One
of the greatest air cargo executives
in history is Jacques Ancher
of KLM.
When
he retired almost 15 years ago,
Jacques decided to never be
heard from again in air cargo
circles.
But
Jacques has finally broken his
silence for Malkin:
Dear
Dick,
Congratulations;
100 years is a very, very
respectful age.
You
have been living and writing
air cargo from the beginning
and right from the center.
In
our discussions we recognized
the potential for our
business in global trade,
and tried ‘to change
the world.’
It
is still there.
You
are a brilliant listener
and a great understander.
Thank
you for the integrity
and trust. Enjoy your
birthday.
With kind regards,
Jacques Ancher |
While
we knew him, Malkin would
often refer to “Shura.”
Shura,
it turns out, is Shura
Bary, a West Coast-based
public relations consul
who also happens to be
a first-rate writer. He
recalls his lifetime friend:
Richard (Dick) Malkin,
who celebrates his 100th
birthday on June 27, is
the unquestioned dean
of air freight journalists.
Dick was far more than
a chronicler of the infant
air cargo industry just
after World War II, however.
He was a passionate believer
in air freight as a transporter
of all kinds of cargo
to any point on the globe
when air cargo was little
more than a conveyer of
emergency shipments.
Dick
has lived to see air freight
grow from tiny cargo space
on a DC-3 holding no more
than a few packages to
massive 747-8s and 777-Fs
carrying hundreds of tons
of freight halfway around
the globe . . . A business,
which was too insignificant
to be listed in government
transportation statistics
seventy years ago to a
$100 billion industry
today.
Dick
has interviewed the greats
of the industry in his
long career.
They
include John Emery, Sr.,
who founded the modern
air freight forwarding
industry, Fred Smith of
FedEx who almost single-handedly
created the air express
industry, Larry Rodberg
of Burlington Northern
Air Freight who demonstrated
that air and surface transportation
could work together, and
Guenter Rohrmann who proved
to heavy machine companies
like Caterpillar that
air cargo was a reliable,
efficient conveyor of
industrial cargo.
Dick
didn’t interview
only the greats of the
industry.
He
spoke to workers at planeside
loading aircraft, to back
office employees grinding
out airway bills, to phone
operators taking customers’
orders on the telephone,
all to get a feel of the
industry from the people
in the trenches who performed
the day to day work of
airlines and forwarders.
Dick
is a quiet man.
He
never loudly demanded
information from the subjects
he interviewed, but always
got the story.
He
could be seen at industry
press conferences and
meetings quietly chatting
with executives but always
asking them incisive,
news-making questions.
Dick
often knew more about
the subject than the person
he was interviewing, but
rarely showed his knowledge.
In
the classic tradition
of responsible journalism,
his job was to obtain
information, not proffer
his own thoughts.
In
his long career, Dick
was first and last an
air freight journalist.
He
was interested in other
subjects, but primarily
as they related to the
subject of air freight.
His
Rolodex file probably
contained the names of
more men, and later, women,
in the industry than anyone
else.
Cargo
publications came and
went but Dick seemingly
went on forever.
Living
quietly in Floral Park,
NY, today, Dick is the
grand old man in air cargo.
May
his wisdom, understanding,
and skillful writing be
replicated in younger
journalists today.
|
One
of the all-time greats
in the global air cargo
industry is Bill Boesch,
who served as top cargo
executive at Pan American
Clipper Cargo and American
Airlines, and who was
elected to the TIACA Hall
of Fame last month in
a ceremony in Dallas,
Texas. He also most recently
served the U.S. military,
saving thousands of soldiers’
lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bill
wrote this about Dick
Malkin:
Richard Malkin is 100
this year.
Born in 1913, he landed
on earth just about a
decade after the Wright
Brothers first flight
at Kitty Hawk in 1903.
He was born at the dawn
of aviation and has lived
through and been part
of an astounding series
of aviation firsts of
the 20th and 21st century.
