FT102021

#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE

Vol. 20 No. 41	Wednesday October 20, 2021

     You look at this picture.
     Here is Peter Hansen.
     Does he look familiar?
     Well he should, because before he died on September 9th in Cape Town, South Africa, for almost four decades from the dawn of modern air cargo, Peter was most important, and amongst his peers a very respected, down on the ground, innovative air cargo builder of the last century.
     We realize that time marching on can be ferocious and people can get lost in the shuffle.
     But, not this time.
     For air cargo, Peter Hansen simply was the whole package, back at the beginnings when creativity was the order of the day.
     Without precedent to fall back upon, Peter was the one with the know how to be a driving force for remarkable operations that were created between airline, forwarder and shipper.
     It was what Henry James described as “grasping imagination” that created airborne traffic where none had existed before.
     We will get into that a bit later.
     Peter Hansen was born in 1934 and he woke up one morning at age 10 in Hamburg and was handed a German antitank weapon and told to help defend the city.
     Fortunately, he never had to use it.
     After finishing school Peter did an apprenticeship at Paul Ahrends Ewerführerei (habor barge company) in Hamburg Harbor.
     Shortly thereafter he went on his own to England to learn English, then he moved to New York City in 1961, took some odd jobs in the city before landing a job with Lufthansa at JFK, which began his air cargo career.
     Peter worked for some years at Lufthansa based at LAX, then he moved over to Seaboard World Airlines where he worked for the great John Mahoney. Later when Flying Tigers took over Seaboard, Peter was based in Europe (FRA).
     As Flying Tigers went into FedEx, Peter was based at LON.
     Bill Boesch, as President of AA Cargo brought Peter to DFW and then to MIA. Peter finally moved to Polar Air (HGK), before he retired to CPT.
     As an early entrepreneurial air cargo man Peter was a charming, warm and outgoing individual with a very big heart, known as a good friend to many.
     A born salesman, Peter was also an excellent manager.
     “Peter lived his life to the fullest, up to just days before his passing on September 9 in Cape Town.
     “He still went swimming three times a week; went sailing on the weekends.
     “Peter also loved life, went to lunch daily with his wife Wenka,” his friend Hardy Zantke recalled.
     Hardy, it needs to be mentioned, is the son of the great, very early German air cargo journalist, Siegfried Zantke who was born 110 years ago in Germany.
     “Since COVID started we spoke every day on the telephone for 15 minutes, which was good for both of us,” Hardy recalled.
     “In early September Peter complained of dizzy spells,” Hardy said.
     “After that things and went downhill fast.
     “I asked his son Till in Hawaii, to come to Peter’s side on Monday September 7.
     “Spoke with Peter on Tuesday the 8th, as he hung on waiting for his son to arrive on Wednesday the 9th.
     “He died with his wife and son by his bedside.”

