FT092921

#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE

Vol. 20 No. 37	Wednesday September 29, 2021

  Now everything flies between Lyon, France and the world, and to hear Qatar Cargo tell it, the carrier, has struck gold with its service.
  “Qatar Airways Cargo is proud to be celebrating its first anniversary of serving Lyon, also on behalf of our passenger division who would have been carrying this flag under normal circumstances.
  “Our team has consistently demonstrated its flexibility and dedication by providing Lyon customers with a stable, regular service as well as tailored solutions when required, despite the many challenges and restrictions resulting from the pandemic,” Kirsten de Bruijn, Senior Vice President Cargo Sales and Network Planning said as the carrier celebrated moving 211 flights in just over a year from Lyon, France.
  Four times a week, a mix of passenger-to-cargo conversions (B777-300, A350-900, B787-9, and A330) and full-freighters link Lyon, France, eastbound via Doha to more than 50 destinations across Asia, Far East and Oceania.
  Westbound, Qatar Airways Cargo offers numerous routes out of Lyon via its regional hubs in Liège (LGG) and Luxembourg (LUX) to North and South America.
  “Our long-standing GSA partner, ECS, has greatly contributed to successfully establishing and growing the Qatar Airways Cargo brand, services, and network within and beyond Lyon,” Kirsten de Bruijn said.
  Worth noting is that it was just about a year ago that Kirsten joined Qatar Cargo after having served as Vice President-Cargo Pricing and Interline, at Emirates SkyCargo.
  “Part of my role,” Kirsten said last September, “is to build a sense of team spirit and collective purpose. I like to hire people that are better at what they do than I am, so I can create the best team possible.”
  From zero to hero. Each day Qatar Cargo shows its mettle in a spirited and resilient way.
Geoffrey

     “As the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach go from bad to worse we now have LAX at a near breaking point with airfreight storage in some cases costing at 24 hours after arrival in excess of $1.00 kg per day.
     “Hang on as this is going to get much more chaotic before it gets better.”
The speaker is Peter Lamy, President of Intelligent Supply Chain Management (iSCM) and American Worldwide Agencies (AWA) based in Hawthorne, California.
     Peter Lamy was raised in the cargo industry—his father, the late Donald Lamy was an air cargo pioneer as North American Director of Air New Zealand Cargo.
Peter took his first airline job on the ramp of Flying Tigers in the early ’80s. Over the years, he has managed airline cargo operations at the LAX airport for carriers such as Braniff, Amerijet, and Aeromexico.
     “We have seen this all unfolding in slow motion over the last 12 months, forwarders have been struggling to shield their customers from the reality of limited space, increase demand and increasing costs.
     “While retailers,” Peter said, “knew there have been issues they seem to only be hitting the panic button now.
     “Like the seaports we now have our international cargo airports in total disarray and over capacity with little or no off airport CFS’s to offer any relief.
     “Also as airline ground handlers implement those aforementioned storage charges has come huge risk to handling import air cargo for non-asset-based forwarders.
     “What can be done is going to be a struggle, we just don’t have the cargo facilities in place to absorb the influx of cargo at our passenger airports.
     “In terms of looking for other facilities, for years these offline airports that were once military bases have tried to convert all cargo aircraft over to the facilities but have had limited success with the exception of carriers like FedEx, UPS, and now Prime Air (Amazon) the new logistics gorilla.
     “But former military facilities just don’t have the bonded capabilities and customs support needed to flick the switch and start accepting international cargo flights.
     “We think government could help ease the situation by allowing U.S. Customs to expedite cargo clearance and bonded facilities available away from traditional ports of entry as one solution.
     “We have no problems with the TSA, we have adapted to their requirements over the years and work closely with them with our CCSF that allows us to control our freight by consolidating and building ULD’s at our own facilities. While others ran away from the responsibility, we charged in the other direction by expanding our warehouses and our screening capabilities.
     “Too many forwarders have become brokers and abandoned their responsibilities of actually handling their cargo, as forwarders retreated to ivory towers and eliminated warehouses and trucks all while Amazon, FedEx and UPS keep investing in these assets and controlling their destiny. We at ISCM have taken a similar approach as the integrators, and opened our own facilities around the world,” Peter Lamy concluded.
EPA