Richard
was alive when it all
happened. Although just
a kid at the time, he
saw the development of
air power in WW I.
He
was alive when the first
official US airmail flights
operated in 1918 and when
Lindbergh emerged suddenly
from virtual obscurity
to instantaneous world
fame as the result of
his solo non-stop flight
on May 20–21, 1927,
made from Roosevelt Field
located in Garden City
on New York's Long Island
to Le Bourget Field in
Paris.
Richard
grew up during the age
of the giant airships
and was still quite a
young man at their demise
with the Hindenburg disaster
on Thursday, May 6, 1937,
as the German passenger
airship LZ 129 caught
fire and was destroyed
during its attempt to
dock with its mooring
mast at the Lakehurst
Naval Air Station, located
adjacent to the borough
of Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Richard
Malkin was a teenager
at the dawn of commercial
airlines when Pan Am started
flights in 1927, and was
in his 20s when Clippers
flew to Europe, South
America, and Asia.
Richard
Malkin was writing about
air cargo when Howard
Hughes flew the Spruce
Goose on November 2, 1947,
and was eyewitness to
the major aircraft developments
during and immediately
after WWII.
He
witnessed the Berlin Airlift,
and at times was even
there up close and personal
from June 24, 1948, to
May 12, 1949.
He
covered the dawn of the
air cargo carriers after
WWII, like Flying Tigers,
Slick, Seaboard, and others.
He
was aboard the first flights
at the dawn of the jet
age with the first DC-8
flight in 1967.
He
has written about the
air cargo industries effort
to supply our troops in
Korea, Vietnam, and lately
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He saw the oil embargo
and the increase in fuel
prices that changed the
airline industry forever.
Airline
deregulation in 1978 appeared
in his writings, as did
the closing of the USA
CAB, and the impact that
change brought to aviation.
Richard
Malkin reported the first
B747 flown by Pan Am (flight
845), operating as a scheduled
international passenger
flight between Los Angeles,
CA, and Tokyo, on July
30, 1971, and then he
witnessed the first cargo
B747F shortly after that
as Lufthansa changed the
air cargo industry.
Many
of the great U.S. airline
companies failed during
the Richard Malkin years,
including Eastern, Pan
Am, TWA, Seaboard, Flying
Tigers, Northwest, etc.
Present
at the dawn and tracking
the growth of the express
industry with Federal
Express, Richard told
us of the exploits of
Fed Ex, UPS, Emery, and
the USPS.
The
Richard Malkin era in
air cargo even extended
into step changes in the
industry as a result of
the computer and IT systems.
He
was also with us when
terrorism shuffled the
deck and changed the airline
industry after 911.
Malkin
witnessed it all and when
you think about it, for
many years he lived the
things that many
of us only read as the
history of the airline
industry.
Those
times must have been truly
exciting, just as it is
for Dick Malkin to be
100.
Happy
Birthday Dick Malkin!
|
Before
his tenure as Cargo Development
Manager for The Port Authority
of New York & New
Jersey, Jim Larsen was
at Seaboard World Airways;
he is the ultimate air
cargo guy who knows the
business from the ground
up and was present at
the creation of many aspects
of modern air cargo.
Today
from his home near Lakehurst,
New Jersey, where he keeps
a weathered eye out for
air cargo, he shares a
moment about Richard Malkin:
I
didn't really get to meet
Dick until 1990.
By then his career was,
more or less, winding
down, but still I was
fascinated with this man
who, to me, had joined
the air cargo industry
in its infancy.
At
that time the Berlin Airlift
was something everyone
knew about, but to have
actually been there and
taken part in it would
have been the fulfillment
of a dream.
Since
then I read his books
and have had a growing
admiration for Dick, the
pioneer.
Keep
flying the cargo routes,
Dick.
