As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day 2011, thoughts drift to the black experience in air cargo.
    We wonder: in 2011, how many black people are in the air cargo business?
    Last TIACA in Amsterdam, the only black person we saw was an executive of the City of Chicago named Cortez A Carter.
    But surely the ranks of middle and upper air cargo management must have some black men and women.
    So on this MLK Day, we begin our search to bring to the forefront some of the black air cargo community heretofore unrecognized. We hope to feature the experiences of as many people as possible, with an eye towards the upcoming month of February in which Americans celebrate the contributions of the black community to society on the whole.
    You can help.
    Write to me: geoffrey@aircargonews.com and I will take it from there.

Black On Black

     Anthony Black is Senior Manager Media Relations Corporate Communications at Delta Airlines.
    Anthony is also an old friend who has sat in on interviews we have conducted at DL for the past several years.
    He is a true professional, handling both the cargo and passenger side with equal attention and detail.
    Here Anthony looks forward, and ahead.

FT:  How long have you been at Delta?
AB:  Eleven years.
FT:  How did you get into public relations?
AB:  I started working in the sports media relations department at N.C. State University during my sophomore year of college.
FT:  What is a favorite interview of which you were a part?
AB:  My favorite interviews are ones where the executives walk away from the interview feeling like the preparation and training we provided set them up to be confident enough to tell their story the way they intended.
FT:  Which interview is your least favorite?
AB:  Any one where the executive thinks what he or she has/wants to "say" is more important than what will best promote his or her division or the company.
     These are usually train wrecks.
FT:  Why?
AB:  Unless you work for yourself, you're part of a team, and if you're part of a team, even if you're the star, you win or lose "together" based on everyone's performance, not just your own.
     So your effort has to be about what's best for "our team."
FT:  Why do you think airlines are misunderstood, or are they?
AB:  Nothing we do in the airline industry is "too" complex for anyone to understand.
     What people don't know is that so many things have to go "right" in order for flights to depart and arrive on time, and so many of those things (weather, security airport operations) are not in the airline's control.
     People talk about how great flying "used" to be, but I challenge that by saying that today we fly farther, faster, more safely, to more destinations, with more amenities than ever.
     I think we can improve perception of the industry by providing consistent, quality customer communication.
FT:  What do you find interesting about air cargo?
AB:  It's a whole other world underneath the passenger's seats, and most people have no idea what we can and are carrying down there.
     From the fresh produce, to cars, to electronics, to animals, airlines can move in hours what it normally takes days to deliver.
FT:  As Delta emerges further into air cargo, how will that affect you?
AB:  The more exposure our group receives, the better we must be at managing our time with media opportunities to ensure maximum exposure.
FT:  If you were not in p/r, what would you be doing?
AB:  Sports or aviation management. I've been fortunate that my entire post-collegiate career I've been able to do the two things I love the most - sports and aviation.
Geoffrey/Flossie

Continental Goes Green

     During 2010, Continental Airlines named a 737 aircraft in honor of the late Capt. Marlon Green, who won a landmark legal battle to become the first African American pilot hired by a major U.S. passenger airline.
     Over 50 years ago, after serving nine years in the U.S. Air Force, Marlon Green was rejected by every airline at which he applied, including Continental. Capt. Green began work with Continental in 1965 after a six-year lawsuit, which ended in his favor in the U.S. Supreme Court. He became the first African American pilot at any major U.S. passenger airline.
     “Capt. Green was a pioneer who was willing to challenge the unacceptable status quo of the time and paved the way for the most qualified applicants to be hired regardless of the color of their skin,” said Jeff Smisek, President and CEO United Airlines.
      “His bold actions helped to make us a company of great diversity.”
     Today, the 737 named in Captain Green’s honor is flying between Los Angeles and Cleveland.