     A conference perk that we miss is the opportunity to dine with friends we don’t otherwise see often. One came to us recently when Austin-based airport planner Michael Webber (Mike) was in town assisting The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey on cargo efforts at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
     At EWR and JFK, Webber has been interviewing cargo handlers and airlines about current operations and potential needs in the near and longer terms. Webber was reserved about details of his assignments from the Port Authority but expansive about cargo capacity needs of U.S. airports in general.
     Webber pushed back against some recent reporting. “If losses in tonnage by these airports were simply attributable to facilities, the beneficiaries would have been in the region. Massachusetts Port Authority Boston Logan is down 43% since 2000. Washington Dulles International Airport is down 48% during that period. Due in large part to its UPS regional hub, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has achieved a total (not annual) of 1% growth in twenty years. The losses at major northeastern gateways is more about the migration of manufacturing and other demand drivers. In perspective, the combined tonnage growth of Bradley International Airport (Hartford, CT) and Lehigh Valley International Airport (Lehigh Valley, PA) about equals the decrease at Allegheny County Airport Authority Pittsburgh for the same period. We're talking about much more than the influence of cargo facilities.”
     So, the state of U.S. airport cargo facilities is fine? “No. Cargo facilities at most U.S. airports are inadequate for what’s ahead! Since 2000, cargo improvements at most U.S. airports were almost nil until E-commerce and a pandemic sparked new interest. Resolving the gaps is far more difficult in mature markets where development comes up to the fences. Airports like Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) on 14,000 acres are rare. Most major hubs can’t open up another greenfield site.”
     So, what do you do? “I talk to the best sources available. I don’t delude myself into thinking that I know more about a specific handler’s business than the handler does. Every airport is different. The handlers are conducting a complex symphony out there and it’s different from building to building. In a constrained environment, some best practices are impractical and so they pivot to what is possible under the circumstances. As a consultant, I learn as much as possible about demand from the tenants and their service partners and I confer with airport staff about what’s possible from the capacity standpoint. In a constrained environment, you try to optimize the available resources and understand trade-offs.”
Geoffrey

FlyingTalkers

LAX Ports Bad To Worse
Airports Signal Change
Goodbye Big Don Lamy

Albert Schweizer      In our home today lives a small table bust of Albert Schweitzer that has been in our family for nearly 70 years.
     I was looking at Schweitzer the other day and thinking about what he said about the human spirit:
     “In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.
     “It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.
     “We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”
     First results from the return to life of live meetings and trade shows although unscientific at this point, seem quite positive underscoring that anyone thinking that sitting in front of a computer will suffice and replace face-to-face meetings has another thing coming.
     In Copenhagen the Ground Handling Conference dubbed “Reuniting The Aviation Family” saw the Bella Convention Center come alive with booths from companies like Swissport, AVIA Aviation, World Flight Services and others with about 460 reportedly in attendance for the event.
     But the unique thing were accolades for a live show again that were heartfelt and read like a giant collective sigh of relief from an industry that has been itching to get back to business as usual.
     “An emotional return saw colleagues share stories of trials and tribulations endured over the course of the pandemic,” reports Max Gosney, GHI Conference Chairman, adding triumphantly:
     “We did it. To be back in-person with our delegates in Copenhagen was a wonderful thing. We’re enormously grateful to everyone who answered GHI’s call to join the aviation reunion after this punishing pandemic.”
     The outstanding event was a football (soccer) match of young and old folks that morphed from sincere business suits into athletic togs for a spirited joust that we imagine also had some Biofreeze standing by for the players postgame . . .
     Elsewhere Reuters reported September 23 of “singing and dancing as South Africa’s national airline returns to the skies," as “jubilant South African Airways (SAA) staff at the airline took to the skies for the first time in around a year after receiving a massive government bailout.
     “After so many months we’ve been waiting for this moment, I am so excited. I am over the moon,” Mapula Ramatswi, an SAA flight attendant told Reuters at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.
     The common thread of unbridled joy of life inching back to normal seems to be growing everywhere.