     So who was Peter Hansen and why does he matter in 2021?
     “Peter,” Hardy recalled, “was one of the first people out there filling up airplanes with cargo.”
     While at Seaboard World, Peter worked for and alongside the aforementioned John Mahoney, who is generally regarded as a genius and father of modern air cargo thinking, the core of which was, always be creative.
     Mahoney always said that airlines were not training air cargo people as strategic thinkers, but at Seaboard with Peter and others, all of that changed.
     However, with Peter the change went into overdrive.
     Peter approached clients with factual and detailed information that beat down the popularly-held notion by traffic managers especially, to automatically decline usage of air cargo because of cost.
     Peter invited shippers to take a closer look at the then popular Total Cost Concept (TCC) as his sales approach.
     TCC determined that 59 cents out of every production dollar represents distribution costs, versus 41 cents cost of manufacture.
     Here is an example:
     Peter, as a forwarder account executive, personally introduced a California toy manufactured product to a German toy wholesaler.
     Since transport costs would be born by the purchaser, Hansen engaged him in deep seated comparison cost analysis whose results, not only favored air, but also landed Seaboard an initial cargo movement of ten tons.
     To top it all here, the air cargo movement for that California toy company was its first entry into the overseas market.
     Another outstanding example of the aforementioned “grasping imagination” at Seaboard during the Mahoney/Hansen era, was an idea borrowed from the steamships that saw the all-cargo carrier set up a subsidiary company to buy, transport and sell to the perishables industry.
     Peter travelled to Europe contacting several supermarket chain buyers in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
     Peter offered fresh-picked California strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers for sale at prices that included transportation and insurance payable COD.
     Then Peter would fly to California, orders in hand and arrange for purchase from the farmers.
     Telling that story, Peter said simply:
     “When I began in air cargo we were selling on the value of the product per pound; traffic managers were time conscious.
     “Most shipments had an element of emergency attached to them.
     “We had to be self-reliant and innovative.
     “Shippers hated change from methods that they were used to,” Peter Hansen declared.
     “Our approach was:
     “What are your problems? What can we do for you?”
     “At SWA we usually came up with some ideas and an occasional breakthrough.
     “For example SWA created Third World business by working out a more economic routing system,” Peter Hansen recalled.
     “Peter and I,” Hardy Zantke recalled, “became good friends after I met him in the mid 1970’s. He was cargo sales for Seaboard and I was the forwarder setting up Deugro’s Airfreight Forwarding office at LAX.
      “We bought a sailboat together, which we shared until Flying Tigers Cargo Line moved him to FRA in the mid 1980’s.
     “After I departed from Deugro in 1980, Peter Hansen brought the late Jo Frigger (Chairman of EMO Trans) and I back together in 1982. Jo had been my first boss at Deugro when we both came from Germany and opened offices at LAX and SFO for Emo Trans.
     “I partnered with Jo, an all-time great in air cargo, sadly lost on April 19th, until my early retirement in 1995,” Hardy Zantke recalled.
     “Peter had many good friends, like the late Bill Randazzo, (Panalpina) who started Pack-Air in California, and Alfred Kuehlewind, who founded Commodity Forwarders, which he sold a few years ago to Kuehne & Nagel, and many others in the early air cargo scene,” Hardy Zantke concluded.
     At Seaboard and then throughout his career Peter Hansen was close to air cargo pioneer and TIACA Hall of Fame recipient and former President of American Airlines Cargo, Bill Boesch.
     Here Bill fondly remembers Peter.
     “Peter Hansen, I am proud to say was a friend and one of the best air cargo marketing people I have ever known.
     I first met Peter when I was with Seaboard World Airlines. When I joined Seaboard I worked in Customer Service, and was responsible for routing the pallets out of our JFK base. Peter, as usual, produced a great deal of business and the pallets he sent in were labeled EXLAX.
     “For a few years I am embarrassed to say that I thought the laxative company was one of our biggest customers.
     “When Seaboard landed its domestic authority after Airline Deregulation with the ending of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in 1978, John Mahoney, who was head of Cargo Marketing sent me to Detroit, Ned Wallace to Chicago, and Ron Hoppner was in San Francisco and Peter was already in Los Angeles.
     “When I went to American Airlines, I thought so highly of Peter that I recruited him to run the entire Caribbean cargo marketing for AA Cargo and again he did a superb job.
     “But Peter fell in love with South Africa and moved there.
     “One of my fondest memories of Peter was when he and I went to Japan to visit Yutaka Saito who was managing director for Asia/Oceania sales for American Airlines Cargo in Tokyo.
     “Peter took his young son who brought along his skateboard, which was the first time I had seen one.
     “Peter’s son became a humanity medical doctor, and he was very proud of him.
     “Buz Whalen, who was also one of the great air cargo pioneers, and Japan Airlines staff vice president cargo for the Americas, (who died just last year) gave us the tickets.
     “Another time we were having lunch in Hamburg on the lake and Peter was telling me his life story including how he met Wenka, his great wife.
     “I can picture both these moments touching each other in my memory in October 2021 like it was yesterday.
     “These moments are among the fondest memories of my life.
     “Over the years I tried to hire Peter many times to run Europe, but he would never leave South Africa.
     “Peter was a very likable person and I am fortunate to have had him in my life.
     “I can go on and on with stories about this great man but just let me say that I for one, will mourn him deeply and pray that God has welcomed him to everlasting peace.
     “Peter, I miss you!”, Bill Boesch said softly.
Geoffrey