Our Martin Changed Air Cargo

     If you want to learn about August Martin, the great air cargo pilot who flew for Seaboard World Airlines during the 1950’s, and was also the first black man to captain a U.S. flag air cargo airplane, you better plan on either using your old Funk & Wagnall’s Encyclopedia, or visiting the wonderful high school located near JFK International Airport in Queens New York City named in honor of the air pioneer.
     The name August Martin as an internet search, most often comes up as “August” 28, 1963, when “Martin” Luther King delivered his never to be forgotten “I Have A Dream,” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
     This August Martin, a gentle man would go down in history as the first African American to serve as Captain on a U.S. scheduled airline.
     Put another way, before “Augie” as his friends called him, there had never been a black airline captain on the bridge of any U.S. flag airline.
     Although he flew for other carriers, including El Al Israel Airlines and a company called Buffalo Skylines between 1946 and 1955, it was Seaboard World Airlines, an air cargo company, which hired Augie and broke through a glass ceiling in American culture.
     Air cargo put a great aviation pioneer, who happened to be black, in the left seat.
     August Martin, who was born in 1916 had aviation blood in his veins.
     He worked all his life to be a pilot, training as a youngster to fly small prop jobs and later during World War II as a front line Mitchell B26 bomber pilot.
     He also took training at the Tuskegee, Alabama base, which spawned the legendary black pilots who gained fame as The Tuskegee Air Men.
     While awaiting his big break with a scheduled U.S. flag carrier, Augie worked as a stevedore on the New York docks to make ends meet.
     But when SWA came a knocking, August Martin was ready.
     For the next thirteen years Martin piloted the legendary all-cargo aircraft of SWA, including the Lockheed Constellation, Canadair CL44 swing-tail freighter, Douglas DC-4 and DC-6 among others.
     August Martin was not just about breaking through for himself. Augie also gave back big time.
     Often, he would donate his off time and vacations, flying supplies to the impoverished in Africa, and other points of emergency and need around the world.
     On July 1, 1968 August Martin was killed aboard just such a flight when his cargo-laden aircraft crashed in a blinding rainstorm as he attempted to land in Biafra, Africa.
     Today, in modern air cargo circles not much is known or said about August Martin.
     Air cargo groups and organizations, and increasingly publications yearly name people to this and that “Hall of Fame,” blithely unaware that one of the truly, great firsts in the history of air cargo was a black man with the rank and responsibility of Captain of a great international airline.
     August Martin deserves charter membership in any air cargo “Hall of Fame.”
     Here was a guy who not only makes us proud, he makes us look good.
     History demands the truth.
Geoffrey

LUG Abuilding Adds Tschirch

     Patrick Tschirch (left) will leave Air Canada to become Key Account and Business Development Manager at Frankfurt-based ground service agent, LUG Aircargo Handling GmbH.
     The 40-year-old Tschirch will take over his new duty February 1, 2011.
     After graduating as forwarding agent, he took on assignments at American Airlines Cargo and Cathay Pacific Cargo before joining Air Canada Cargo as cargo manager Germany and northern Europe.
     As a member of the LUG management team, Tschirch will be in charge of coordinating strategic matters and biz development.
     He will report to Managing Director Wolfgang Korte (right).
     The 1966-established ground handler is increasing its activities, mainly at Frankfurt’s Rhein-Main airport and Munich.
     Next September a newly constructed 11,000 square mile warehouse will be operational at Frankfurt’s Cargo City South, upping the handling capacity remarkably.
     “This apron-adjoining facility guarantees our company’s further growth,” states Korte.
     Enlarging LUG’s handling network throughout Germany will further stimulate growth.
     According to Managing Director Wolfgang Korte, his LUG handled 230,000 tons of air freight last year for as many as twenty international mandate carriers.
     The company runs warehouses in Frankfurt and Munich with a total capacity of 24,500 square meters.
Heiner Siegmund/Flossie Arend

Dr. Otto Makes A House Call

     Dr. Andreas Otto, Executive Board Member Product and Sales and a member and dedicated supporter of the Schalke Soccer Club, is ebullient prior to a recent match between Hamburg and Schalke after predicting that Schalke would beat Hamburg 7:0!
     The guy in the background wears an Emirates T-shirt as Hamburg Soccer gets its main sponsor juice from the Dubai carrier.
     As it turned out, Schalke lost 1:0.
     Schalke's main financial partner is Russian energy giant Gazprom.
     From the sponsor's view, Emirates beat Gazprom 1:0.
     From a PR point of view, it was no contest!
     Score one for Otto, who knows how to read the temperature when a camera is hot.
Heiner/Geoffrey

B787 Blunder 707 Best

     Boeing, which has bet the company on every commercial airplane it has brought to market, is looking like a gigantic loser with its B787.
     This is not about the ten or eleven delays it took to get the twinjet to market – delays associated with any new airplane, let alone a composite. What the B787 will suffer from in the long run is its size.
     At least that is what R.E.G. Davies, Senior Curator of Air Transport at The National Air & Space Museum, thinks.
     “It's (B787) a colossal mistake because 75 percent of the density of airline traffic flies across only about 25 percent of world air routes.
     “In its biggest version, the B787 simply will not carry enough people.
     “Now we are hearing of a French company that will configure A380 in all-coach to carry up to 800 plus.
     “I fully expect that a 1,000 seat A380 will be offered at some point, as Airbus will do what all aircraft manufacturers do by adding another length to the giant jumbos tube.”
     We asked the 89-year-old Davies what, in his opinion, is the best airplane ever built, and his answer is immediate:
     “The B707 is the best, especially because the tube of the B707 appeared as the B727, B757, and B737 and Boeing has been able, via some 7,000 aircraft built, to make money with various reincarnations for the B707 tube.”
     Mr. Davies, who contributes regularly to FlyingTypers, has just completed a new book – a monumental volume for Smithsonian Press that traces aircraft of the jet age and will appear this Spring.
Geoffrey/Flossie

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