Jade Cargo Speeds Relief

     Reto Hunziger, Vice President Sales and Marketing at Jade Cargo International likes to call his co-workers, subordinates and even his bosses at Jade Cargo, “my family.”
     Well the Jade Cargo family came up big a few days ago for the people of Myanmar, moving a full B747-400ERF charter of relief supplies to the stricken country on very short notice.
     The Jade Cargo freighter departed Beijing for Yangon, Myanmar fully loaded with aid material including tents, covers and food landing in Yangon after a four-hour flight.
     “My people are something else,” Reto said when we spoke earlier this month in Florida at The CNS Partnership Conference.
     “Our chief executive officer Captain Kay Kratky has been able in very short order to completely turn things around for us building up the pilot corps from 20 to more than 100, up to nearly full strength.
     “What that means is, now Jade Cargo has the ability to grow its business and also be a leader of providing sizeable air cargo lift anywhere in the world on short notice.
     “With our capacities of six Boeing 747-400 ERF and the recent marketing agreement with Lufthansa, Jade Cargo will soon connect main cities in North China with various destinations in Europe.
     “The ongoing integration of Jade Cargo International’s capacities into Lufthansa Cargo’s product portfolio on European routes offers shippers access to an extensive network.
     “As example on routes to Asia, Jade Cargo International operating under the umbrella of the Lufthansa Cargo Group offers non-stop flights on routes that were previously only served indirectly via the Frankfurt hub.”
     Jade Cargo International currently flies to Shenzhen and Shanghai Pudong from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brescia, Luxembourg and Stockholm.
     From Shenzhen, Jade Cargo International provides connections to the Asian economic centers of Osaka and Seoul.
     On April 14, one Jade Cargo International Boeing747-400 all-cargo freighter landed at Tianjin Binhai International Airport, signifying the launching of Jade Cargo’s first Tianjin-included international cargo course.
     Favored by the rapid development of Binhai New Area, in which Airbus's first overseas assembly plant is located, Tianjin Binhai International Airport becomes more and more attractive to both domestic and foreign carriers.
     The Jade Cargo frequency is Seoul-Tianjin-Frankfurt-Shenzhen, flying thrice a week.
     Integrating Tianjin and Frankfurt into Jade Cargo’s route network is part of the extended cooperation between Lufthansa Cargo and Jade Cargo, which went into effect 30 March 2008.
     But several other new wrinkles are coming into the Jade schedule package including new services to Budapest and Manchester as well as new frequencies from China to India and also all cargo services from Jade on deck to fly into Vietnam during Summer ’08.
     “Eastern Europe offers great opportunity for growth and Budapest is the perfect gateway catchment for southern Europe and Austria as well.
     “Our expansion to Asian destinations is measured and logical combining great service and convenient schedules.”
     Reto Hunziger is an all-cargo guy in the best sense and practice of the words.
     He joined Jade Cargo International when the airline took off in 2006 after having served Swiss WorldCargo for 14 years.
     At that time his old boss Oliver Evans said:
     “We are sorry to lose him but honored that our culture for cargo here recognizes and develops such talent for the increasingly competitive logistics business.”
     Reto saw Jade launch and sputter when aircraft deliveries were met with no pilots to operate the new freighters to a rebirth of sorts, as things under new management came back into order.
     Through it all, the 39 year-old says he always insisted on “total service and affording everyone, including customers and staff, total transparency.
     “People will support your effort as long as they believe that you care about them.
     “It’s a simple human condition, everyone likes to know what to expect.”
     It’s worth mentioning that the group picture (above) that underscores the family that Reto is most proud of has some new members including Eric Erbacher, who serves as Jade Cargo Sales Manager Worldwide and Brinkley Chan who has Joined Jade as Sales Manager China.
     “What we are building is a great cargo airline of China, not a dynasty of Reto,” Mr. Hunziger says with a quick smile.
     As we hear those words we think of the killer schedule that this young man has put himself on for the past three years.
     Although Reto says that things have slowed a bit he admits that the days are still 12 hours long punctuated with a bachelor’s life of local Chinese cuisine mostly taken out or ordered in utilizing his “passable Chinese.”
     “I am a team player,” Reto says. I expect to continue my career in air cargo, building the industry I love.”
Geoffrey

Quo Vadis AUA?

cargo counts & Moves

     Hattersheim-based cargo counts moved the bulk of its cargo handling operations at German airports to its parent company Lufthansa Cargo (LCAG).
     The agreement will apply at Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Bremen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Berlin-Tegel.
     cargo counts provides Total Cargo Management (TCM) services for various airlines.
     “We are looking forward to this collaboration,” said Alexander Schäffer, Director Operations at cargo counts.
     “The air cargo business is characterized by rising costs and increasing customer requirements in terms of service and information. With our coordinated processes in the handling area we will be able to provide optimal support for cargo counts,” said Mohammad Ali Seiraffi, (pictured here) LCAG Vice President Cargo Handling Germany.

Consolidators UPS Deal

     United Parcel Service (UPS) and Consolidators International (CII) have a new bulk space agreement that calls for allocated space on UPS flights to Australia twelve months of the year.
     CII says the deal catapults the company into becoming the largest forwarder customer of UPS out of Los Angeles.
     "This is truly a watershed agreement between a huge, $40 billion company with 400,000 employees and a $20 million freight forwarder with thirty on its payroll," said Julian Keeling, President & CEO at Los Angeles-based Consolidators International, in announcing the new agreement with UPS.
     Keeling noted the Australian air cargo market has become increasingly tight as U.S. exports flow into that nation.
     The stronger U.S. export situation is based on a combination of a vibrant Australian economy requiring both industrial and consumer products and the weakened condition of the U.S. dollar.
     "It is almost a perfect storm where demand for U.S. products 'down under' is far outstripping the capacity to deliver these items," continued Keeling.
     The CII chief noted the new agreement is even more important during what he calls the "silly season," those times of year like Christmas and Easter when commitments for space to Australia are almost impossible to obtain.
     "When no other forwarder can realistically offer delivery, CII can," emphasized Keeling.
     "Since CII first opened its doors fifteen years ago, we have concentrated on the Australian and New Zealand markets.
     “In fact these markets are 70% of our business.”