     There has been some speculation about where and when the IATA yearly mandated meeting of member airline cargo executives, now branded ‘The World Cargo Symposium (WCS)’ that just concluded last week in Dublin, Ireland, might be held in 2022?
     People we spoke to say the event could be conducted any time, but odds makers bet mid-year next.
     But where will the venue be?
     Will the brass ring go to Seoul or Hong Kong; or somewhere in the U.S. or maybe even Doha or Dubai?
     Perhaps WCS might finally get back to where it once belonged, this year/next year, at Istanbul?
     Or will it be Europe again or maybe Latin America could be an IATA showstopper.
     Looking at these things through the bottom of the Jameson shot glass awaiting departure from DUB, were are told that Hong Kong, as example, post-COVID, “is still a mess for travel.
     “But the government desperately wants to open the border with the mainland which has been closed for so long and which is so critical to Hong Kong's economy that they will jump through hoops to get the nod from up north.
     “There is also certainly a great deal of frustration amongst companies about the super strict quarantine rules which require pretty well anybody coming from anywhere to spend three weeks in hotel quarantine, which is clearly not possible for most kinds of travel.”
     But we also hear that The World Rugby Football Union has recently announced the 2022 Rugby 7’s tournament dates with HK firmly on the schedule for April 1-3 2022.
     So maybe, the ruggers know something we don’t?
     We learned as DUB WCS closed last week that it was Istanbul that pulled out of WCS, moving IATA to Dublin at the last minute.
     Apparently the Turks decided that they could live without negative publicity and possible lawsuits if attendees of WCS IST (God forbid) were struck with COVID.
     So they bailed.
     Kudos to the IATA Cargo team for pivoting quite deftly with an impossibly short window to making sure that the show went on!
     Meantime as the latest IATA Head of Cargo, Brendan Sullivan pictured here in all his sartorial splendor did his meet and greet and speechifyng at the WCS Dublin all week, some eventually wondered:
     Where will “Sullivan's Travels”, (also title of one of the best films of 1941) be staged in 2022?
GDA

Guillaume Halleux at World Cargo Symposium

     Centerstage in Dublin at IATA’s World Cargo Symposium, QR Head of Cargo Guillaume Halleux delivered a sobering message of the threat that exists in shipping lithium batteries, concluding that something must be done before something really awful occurs airborne.
     “Regulators must address the risk of lithium batteries on aircraft before hundreds of people die,” Guillaume said.
     “It’s pure luck that incidents with lithium batteries have not occurred during a flight.
     “We have no visibility over the cargo given to us. I am very concerned it will take a crash – and the loss of 300 people – for this to change.
     “Then the regulators will say ‘you knew, and you did nothing,’” Mr. Halleux concluded.
     We have heard this before. No, check that . . . As an industry we have all heard this before. Our take is that this subject has been in regular discussion for more than 15 years.
     Who can forget that UPS B747 on September 3, 2010 turning and exploding out of the sky in Dubai?
     But thinking about this desperately serious situation when it comes right down to brass tacks, IATA should have been leading the way.
     Kudos to Guillaume for shaking things up, but it is past time for all the airlines to get off their duff to get on board and demand change.

     Elsewhere in Europe R-BAG Hungária Kft. now represents Qatar Airways Cargo in eight Central Eastern European (CEE) countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
     “Over the past 20 years, the Budapest, Hungary-based GSSA has established itself as a highly specialized air cargo expert in CEE, and manages locally registered limited companies in each country,” Rob Veltman, (left) Qatar Airways VP Cargo Europe said, adding:
     “I look forward to R-BAG’s fresh, positive approach and commitment to pushing Qatar Airways Cargo’s business and footprint to the next level.”
Finally QR Cargo we learn in a “who would have thunk it move based on recent history," inked a cargo ground handling pact with SAL Saudi Logistics Services at Saudi Arabia’s main airports, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Medina.
     Nice to see things get back to business . . .
SSA

