#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE

      (Abu Dhabi) As IATA’s Annual Airline Cargo Meeting, now branded World Cargo Symposium, kicks off in Abu Dhabi today, March 13, amidst a gaggle of press, glitz, and enough back-to-back and belly-to-belly sessions (some running concurrently over a three-day period) to induce vertigo or maybe even nausea, FlyingTypers looks to the day that counts at this event above all the others. On Tuesday, March 14, everybody is in the same room at the same time for the Opening Plenary.

Good & Plenary

      The Opening Plenary is always the compact, most incisive information feed of this event. It offers the usual suspects, which this year includes local UAE dignitaries, host airline Etihad CEO Jim Hogan, IATA officials, and others delivering twenty-minute reports and position presentations.

Who We Are On The Half Shell

      In most cases, these presentations offer cameo-type glimpses of the many private sessions—a kind of ‘who we are’ glimpse minus the grittier ‘what we think’ conversations that occur in the ‘members only’ events IATA conducts.

A Clear Voice

      We look to a non-IATA member who is in Abu Dhabi this week and always seems to be out front, putting facts and figures into the words most often repeated after any conference he attends.

On The Marco Reports

      In a place where ‘what have you done for me lately?’ can often translate (at least amongst the airline chieftains) into ‘why the hell am I here?’ there is Marco Bloeman, (above) Senior Vice President of Seabury, the Netherlands-based aviation, aerospace, maritime, and financial services company. He is a clear voice of reason, delivering wisdom and words to savor and offering the maximum WCS takeaway.
      Mr. Bloeman is on the spot for 20 minutes at 15:00 on Tuesday afternoon.

The Seabury View

      Here are some views from the Seabury year end (2016) report.
      In line with 2016, we do not expect air trade to grow much faster than GDP, as it used to in the last century,” Mr. Bloeman points out.

The Constant Is The Rule

      “Some things,” Marco Bloeman said, “won’t change. We expect emerging markets will continue to outperform developed markets in terms of growth.
      “South and Southeast Asia are places to watch for relative growth, while China, even amid dire warnings about an economic slowdown, will still post growth in absolute terms.”

Air Cargo Wake Up Call

      “For the air cargo sector, there will be good news and bad news.
      “Declines in the volumes of laptops needing transportation by air may not be as dramatic as in 2016, but that said, there is no new high-tech commodity in line to fill the gap.
      “Perishables will continue to grow faster than other sectors, fuelled by rising demand for fresh flowers, fruit, and fish across the globe.”

High Flying USA Airlines

      “U.S.-based carriers can expect to enjoy some relief as currency exchange headwinds will continue to stifle currency effects as well as by an increase in air freight capacity.
      “Overall, demand for air freight worldwide should show moderate growth in 2017, but with wide body belly capacity increasing by 5-6 percent as well as the delivery of new freighters due in 2017, the issue of overcapacity will dominate the industry this year as well,” Marco Bloeman concluded.
Geoffrey