JFK
Air Cargo Meet March 31
Once upon a time, I used to sit and
watch air cargo come and go from John F. Kennedy International Airport.
My vantage point was the basement of a small hotel, The Jade East, which
was located on a street with the decidedly unromantic name of South
Conduit Blvd.
The Jade East was a “short stay”
hotel where people would discreetly park out back and slip in and out
of the place 24/7.
But my friends Paul & Howard Abrams,
who owned Jade East and an even smaller place called “The Crown”
over on Rockaway Blvd., across the street from the old Eddie Arcaro’s
Steak House (named for a jockey who got famous at the nearby Aqueduct
Race Track), took pity on a struggling journalist whose eyes were set
on the heavens and the cargo area. The Abrams rented us some space and
Air Cargo News was born.
We spent all of our years in the print
business thinking about JFK air cargo. Even after spending 23 years
in offices inside The Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia, JFK, our hometown
airport came first and foremost, even though we branched out to other
gateways.
Today the memory of the people we knew,
from Henry Kluck to John Grofik to Isaac Nijankin (who we still talk
to) to George Paetow to Jerry Trimboli to Rudy Auslander (we still hear
from Rudy) burns bright and clear of our days and nights, Idlewild to
JFK.
It’s been a long time and maybe
too long since we wrote about some air cargo activities at JFK.
So, first things first.
Here are some of the people shouldering
the Air Cargo Association at JFK today that you should know.
 Top
of the list is William “Willie” Mercado (left) of Aer Lingus
Cargo, who is President of The JFK based Air Cargo Association. First
Vice President is James McCaffrey; British Airways World Cargo Secretary
is Rene C. Espinet of Forward Air and Treasurer is James Burnett, Swiss
World Cargo (right).
Among the Directors of this pioneering
group of air cargo professionals serving the greatest city on the planet,
from what is now generally regarded as one of the worst airports on
earth, is Peter DeBenigno, Pace Motor Lines; Dolores Hofman, Queens
Air Services Development; Barry Medwed, KLM Cargo and others. Advisors
to this group include James Larsen, PANY & NJ (Retired), Robert
Arens, RNA Associates and past President Ginger Priolo, a pioneering
woman in air cargo.
You might wonder why this story begins
with a shot list of people.
Simply put, these folks (and some others)
are the heart and soul of organized air cargo in New York.
And although JFK Airport can no longer
say that it has an airport hotel that can handle a couple dozen booths
and an audience at some meeting sessions, JFK Air Cargo Association
folks have moved off-airport to a small community near the big airport
called Howard Beach.
To host its Air Cargo Expo 2011, on March
31st the Air Cargo Association has taken over a big wedding and banquet
hall called Russo’s On The Bay, which has space galore, valet
parking and an elevator that allows the guest of honor to arrive through
the center of the dance floor, if necessary.
 Whether
Jeff Pearse, newly named Deputy Director of Aviation of the JFK airport
operator, will pop up through the floor to deliver his opening remarks
remains to be seen, but our hats are off to Willie Mercado and the air
cargo team at ACA that has shepherded this association for the half
dozen years since Jim Larsen, who was non-stop ACA President and “Father
Superior of the ACA Expo,” packed it in to enjoy a well-deserved
retirement.
Jim is now devoting his life to Annette
and the grandkids and doing guided tours of the Hindenburg base at Lakehurst,
New Jersey.
Willie, in his stellar effort for this
Air Cargo Association, joins a select group of executives all over the
world whose support and active effort makes their local cargo club tick
for gateway stakeholders.
Harald Hagans, Kevin Madden & Robert
Kennedy in Atlanta, and Tina Hickler at Frankfurt are some names that
come to mind when speaking of invaluable members of a couple of local
air cargo clubs.
But whether in Hong Kong where Dora Kay
comes from, or LAX where Ernest Schimmer at 80-something still shows
up occasionally, local air cargo clubs the world over can salute the
stalwarts who turn up and shoulder responsibilities to keep organized
air cargo clubs in business.
“Our Expo for 2011 is a one-day,
morning until late afternoon event that features top industry professionals
discussing the dynamics and challenges of regulatory changes and modal
impacts,” Willie Mercado said.
“We have invited panelists for our
single morning session that include people like Douglas Brittin, TSA
General Manager for Air Cargo, and Bruce Campbell, President, CEO, and
Chairman of Forward Air.
“The exhibition portion of the event
features displays of products and services and plenty of time for direct
face-to-face interaction and networking with airline, freight forwarder,
and other decision-makers in a dedicated and focused environment.
“JFK Air Cargo EXPO Sponsorship
opportunities continue to provide organizations with an attractive and
cost-effective way of marketing an organization’s goods, services,
and brand image to key air cargo industry decision-makers.
"The centerpiece of Air Cargo Day
will be a grand luncheon, New York City style, featuring keynote speaker
Robbie Anderson, President, United Cargo,” Willie Mercado said.
“Robbie, who is working to pull
together the air cargo resources of both UAL and Continental, will share
his views on the challenges and opportunities facing both that effort
and also the air cargo industry.
“Everyone is looking forward to
hearing from Mr. Anderson who makes one of his first public appearances
since attaining his position at the new United Worldwide Cargo.
A postscript to all of this is that ACA
in conducting its event in Howard Beach harkens back to a time when
Howard Beach was reportedly the home to some of the gangsters that regularly
ripped off JFK Cargo and hatched the infamous Lufthansa Cargo robbery
plan in 1978, which was the subject of the movie “Goodfellas.”
Allegedly, the actual plan was hatched
just off JFK’s main runways in a hangout called “The Owl.”
Well, in 2011, Howard Beach is venue to
a trade show to boost air cargo, and “The Owl” has been
transformed, from a gang hangout that featured porn videos at the bar
for breakfast, into a children’s day care center.
Unlike some portions of Goodfellas—you
simply cannot make this stuff up.
For further information on ACA Expo 2011
including various costs, sponsorships etc., go to www.jfkaircargo.org
Geoffrey Arend
|
Ocean
has to take caution when sailing, being careful to steer clear of
the Japan radiation zone as the U.S. (for example) has decreed a 50-mile
no sail zone as a baseline for ships who do not wish thorough inspection
before sailing to within 100 miles of the U.S. coastline.
Neel
Shah, (left) Senior Vice President and Chief Cargo Officer at Delta
Air Lines, noted:
Richard
{right} said, “We are in regular contact with government and
regulatory authorities in Japan and the U.S. to monitor the situation
in Japan. 
Last
Wednesday, as we celebrated the gala 250th anniversary of the big St.
Patrick’s Day parade held here in New York City, it’s worth
recalling that in the 35 plus years that we have been on the beat, Aer
Lingus Cargo has only had three sales managers in North America: Bill
Birnbach, Pat Phelan, and currently William Mercado.
Re:
