What happens when a well-seasoned, former head of Cargolux and one-time champion President of The International Cargo Association (TIACA) leverages his great leadership skills for the betterment of air cargo?
      In this tale, that person lands the job of a lifetime, which is exactly what happened when Mr. Ulrich Ogiermann took the reigns as Chief Officer Cargo of Qatar Airways a few years ago.
      Since then, the always understated and somewhat self-effacing Uli has been mostly out of the news as his charge, Qatar Cargo, has steadily moved to the top rankings in the airline business.
      Could things be any better for this German-born renaissance cargo man?
      There is no sign from Doha of a let up, either, as 2017 rolls along.
      The airline cargo resource with the image of a gazelle emblazoned on its aircraft tails is jumping to new heights.
      “No doubt,” Uli said, “2016 is another year of record growth for Qatar Airways Cargo, thanks to our customers for their continuous support and business.
      “Having received three B777 freighters and launched six new freighter services into the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia last year, we remain the largest scheduled fleet of freighters in the industry.” 

Qatar Cargo Trending

      “We have consistently gone against the trend in terms of growth in recent years, from position sixteen to number three in IATA’s international FTK rankings in just five years and the only carrier in the Top 10 who grew market share over 2015.”

Qatar Charter

      “Today, our fleet includes eight Airbus 330, eleven Boeing 777 freighters, and two Boeing 747-400 freighters.
      “Our expanding fleet count makes us a real charter player.
      “It may seem a tough environment in the industry at the moment, but with our strategic planning in network and freighter deployment, it will be a turning point for the market with Q4 signalling better things to come.”

Expanson Ahead In 2017

      “Network and fleet expansion remains our key focus this year. 
      “The airline has recently made the announcement of 15 new passenger gateways for 2017-18, in tandem with the extensive deliveries of A350, B777, and A380 passenger aircraft.  
      “On the freighter front, we will be receiving two B777 freighters in 2017, taking our total fleet count to twenty-three. 
      “We anticipate a significant upsurge in both bellyhold and freighter capacity in months to come.”

New Destinations

      “We will soon be launching three new freighter destinations into Latin America, i.e. Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Quito; and further expand our freighter network in the United States with the addition of Miami (Florida).
      “The launch of this new freighter route next month in February 2017 entails great business and network growth for the cargo carrier as it brings the cargo carrier’s total freighter destinations in the Americas to 12 while offering belly-hold services to 13 cities on the continent.
      “Customer-first and service excellence is key to our sustainable growth. 
      “We will continue to focus on a successive launch and enhancement of our new products such as QR Mail, addressing the burgeoning e-commerce segment, and QR Express, offering industry-leading rapid delivery for time-critical shipments.”

We Can Work It Out

      “To match our growing capacity with the quality of our products and services, we will continue to work with our key stakeholders, such as IATA, and regulatory authorities to ensure dedicated compliance and adoption of advanced business processes, technology, and operation procedures.
      “Our aim is to uphold our top three position on IATA’s Cargo iQ quality ranking.”

The Climate Is Right

      “Investing in the future, we are developing an advanced Climate Control Centre in response to growing global demand in specialized air freight solutions for temperature-sensitive products,” Uli said.
      “Our new 2,471-square meter facility is expected to be commissioned in early 2017.
      “We will also activate an industry-leading temperature-controlled ramp handling system, including temperature and location visibility on ramp.
      “The industry is moving towards e-air waybill, the electronic interaction and booking system. Qatar Airways Cargo will continue to invest and enhance in IT infrastructure, enhancing our customer experience strategy.  “We are pleased to observe the growing user base on our recently launched Online Services, which offers e-bookings and other online activities. The system is powered by CROAMIS, our world-class in-house system that digitalizes end-to-end cargo processes.”

Qatar Loves Forwarders

      “We do not seek to disintermediate the freight forwarders in the supply chain,” Uli declared, “but rather we do look for opportunities to get closer to them and their clients where we can add value by making strategic network developments as well as quality product and service offerings. 
      “A good example is our constant investment in creating and expanding our QR Pharma express services for high-demand routes i.e. Brussels, Basel, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad,” he said.

Employees & Customers

      “Our customer proposition is a simple one that we place at the very heart of our business,” Uli said. 
      “We call it ‘The 3 Rs,’ i.e. rates, reliability, and relationship. 
      “Every Qatar Airways Cargo employee must focus on contributing to these strategic pillars, corresponding to their areas of responsibilities, roles, and expertise. 
      “We remain highly supportive and creative when providing our customers with specialized air freight solutions to meet their needs. 
      “It is imperative for us to build trust and long-term business relationships with our customers through our sincerity and commitments as their preferred service provider.”

How We Improve Coming In Second

      “Staying ahead of competition, we emphasize achieving consistency of handling in terms of safety, security, quality, and operational delivery across the globe. 
      “This is not an easy task, yet we set high standards for these disciplines. 
      “With the new (second) cargo terminal underway, it underlines our commitment to not only enhance our capacity, capability, and efficiency, but more importantly, to perfect our customer service and best-in-class air freight products,” Uli concluded. 

Change For The Better

      “In my view, revenue uncertainty continues to be the biggest challenge for the industry. 
      “During the past two years the air cargo sector has seen further declines in yield, but at the same time shippers continue to protest about cost, poor levels of information technology, and reliability, while asset owners grumble about commoditization and eroding margins. 
      “This, coupled with the fragmented nature of the supply chain results in a two-class system: winners and losers. 
      “And it is increasingly difficult to predict which camp one will fall into at any given moment in time. 
      “As an industry, we are old-fashioned and slow to adopt practices to deal with these issues that comparable markets embraced a long time ago. 
      “We must find faster, more accurate ways to complete the deal-making between the demand and supply side of air cargo. 
      “Spot rates negotiated over telephone calls should already be a thing of the past. 
      “And before we congratulate ourselves for the growth in online bookings, let’s face up to the reality that often these are just a façade masking the same old processes. 
      “Instead we must fix the issues upstream by embracing big data, analytics, and forecasting, using modern tools to drive better pricing decisions, and we must be prepared to seal those deals with more than just a handshake. 
      “Risk-taking must be formalized, managed, and transacted through fully automated distribution methods. 
      “Everyone else is doing it. 
      “It is time for air cargo to catch up with the 21st century,” said Uli Ogiermann.
Geoffrey