     In Queensland, Australia Sandra Pepper, the Head of Education and Solicitor at Queensland Law Society facing a packed Elder law conference at the Victoria Park ballroom opened her remarks:
     “Grateful is the word of the day for me, today.
     “I appreciate being able to mask-mingle with colleagues, and constantly tell each other ‘isn’t it great to be here?’”
     On October 12 as IATA Cargo in Dublin meets, that event having fled Istanbul will herald another opening of another show.
     Step by step, the mighty wind of the human spirit will not be denied.

ATC Back To Work Barbecue Back To The Office
     Picture perfectly charming and absolutely uplifting in every way. While children once again fill schoolrooms and playgrounds echo their laughter and The United Nations was back in “live” session last week snarling traffic, but lifting hope.
     As New York City comes alive, on the other side of the pond, a tented dell near Frankfurt Airport's Cargo City Süd is alive once more with good food and a bit of a tweet tweet welcoming ATC Aviation Services AG employees to a gentle repast, as staff reports back to office at Europe’s top GSSA's headquarters operation.
     The thought of coming together in company workplaces once again indeed is something to celebrate.
Ingo Zimmer and Dagmar Hanau      This is how life ought to be rekindled, as the heavy lockdown of the past year and a half slowly releases its grip.
     Ah, but looking at that table reminds us that September is upon us and in Germany many restaurants feature Pilz Karte (Mushroom Menu) with plates full of Pfifferlinge (Chanterelles in English).
     For the only living boy in New York, come 2022, there I am!
     Thinking about this, it should not be overlooked that the way you treat your people will most often result in that vibe being carried forward to the customer.
     Kudos to Ingo Zimmer and Dagmar Hanau for having set that table for all time.
Geoffrey/Sabiha

Elliott Paige M.Econ, IAP
Airport Director, Air Service Development
Harstfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport

     On 9/11/2001, I was in Geneva, Switzerland working at the Development Division of the World Trade Organization Secretariat. I had transitioned from an internship to a short-term contract and I was working at that time doing a paper on the participation of African countries in world trade. I was actually annoyed because while researching on the Internet, I noticed the connection had slowed down and some sites were frozen. I saw a weird picture of one of the World Trade Center buildings smoking, but thought it was fake and moved on to my research. Suddenly, my office colleague, Amar Breckenridge from Sri Lanka, burst in and said that, "America was under attack." Then I tried to get online and after many minutes happened upon a website with details of the buildings demise.
     I called my then brother-in-law who worked on Wall Street, but the lines never connected. I then called my then wife and daughter who were suppose to be in NYC to visit her brother, if they had extended their flight for a longer visit after visiting me in Switzerland. However, they did not, else they would have been stranded. Instead my then wife and daughter left to ensure they arrived back in Antigua in time for the new school year.
     Back in Geneva, all work stopped. For companionship, my colleagues and I went to a bar and watched the whole scene unfold on TV for hours.
     The result was that WTO member countries signed on to a new round of trade negotiations, the Development Agenda, after months of stalling because they felt we needed to build global solidarity on trade to reduce terrorism.

     Writing about Peter Lamy in this issue came with the sad news that his father Don Lamy, a major factor in U.S. cargo for many years died of leukemia on March 11, 2021 at age 84.
     In addition to his son Peter and daughter Susan, Don leaves his two grandchildren Don Lamy and Keith Lamy.
     Don was born in Guernsey Channel Islands, United Kingdom May 30, 1936.
     He recalled living as a young boy under German Occupation during WWII. The Channel Islands were the only portion of the United Kingdom under German occupation.