See
you along the way! |
Joel
Ditkowsky is a pillar
of the New York cargo
community, having served
as long time Chairman
of the Board of The JFK
Airport Customs Brokers
& Freight Forwarders
Assn., and the Regulatory
Compliance Director of
The Long Island Import
Export Association.
At
heart he is a Customs
Broker, whom we recall
spending happy hours with
in the old JFK Cargo Building,
long ago, when we were
pushing our newspaper.
What
can I say about Dick Malkin,
other than Blessed Happy
100th Birthday and 200
more to a wonderful gentleman
that I was introduced
to a long time ago, by
my dear friend Tony Calabrese,
who founded and then led
Cargo Network Services
(CNS).
It was at my first CNS
Partnership Conference
where I met Richard Malkin.
What a blessing, and what
a talented writer you
have always been for all
of us in every part of
air cargo.
At our first meeting I
mentioned to Dick that
I was the regulatory freight
brokers global services
customs compliance director,
and that I formed my own
customs consulting company
called Customs Compliance
Consultants, Inc.
Dick was wonderful, and
was very helpful in writing
articles that appeared
in the CNS Focus Magazine
talking about me, my background,
my current ventures and
future goals.
Dick came through big
time, as his articles
focused on me and made
me sound (believe it or
not) super intelligent.
After three articles,
I advised Dick that I
would adopt him, but he
politely declined.
Richard Malkin, in my
opinion and most others
in the industry, is one
of the most learned individuals
any of us will likely
ever meet in air cargo.
Today in 2013 I must admit
I miss meeting Dick at
his diner, close to his
home, as most of the interviews
he conducted were done
at that diner.
Again, Happy Birthday
Richard Malkin!
|
Jens
Tubbesing, Immediate Past
President of IATA Cargo
Network Services talks
about “my friend,
Richard Malkin.”
I have known Dick since
2005 when he first interviewed
me prior to joining CNS
for The CNS Focus Magazine.
As always, he was well
prepared and his questions
were thoughtful and detailed.
I on the other hand tried
to wing most of my answers.
We
came to one specific question
and I was using a lot
of words without really
saying anything.
His
response to me was: ‘well,
you clearly do not know
much about this subject,
so we will leave this
question out of the interview…’
As
with most people he interviewed,
once the final article
came out, I was amazed
how brilliant he made
me look in the end.
When
I became CNS president
in 2006, Dick was still
the editor of CNS
Focus Magazine and
we began to work very
closely together.
Our
discussions ranged from
topics for the magazine
to the content of the
annual CNS Partnership
Conference.
It
was always quite enjoyable
when we discussed the
person we planned for
him to interview for an
upcoming issue.
One
of his key questions was
always:
‘How
much experience does the
person have in air cargo?’
When
my reply was anything
short of 30 or 40 years,
Dick would say: ‘not
sure if the person does
have the necessary industry
knowledge yet…’
Our
friendship grew stronger
after CNS.
We
both got booted out and
shared a common bond.
When
we now meet at his diner
near his home in New Hyde
Park, New York, it is
quite astonishing how
close he still is to our
industry and how much
interest he shows in my
new venture as a GSA.
I
truly enjoy asking for
his input and advice,
as his responses are always
very profound and thoughtful.
Dick
is a perfect example of
an educated, cultured,
and genuinely kind person.
Conversations with him
range from work, to music
and literature, to family.
Never
once has he not inquired
about the well being of
my children and asked
about my oldest son’s
saxophone play.
He
truly inspires better
behavior, education, loyalty,
and friendship.
Of
all the people I have
gotten to know in our
industry over the years,
nobody has the character
of Dick Malkin.
I
am very honored and humbled
to call this man my friend.
Happy
100 years Birthday, Richard
Malkin, and many, many
more!”
|
I
can only think of a couple
of people who have made
a continued, dedicated
effort on behalf of air
cargo during a lifetime
effort.
