Vol. 11 No. 12                                  #INTHEAIREVERYWHERE                                           Tuesday February 5, 2013


 

eter Scholten, Saudi Arabian Cargo Company (SACC), VP Commercial, is one executive with a lot of ideas and a steely determination to see things through.
      Mr. Scholten climbed on board the Middle East carrier in October 2010 to shake things up, think outside the box, and otherwise work as an integral part of an executive team that is gradually turning things around for the air cargo prospects of this fabled legacy carrier.
      The past few years have worked well, despite business setbacks suffered by others, to bring the Saudia Cargo brand to new heights with an emphasis on innovation, process, and services.
      As 2013 moves quickly into February, Mr. Scholten looks at the landscape and future prospects for Saudia Cargo business.
      “Last year 2012 was another very challenging year.
      “I am not complaining, as we are getting used to this being the norm as demonstrated in our industry for the last 4-5 years.
      “In 2012, the air cargo market was tough everywhere, as everyone knows.
      “As a result, the global cargo market is still under pressure due to over capacity in all the major trade lanes.
      “The only area which is currently experiencing growth is belly capacity, albeit within the context of a declining overall market.
      “However, 2012 was a record year for Saudia Cargo.
      “We experienced continued growth, with January-November carried tons increasing by 19 percent and YTD revenue by 22 percent compared with 2011.
      “We have grown our business in the Greater China market with 15 percent by increasing our capacity in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou on the demand of our main clients.
      “We have also noticed that some other carriers were cutting capacity in this market.
      “Further we have been growing our business significantly in our home market, UAE, Bangladesh, Europe, and Kenya.
      “Last year again we didn’t see much of a old fashioned, pre-Christmas peak in the Far East.
      “What is absolutely becoming a new trend is a major peak of cargo to Saudi Arabia for the Ramadan season.
      “Looking ahead, the IATA forecast for the global cargo market in 2013 is similar to that for 2012, with revenues remaining the same (0 percent growth).
      “The market will continue to be marked by over capacity and further pressure on rates, with only belly capacity predicted to grow in a declining overall market.
      “At Saudia Cargo we plan to improve our product offering for 2013 and will be introducing new facilities for the transportation and storage of pharmaceutical products.
      “To this end, we are currently upgrading our cool chain facilities in Saudi Arabia so that we can transport and store pharmaceuticals at the required temperatures.
      “Other developments include an upgrade of our live animal product and the re-launch of our cargo baggage product. Overall development of our new cargo hub facility in Jeddah is proceeding according to plan.
      “We are in the process of finalizing the layout and obtaining the necessary approvals, with Phase 1 expected to be operational in 2014.
      “The long vision for Saudia Cargo is to continue expansion of our activities through the combined use of freighters and belly capacity.
      “Our team hopes to make Saudia Cargo one of the top 15 cargo airlines in the world.”
Geoffrey

     “Frau Nein” is the name Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine came up with when it made German Chancellor Angela Merkel its Person of The Year for 2012.
     In a fascinating, in-depth article by Frankfurt-based Jens Flottau, Chancellor Merkel emerges victorious from the aviation power game; she single-handedly shut down a proposed merger between EADS-BAE Systems, showing she’s got the power and is not afraid to use it.
     If Angela had supported the merger, the biggest company in the sector would have been created—bigger than Boeing, with annual revenues exceeding 100 billion.
     Not even last minute appeals by both the British Prime Minister and President of France to get the deal done moved Angela Merkel from shutting down the merger, which would have seen government ownership of EADS greatly reduced.
     Now in 2013, with Germany a direct and major shareholder of EADS, and BAE fading in the rearview mirror, the grand European aviation scheme will continue with Germany owning and influencing EADS with as many shares as France (12 percent), with 4 percent owned by Spain.
     EADS, which would have emerged from a merger with less government ownership, today has more.
     In this politically driven European epoch, AW&ST reminds us:
     “Since 2006, Person of the Year has recognized individuals who had the most impact on the aerospace, defense, or aviation industries—for better or worse.”
More www.aviationweek.com.
Geoffrey

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(L-R) IBS’ Mathew M. Baby, Vice President and Head of Airline Cargo Services; Sankalp Saxena, President & Head of Aviation Operations Services; and V. K. Mathews, Founder & Executive Chairman, with Hans-Guenther Loeffler, Acting Consul General, German Consulate, Bangalore; Lufthansa Cargo’s Dr. Roland Schütz, Vice President, Information Management (CIO); and Thomas Sonntag, Vice President, Procurement and Infrastructure (CPO) at the announcement to launch the partnership between IBS and Lufthansa Cargo.

     "To be chosen by an iconic airline like Lufthansa is a significant step in our endeavor to make iCargo the No.1 air cargo management solution in the world,” said a justifiably proud V.K. Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group from Trivandrum, speaking about the recent contract with Lufthansa Cargo AG (LCAG), the airline cargo service provider in the Lufthansa Group.
     He went on to tell ACNFT: “We expect to add substantial business value to LCAG and be a transformational partner in their quest to achieve increased operational efficiencies and growth.”
     The partnership between the Indian IT major and Lufthansa was a testimony to the Indian company’s capability, professionalism, and commitment to support the requirements of global organizations. To top it all, IBS has proved to all that its disciplined business practices were one of the major issues that prompted Lufthansa to choose its services.
     “It is indeed a defining moment for IBS and heralds the beginning of a long and productive business relationship," commented Mathews.

     IBS’ contract with Lufthansa Cargo is for the implementation of the iCargo solution that will manage the airlines' entire air cargo movement worldwide. The contract, one of the largest IT system deals by the Lufthansa Group, will end the legacy Unisys based MOSAIK application that the carrier has been using for the last 30-odd years.
     Once implemented, iCargo will have a user base of over 4,000 staff members and will interface seamlessly with a host of other system applications within the IT landscape of the airline. While Lufthansa Systems will provide comprehensive consulting services during and after the implementation phase, it will also host the solution at its own data center in Kelsterbach near Frankfurt, and will ensure compatibility with the remaining IT landscape of Lufthansa Cargo.
     Commenting about the selection procedure, Dr. Roland Schütz, CIO of Lufthansa Cargo AG, pointed out that "the thorough selection process” (IBS was chosen from among 400 solution providers after an intense selection process that began 18 months ago) proved that IBS not only has “a great product” but also “the utmost comprehensive solution…and has been assessed as the best choice for our initiative.”
     Dr. Schütz also said “the clear differentiator is the state of the art architecture/technology as well as the skilled employees.” What ensured the nod from Lufthansa for IBS was the fact that iCargo was unique “in offering consistent process support with its single platform, ranging from sales processes to handling as well as ULD management and up to revenue accounting. This mix of strengths has clearly convinced us. The decision is perceived as a major milestone towards materializing and enabling our joint visions," said the CIO.
     Mathews pointed out that iCargo would manage the key business functions of the airline, from sales processes up to the cargo terminal operations functions. The real time availability of operational information through iCargo would help generate actionable intelligence, which would improve the overall utilization of assets, revenue generation, and operational efficiencies.
     IBS sources said that more than 20 global airlines depended on iCargo to manage their mission critical cargo logistics, including All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Qantas, South African Airways, and Nippon Cargo Airlines. Since its launch in 2006, the application has emerged as “the most definitive cargo management IT solutions in the global aviation industry.” According to Mathews, today more than 70 percent of the cargo movement in and out of Australia is managed by IBS’ iCargo.
Tirthankar Ghosh

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