FlyingTalkers

Peter Hansen Pulled Air Cargo By The Bootstraps

Stephane Graber, Lionel van der Walt, Brandon Fried and Mike White

     Lionel van der Walt, Global Chief Commercial Officer, and the PayCargo team on the half shell during International Air Transport Association IATA’s 2021 World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Dublin, Ireland, an event mostly attended by northern Europeans. Team met with FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations Director General Dr. Stephane Graber as new exclusive online payment platform for FIATA members, called Freight-Pay rolls out worldwide.
     In the picture (l to r) Stéphane Graber, FIATA Director General, Lionel van der Walt, PayCargo LLC Global Chief Commercial Officer, Brandon Fried, The Airforwarders Association Executive Director (taking notes?), Michael White, PayCargo LLC Board Member.
Here Brandon, the intrepid President of the U.S.-based The Airforwarders Association reflects on (IATA) World Cargo Symposium (WCS).
     “IATA rolled out the red carpet for the air cargo community in this quaint city with some of the most friendly local people and best tasting Guinness stout in the world.
     “There is no doubt that the international border restrictions have adversely impacted the airline industry (international travel dropped 78) and IATA wants countries to reopen immediately for all travelers so that air capacity is restored and we can get back to business as usual. IATA Chief Willie Walsh said that industry was too soft on governments early on which resulted in harsh travel restrictions which must now end.
     “By the way, we can expect favorable change at IATA under Willie Walsh. He's the man for a promising future and we expect great things from him.
     “As the air cargo industry enters the post-pandemic world, IATA is calling for more digitalization (e-airwaybill penetration is over 60% with room for improvement), an eye on environmental sustainability (airlines recently resolved to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050) and an increased vigilance on dangerous goods, especially in the transportation of lithium batteries.
     “The goal of increased automation is certainly laudable and the Airforwarders Association continues to urge its members that increased investments in technology will yield tremendous returns in efficiency and customer satisfaction. In fact, forwarders are not technological neanderthals and most continue to purchase and use automation daily for airline bookings and customer transactions. Forwarders are investing in our future to meet the complex challenges and informational needs ahead.
     “The biggest takeaway from this conference is that our industry must focus more on the lithium battery threat to avoid catastrophe caused by thermal runaway fires.
     “IATA just initiated its Lithium Battery Certification Program which should go a long way in creating awareness, detection and vigilance throughout the air cargo industry. That said, governments need to increase efforts to enforce stricter manufacturing and packaging standards of these batteries while punishing those who evade the rules. IATA is calling for increased regulation in this important area to protect the airline industry.
     “Overall, this was a worthwhile event and I look forward to others in the future.”

     Near our home in Queens, New York on Radnor Road in a park setting where children attend classes at PS 178 The Holliswood School, the action during the weekdays in early mornings recently are a half dozen ordinary station wagon vehicles gathered amidst hundreds of Amazon packages strewn all over the pavement, sidewalk and even in the gutter.
     In these days of COVID, we can only wonder what those Amazon envelopes and packages pick up lying in the street. Also ponder the fate of all those empty shops on Main Street, nearby Union Turnpike where once there was a book store, a children’s clothing store, a movie house, all operated by people who celebrated pride of place in our town and now are a memory of a once upon a time world.
     Now as reported here, Amazon is taking over Newark Airport Cargo’s main handling terminals leaving more than 20 air cargo carrying airlines out on the street.
     Is this the new face of cargo? Who will we see sorting air commerce outside of our kindergarten window next?
GDA

     Walking Lulu in the park near our home, I noticed last Monday that the big grey bubble enclosures now cover the tennis courts, a sure sign Summer '21 is gone.
     Tough luck for the dog as she now can no longer feast on the bright green tennis balls that lay in fair territory in the open grass beyond the courts.
     But with these early days of Autumn in New York here again upon us are those glorious moments of Indian Summer, punctuated with days that are cold on the shoulder as the days get shorter, leaves are falling and soon will come the snows followed by small children on sleds.
     But first we have baseball finals here in the U. S., in a season where The Boys of Summer have decided to hang on for dear life all the way into November.
     I shall stop listening to baseball and watch Geoffrey II on his new TV show "Goliath" where he plays opposite some great actors including Billie Bob Thornton, Bruce Dern, JK Simmons and others.
     Baseball just completed 162 games in a season that began in April. One joy of baseball are all those games for all those months. In May you think—hell there is still June, July, August and September to play and for a real fan, that prospect is just tremendous.
     But playing baseball after October 31 and Halloween is just nuts. They should shorten the season to where it was sixty years ago when I was 20, and have the whole ball of wax wrapped up—World Series and all by October 10th at the latest.
     I'll miss our neighbors Joe, Dora and Alexa across the street, who packed up and moved to Florida, two weeks ago.
     Took a long look at their empty home and it stared back looking a bit forlorn, in silence with the shades all drawn.
     I imagine that people from New York moving to Florida should make friends easily because so many New Yorkers are already there.
     Moving forward here are some old musical friends that feel like October the way it ought to be! The playlist here.

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. 38 Air Cargo On The Agenda Chuckles for October 4, 2021 Jens Roemer Eyes The Port Air Canada Reefer at YYZ Bingeworthy Geoffrey Arend II	Vol. 20 No. 39 PayCargo On Fire Worldwide Krems United Tops U.S. Cargo Chuckles for October 11, 2021 Too Cool McCool Is Ireland Cargo How A Delayed Flight Changed History Tata Sons Regain Air India	Vol. 20 No. 40 Why Did IFACP Deal Go Up In Smoke Chuckles for October 13, 2021 ATC Heart To Heart Truck Queues Solved Forever More BRU Warehouse Debuts Letters for Ocrober 13, 2021

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