Richard
Malkin leads that effort
and at this time as he
reaches an incredible
100 years of age, we send
our deepest, most sincere
best wishes for a glorious
celebration of his centennial
birthday and our hope
that he celebrates many,
many more.
I
was just a start-up in
the USA; a small fish
in a big pond with EMO
Trans, when he interviewed
me back in the early 1970s.
I
recall that he was quite
prepared, but also patient
and even suggestive to
the point where post-interview
I felt I had come away
with valuable information
that would be helpful
to me in my business.
I also remembered that
when the story appeared,
he referred to me as ‘the
dedicated, smart, youthful
executive.’
Those
words made me feel even
more confident that my
effort in air cargo was
indeed on the right track,
something in fact I have
carried with me ever since.
His
writings over the years
have had an enduring impact
and meaning to many of
us in air cargo.
So
in addition to Happy Birthday
Dick, thanks from Jo Frigger,
just one of your many
fans worldwide.” |
Jerry
Trimboli has been an air
cargo man for most of
his life.
But
during the era when he
served as top U.S. executive
at SAS Cargo and then
of his own company Interjet,
Jerry was instrumental
in supporting and building
organized USA cargo organizations
like CNS and others.
Jerry
Trimboli is a giant figure,
an expansive, forward-thinking
top executive during the
formative years of modern
air cargo.
Here
Jerry talks about Richard
Malkin:
Dick Malkin occupies a
unique position in air
cargo history as the first
and most prolific spokesman
for an entire industry
as it grew up.
His writings about our
industry were a major
driver that rallied the
entire air cargo universe
during the first fifty
years of our industry.
Richard
promoted air cargo with
incomparable skill and
plenty of heart and soul.
Dick
was, to many of us, an
honest, sincere and trustworthy
person who was always
willing to help.
He
truly earned the respect
of everyone in our industry
while he was active, but
now should also be remembered
in the new cargo century
for the standards he set
for air cargo journalism.
As
to my career, he assisted
me whenever we talked.
Dick
was like a brother to
me.
He
always had my back and
was helpful with any need,
including offering advice
and comfort.
He
is a distinctly American
man who has lived amongst
us now for 100 years,
following a rule of life
once described by Mark
Twain:
‘Always
do right,’ Twain
said.
‘This
will gratify some people,
and astonish the rest.’
So
Happy 100 Years, Richard
Malkin, from someone who
has admired you from the
first time
we met more than a half-century
ago.
I
am ever so grateful to
be able to tell you as
you reach this amazing
milestone, that I love
you. |
Joe
Berg, a dreamer and a
doer who graced the air
cargo industry with his
intelligence, charm, diligence,
and hard work for half
a century, and by any
measure can be counted
as part of that small
cadre of true pioneers
of the form of air freight
forwarding, is alive and
well and living in Stamford,
Connecticut.
Joe
once operated a Connecticut
company called Air Express
International “Wings
& Wheels.”
Along
the way, he changed the
way the world did air
cargo forever.
Although
the song of a grand lifetime
career has ended, the
melody lingers on.
Here
Joe sends out a greeting
to the old reporter.
It’s
nice to hear that I am
not the last of the old
lot still alive.
I still have a few years
to catch up to Dick.
We share today an unfortunate
handicap. We are both
deaf as a post.
I can recall Dick attending
any number of meetings
with his cupped hand to
his ear.
I
always wondered how he
was able to follow the
various speeches.
To
the small group of dedicated
air freight men with emphasis
on the international aspect
of the
trade, he was an excellent
spokesman. I trust he
still wears a moustache.
White,
I presume, and not dark
black as before, here
are my best wishes as
he enters his second hundred
years. |
Tony
Calabrese served as the
first President of IATA’s
Cargo Network Services
(CNS).
Here,
Tony recalls a half-century
of friendship.
As
Dick Malkin celebrates
his 100th Birthday, it
is important to recall
that three quarters of
that time was devoted
to the cause of Air Cargo.
