AirCargo Conference big news today—sad for us, good for him, is that long time vortex for all things air cargo, Brandon Fried is packing it in, announcing his planned retirement as Executive Director of AfA at the close of business this year of 2026.
     Brandon has led the AfA founded by Jim Foster for two dozen+ years as one the longest serving leaders in air cargo.
     He has been and continues to this day to be, ace of the place, operating from his base in Washington, D.C. where he advances the forwarder agenda.
     Best thing about Brandon, for the industry down on the ground, is his attitude of inclusion that everybody should be welcome to organized air cargo events and from that, his well-attended yearly Air Cargo Conference "for everybody else" has become a mainstay of the industry.
     Brandon's record of service to scores of air cargo organizations, both large and small at airports and elsewhere all over the U.S. and internationally has not been approached or matched by anyone else in the history of the industry.
     Most recently, when leaders in Miami gathered to bring back The Miami Air Cargo Association (MACA) first Keynoter Speaker that answered the call just last month was—you guessed it—Brandon Fried.
     During the transition period, the Fried presser states "he, will continue to carry out his responsibilities in full, leading the AfA’s advocacy, policy engagement, and member activities until his successor has been appointed."
     The Board of Director’s (AfA) industry leaders and friends are pictured today at the Orlando meeting this morning, wishing Brandon (far left) well.
     Robert Browning's poem goes out to Brandon:

                    “Grow old along with me!
                    The best is yet to be,
                    The last of life, for which the first was made:
                    Our times are in His hand
                    Who saith “A whole I planned,
                    Youth shows but half;
                    trust God: see all, nor be afraid!”

Geoffrey Arend

     Orlando is considered the top tourist destination in the U.S. The city traces its origin back to Fort Gatlin, established in the period of the Seminole wars. Disney World has become a global attraction that justifies the trip on its own, but this is not the only reason why you should be in Orlando this week: the Air Cargo Conference 2026 is taking place in ‘the city beautiful’. That is the place where everybody who is anybody in air cargo will be found, in the company of Brandon Fried of the Airforwarders Association and the extended team. All attendants will be networking and promoting their achievements, walking up and down the halls of the venue, some with questions on what the airfreight market in 2026 will be like. Others may think they know, or not, as this is the future: who can tell? The first signs are positive, but we are right the beginning of the season, the Chinese Lunar New Year starts relatively late: it is too early for harboring certainties.
     Now, when it comes to future guessing there are several avenues one could choose: among other practices, the Roman augurs looked at the flight of the birds, in ancient Greece those in charge resorted to the Oracle, a much cosier practice I daresay. AI explains this most important Greek augural practice in this manner: “The Oracle of Delphi was the most famous ancient Greek oracle, a priestess (the Pythia) at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi who delivered prophecies believed to come directly from Apollo, serving as a crucial religious and political advisor for centuries. Considered the cener of the world, Delphi's oracle influenced everything from personal decisions to state policies, with her cryptic pronouncements often delivered in riddles, though her influence waned under Roman rule and ended with Christian emperors.”
     More factually today one could consult with counsellors and consultants, or resort to UNCTAD, with its generous but hardly optimistic reports. Xeneta suggests an increase, with caution, but the increase is not true everywhere, some markets actually see a decline. One could observe that airfreight is not always conditioned by the overall fortunes of trade, and here questions are bigger than answers. So what do we do?

     “The Air Cargo Conference is always a valuable opportunity to connect face to face with customers and partners across the industry,”

     In the generous response that we have received from Delta, we can read about other interesting developments that will come to fruition in the near future. When it comes to the ease of use across the customer journey with Delta Cargo, targeted improvements are made across the end-to-end customer journey, focusing on making it easier for the customer to do business with Delta Cargo from booking to recovery, with ongoing enhancements focused on simplifying planning, booking, and recovering shipments across the network; investments are made to improve consistency, coordinated support and continuity throughout the shipment lifecycle.
     These efforts are designed to reduce friction, improve communication, and create a more seamless experience for local, regional and global customers. These steps may look less important than buying new aircraft, but in the end these count almost as much in the service end result.
     Air Cargo is not just about flying objects, as we all know. Targeted trials focused on improving truck flow and dock efficiency are underway in many stations, with expansion planned across additional stations based on results in the near future. Station hours’ visibility has been refreshed with ongoing reviews to support planning accuracy. On the other hand, even the most accurate planning may need a check-up and adjustment: there you work in ‘Service Recovery and Communication’ as Delta calls the measures taken to further dispel any risk of non-conformity. In-station service recovery agents are in place at ATL and JFK, with an additional station expansion planned in early 2026. There are regional support resources to provide more consistent and targeted customer communication, as well as customer support, planned for later in 2026, with a view to reducing queue times and ensuring clearer, faster resolution. Faster resolution also applies to the improvements to billing (early 2026) with a focus on reduced handoffs and clearer accountability, for an overall improved customer experience. New initiatives are also planned for early 2026 to reduce the transfer times in the handling of pure pallets and BUPs. All this just explains that Delta’s attention to service is really deployed at 360 degrees and is part of a comprehensive strategy to meet customers where service in required.
     Coming back to our initial question on the what the future will be, well . . . there is no “Che serà, serà” with Delta Cargo. Their future seems to be well organized and ready to meet the requirements of contemporary air cargo, as it is evolving and revolving as fast as it has ever done. So we come to the end of this feature with a cherry on the cake: the Women in Air Cargo Panel. This is a dedicated women’s leadership panel at the conference.
     Delta Cargo will be represented by Sarah Sanderson, Manager of Cargo Network Forecasting at Delta. In a way, Sarah will be our oracle this time: who could be better placed in forecasting the cargo network’s future?  The panel brings together women leaders shaping workplace culture and advancing careers across the air cargo ecosystem. The conversation will be moving beyond comparisons, focusing on building trust and creating inclusive teams that thrive on mutual support.  Delta told us that, during the panel, Sarah will share insights on leading with empathy, so that organizations can apply principles fairly, act consistently across teams and ensure equitable treatment while maintaining accountability.  Building trust by creating clarity, psychological safety, and shared ownership, whilst developing the next generation of supply chain leaders through connection, mentorship, and inclusive leadership practices; all these concepts will represent the culmination of her discourse.
     So what about the Oracle? Ancient or new, we need to resort to the wisdom of women to try and discern what the future brings, to guide us in our journey to what’s next . . . This is probably why the Pythia was represented as a woman,  and the Cumaean Sibyl also was often wonderfully represented as a graceful woman, commanding respect and devotion. No wonder everyone is so excited about the Conference in Orlando to understand what air cargo will look like in the near future. The Oracle opening its doors on February 15th in Orlando, who would miss the opportunity to be part of a myth?
Marco Sorgetti