     In 1963 Don immigrated to the USA where he immediately began a memorable career in air cargo.
     Truth be told, Don was a force of nature when we knew him as top man in the U.S. at Air New Zealand, the airline he served and became famous for building Air New Zealand Cargo USA.
     From Los Angeles, Don had that cargo operation humming and punching way above its weight for decades.
     Don was also a major force in organized cargo, in fact he was quite instrumental in sponsoring and giving his time toward the betterment of our industry through his efforts, that included early CNS Partnership Conferences and organizing and supporting the fledgling Los Angeles Air Cargo Association (LAACA) at LAX.
     Today both organizations continue as major forces for good in air cargo.
     Don was a big guy who walked into a room and you knew he was there.
     He was a take-charge individual and was inclusive. But he did not suffer fools and always had a great penchant for rallying people to a cause of getting things accomplished together.
     Also not to be overlooked was Don’s appetite for good food and drink.
     For years a rite of passage at LAX was the annual ANZ BBQ staff and customer event that was held outside in a small parklike area between office buildings at the airport, featuring succulent New Zealand lamb and other goodies at a festive networking event.
     The story that Sal Sanfilippo who served as ANZ Director of Cargo the Americas, tells about the barbecue was typical Don Lamy:
     “Don started it," Sal said.
     “The story is that a big load of fish missed a connection back at a time when the reefer situation is not nearly what it is today, and the decision was taken to cook up the fish, have a party and invite our staff and customers in.
     “We have been holding our employee annual barbecue ever since,” Sal said in 2005.
Don and Peter Lamy      Don Lamy’s son Peter who today heads up Intelligent Supply Chain Management (iSCM) and American Worldwide Agencies (AWA) noted that his Dad was talking air cargo right up to the end of his life.
     “I learned logistics from a great man, a dreamer and a doer, who was full of love for life and was talking Air Cargo and Air New Zealand with ideas right up until the end.
     “We plan to round up some of his mates and family and have a memorial service October 8 aboard Ned Wallace’s boat,” Peter said.
     Never very self-centered or seeking the spotlight, Don opened up his Facebook page prior to his departure from this dimension and wrote some simple words in a poignantly sentimental goodbye dated March 3, 2021 celebrating life as he approached the gates of eternity.
     “Good morning friends and family,” Don wrote.
     “This is my goodbye to you all as I peacefully passed on in my sleep this morning.
     “I have spent some quality time with Sue and Peter the last two weeks as my mind so kindly let me visit friends past and present, going to places like Guernsey and New Zealand all from my recliner.
     “Life was a great journey with some amazing experiences.
     “With that I bid you farewell.”
     Last words come from Don’s friend Haig Barsegian, who recalled:
     “Don and I spent a lot of time together as Sales Reps for Flying Tiger Line. We had adjacent sales territories and would often meet up for lunch. Great sense of humor. Never saw him get angry. Later on when he was with Air New Zealand, he would contribute kegs of beer at the annual Los Angeles Air Cargo Association bash in Palm Desert!
     “Don will be missed!”
     As mentioned, Ned Wallace will sail off on a sentimental journey with some other Lamy stalwarts to honor the great man October 8th.
     “Dad was always very low key,” son Peter said.
     “Toward the end we talked about life and Dad said during that conversation:
     “‘If someone had a notion to do something for me after I’m gone,’” he said, ‘might be nice to plant a tree,’” Peter recalled.
     Works for us.
     Happy Landings and thanks for the memories, Big Don Lamy.
Geoffrey

If You Missed Any Of The Previous 3 Issues Of FlyingTypers Access complete issue by clicking on issue icon or Access specific articles by clicking on article title
Vol. 20 No. 34 Laurent Bernet—A Life Well-Lived Nothing To Lose But The Wait First From New CNS President Brandon Fried & Willie Walsh AA Cargo Lauds CNS More From CNS Chuckles for September 7, 2021 Airline Problems Before COVID National Aviation Day	Vol. 20 No. 35 Escape From The World Trade Center	Vol. 20 No. 36 Airline Problems Began Before COVID-19 Chuckles for September 23, 2021 Time To Exit The TSA Flossie Arend on 911

Publisher-Geoffrey Arend • Managing Editor-Flossie Arend • Editor Emeritus-Richard Malkin
Film Editor-Ralph Arend • Special Assignments-Sabiha Arend, Emily Arend

Send comments and news to geoffrey@aircargonews.com
Opinions and comments expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher but remain solely those of the author(s).
Air Cargo News FlyingTypers reserves the right to edit all submissions for length and content. All photos and written material submitted to this publication become the property of All Cargo Media.
All Cargo Media, Publishers of Air Cargo News Digital and FlyingTypers. Copyright ©2021 ACM, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
More@ www.aircargonews.com

100% Green