      “Here you will discover an excellent opportunity to meet with your peers and to hear from subject matter experts what the industry holds in store for us in 2017 and beyond,” Lionel van der Walt said.
More: http://www.cnsc.net/events/pages/cns-partnership-conference.aspx
Geoffrey

Tells It Like It Is

       “I have already gone on the record to warn about the huge number of pundits offering solutions when there is still so much uncertainty about what is likely to happen in reality,” Mr. Keen said.
      We like Robert Keen. He speaks in plain talk, gets to the point, and in typical freight forwarder fashion, doesn’t waste words.

Dithering Heights

       For example, last year as BIFA called for greater clarity from the UK government on trade matters, Robert said this:
       “The 1,500 companies within BIFA share the Transport Committee’s belief that delay risks damaging UK economic growth by deterring investors uncertain about the future of Britain’s communications. “BIFA agrees with the Transport Committee that the UK must stop ‘dithering,’ make a decision, and set out a timetable for completing the project.”

Birmingham Focus

       “My focus in Birmingham, where once again BIFA at Stand 704 will meet and greet as we continue to build membership, will underscore how we are presenting the views of our members to the various government departments that we deal with, as well as explaining about some of the work that we are doing with organizations such as the Confederation of British Industry and International Chamber of Commerce.”

Brexit Primer

      “BIFA wants to make sure that all parties negotiating the post-Brexit landscape are fully aware of the potential challenges for which they will need to find solutions.”
      “Brexit aside, the UK freight industry continues to be presented with a broad spectrum of challenges related to developments at home and abroad, leaving UK freight forwarders and logistics companies with plenty on which to focus their attention.
      “From recent changes to the EU Customs Code to the Home Office Haulier Accreditation Scheme, the impact of ocean shipping alliances to the challenges of e-freight, the future of rail freight to the development of airport capacity in the UK, it’s all on the table and open for discussion,” Mr. Keen declared.
Geoffrey