I
have had the special honor
of his friendship for
more than 50 of those
years.
But
that does not make me
any more special than
the hundreds of individuals
who came, by purpose or
accident, into a new and
rapidly developing industry
.
Over
the years Dick not only
kept us informed, but
influenced the development
of our careers.
Airline
or agent executive, he
was often the behind-the-scene
author of our speeches.
His
interviews always turned
out better than the material
we provided and he never
exposed our failings.
At
CNS we were fortunate
that Dick was available
to shape and guide the
early development of our
magazine, CNS Focus.
And,
although he cautioned
us early on about the
idea of an Airline/Agent
Forum, The CNS Partnership
Conference, he stood up
to every task and made
things much better by
his kind advice and constant
presence as a major contributor
to the CNS Partnership
Conference.
His
surveys and analysis gave
CNS new insights about
the world of air cargo,
which enhanced
our programs.
Dick
Malkin's love for this
industry has touched us
all.
I
wish him a most wonderful
100th Birthday. |
Wow,
100 years young. That
is how I can describe
Dick. He has been a good
buddy and is the original
air cargo guy of our industry.
He helped me make decisions.
I am 10 years in retirement
and you have made me think
back.
I
met Dick when I decided
to leave Air France for
Philippine (PAL) Airlines,
way back. PAL was located
in the KLM Building on
5th avenue and 49th street.
Dick had a special relationship
with KLM; you can see
a nice collection of Dutch
houses in his living room.
By
the way, he also has a
wonderful collection of
classical records, too.
I
met Dick at a luncheon
and we talked about PAL
and Air France. He told
me that REA Express was
going to go into air cargo,
and I should talk to the
VP International, another
Dutchman, Visser. So I
did, and joined them and
helped to put together
the air cargo sales group.
When the company was bought
by a few over the road
guys, I was made Assistant
Vice President of International.
I put things together.
Not happy after some time,
I made contact with Kuehne
and Nagel; Dick told me
that this was a great
and very large company
and I could do well there.
So I took his advice and
moved to K+N as VP Air
Cargo USA.
Dick
said I should join the
Wings Club, which I did.
We had nice lunches together
and I was always amazed
at what he knew about
the industry. Of course
he was the first to report
on air cargo in a new
magazine, called Air Cargo.
He and a consultant friend
introduced me to the chairman
of Aircontactgruppen,
based in Oslo, Norway.
That meeting had me open
Aircontact Inc. as President.
A few years later I was
approached by the Virgin
Group, met Richard Branson
on his Thames River boat,
and joined the new airline.
Dick said they could go
places, but was not sure
if they could compete.
Well it seems they did.
I joined them and moved
up to President, Cargo.
I
think that Dick had a
great influence for me.
Here was a true air cargo
person who knew everyone
in the business. He had
the details and the info
to tell the story of our
great industry.
When we talked he always
was so proud of his Hollywood
son and his daughter.
I have not talked with
Dick for a long time.
I am so happy for him
to be recognized by the
industry, and to hit the
100 mark, God bless.
I
hope he remembers everything
he did for me.
|
For
several decades during
the 1970s onward until
the mid 1990s, Pat Phelan
was not only the top air
cargo executive from Aer
Lingus in USA, but because
of his involvement in
various industry organizations
such as IATA and especially
Cargo Network Services
(CNS), Mr. Phelan was
also a global air cargo
pioneer and leader.
Here
Pat shares some thoughts
about Richard Malkin.
Richard
Malkin has had a special,
long-term association
with Ireland, commencing
in 1955 when he was grounded
at SNN due to bad weather.
He
was made an Honorary Fellow
of the Irish International
Freight Association (IIFA)
in 1978 and he returned
to Ireland for the last
time in October 2003 for
an (IIFA) reception at
Dublin Airport.
During
this visit Richard was
also Guest of Honor at
Shannon Chamber of Commerce,
in recognition of his
contribution to the area
and his involvement in
the development of the
Shannon Free Zone.
Dr.
Brendan O’Regan
the first Chairman of
Shannon Development and
a very good friend of
Richard, was also in attendance.
Personally,
I would like to wish Richard
a very Happy 100th Birthday
with his family and I
know that his many friends
in Ireland would want
to be remembered and to
say thank you for his
friendship and support
of the industry over the
years.
I
will offer a special prayer
for his intentions on
the 27th.
Thanks
for the memories, Richard.
God
Bless you, and peace and
happiness always. |
When
Japan Airlines first flew
their B747 freighters,
the blue ribbon route
was Tokyo-New York.
The
top executive who made
that run a success was
Eugene T. “Buz”
Whalen.
Buz
served as V.P. Cargo the
Americas at Japan Airlines
Cargo.
During
his tenure he was also
a go-to guy for all things
air cargo, including the
building of CNS. We recall
some long conversations
when he helped TIACA come
back after The Society
of Automotive Engineers
(SAE) had decided to shutter
that organization.
Today
long retired from the
airline business, Buz
still carries a bright,
clear vision of a reporter
who later turned out to
be a good friend.
Dick
Malkin’s name was
as much a part of the
air cargo reporting business
as any other person I
can think of in the overall
field.
The article in FT
dealing with the
Berlin Airlift sparked
my memory of Dick since
I believe his coverage
of the event was perhaps
his first.
And
he never stopped!
Every
now and then I pull out
an interview from April
1994, a few years before
I retired, and I re-read
it one more time.
It
was factual, to the point,
and was an accurate description
of the state of the business
at that time.
Dick
was a master of weaving
up-to-date happenings
with previous statements,
regardless of how long
ago they may have been
made, which shows that
a marvelous sense of recall
was part of his MO.
Any
time with Dick was time
well spent.
His
propensity to use fifty-dollar,
almost poetic words to
describe every day happenings
drove some readers to
their dictionaries for
clarification and was
very educational to say
the least.
The
well-worn list of topics
he used to guide the interviews
never seemed to be redundant
since the core problems
of our business barely
changed from year to year.
Dick
was/is a master writer
and wordsmith.
My
very best to Dick on becoming
a member of the 100+ club.
Dick,
keep them flying and keep
on weaving your stories. |
Finally,
Guenter Rohrmann chimes
in with some insight
and recollections of
his long and eventful
friendship with Richard
Malkin:
When
Charlie Rose interviewed
Dick at the 2008 CNS
conference, he asked
Dick, ‘how did
you get to be 95?’
Dick's quick and witty
answer was ‘I
had to be 94 first.’
After a tribute to Dick
at the celebration for
him covering our industry
for 60 years, in an
interview with Bill
Armbruster, Dick said
‘I plan to keep
writing about the industry
and will return for
another tribute 10 years
from now.’
Here
we are in 2013.
Dick
Malkin will turn 100
on June 27 and he loves
to talk about air cargo
and its people.
Dick,
Happy Birthday and happy
returns of the day.
I
wish you all the very
best.
It
is comforting to know
that your son out in
California and your
daughter here are taking
good care of you.
You
have been a good friend
in business and a special
friend to me personally
for more than 25 years.
When
I first came to the
USA I quickly found
out that you were the
person to turn to if
one wanted to know what
is going on in our industry.
You
surely knew a lot about
AEI.
Special
thanks to you for the
book you wrote about
the history of the company.
However,
the forever lasting
memory about Richard
Malkin for me is your
reporting of the Berlin
Airlift.
The
entire operation is
best described in Richard
Reeves' book, Daring
Young Men.
You
accompanied the crews
on many trips between
Wiesbaden and Tempelhof
and reported your experience
back to the American
people.
Great
and unforgettable job.
Dick,
I will always have the
highest respect for
your work and your integrity.
I
am looking forward to
our next luncheon in
your beloved diner.
I
love you, man.
|
|