To our readers,

     Usually the summer season is set aside for languorous holiday and family time and is traditionally a slow news period of the year.
     Not in 2008.
     This year has seen the big spike in fuel and the accompanying uncertainty as carriers cut fleets and routes and employees, to stay afloat.
     In USA the TSA held meetings in Washington during early July and gathered a room full of forwarders and airline cargo people under a big clock on the wall set to April 9, 2009 when 100% cargo screening is supposed to kick in.
     Only no one is sure what shape or even what technology will accomplish the screening.
     So once again a government body driven in part by the politicians is saying:
     “We have a problem.
     “We are not sure how to solve it but here is a rule that, like it or not, must be obeyed.”
     Meanwhile over at Cargo Network Services, Jens Tubbesing, the youthful less than two-year President of that organization left his post suddenly under mysterious circumstances.
     CNS, based in America holds a yearly “Partnership Conference” meeting that draws top people from all over the world.
     CNS is also responsible for the highly regarded CASS System for cargo settlement.
     Mr. Tubbesing had been moving to advance CNS programs and his sudden departure is being joined by a worldwide search for a successor according to IATA Head of Cargo Aleks Popovich.
     Mr. Popovich is Atlantic-hopping between Geneva where IATA Cargo is based and Miami where CNS is headquartered, pulling double duty as CNS President while the hunt goes on.
     Symptomatic of the general changing face of air cargo are reports that Jack Boisen suddenly announced retirement this week from Continental Airlines Cargo, a post he has held since 1994.
     Big Jack, a husband, father and grandfather has been the very public face of CO Cargo since the last century and he also heads up the TIACA Forum being held in Kuala Lumpur this November.
     Interestingly both major shakers and movers of that trade show venue, Mr. Boisen and Malaysia Cargo’s JJ Ong, the man who is most responsible for the show in KL, will have vacated their respective carriers when the event takes place.
     Ong departed more than a year ago.
     There is no word that Mr. Boisen’s move away from CO is connected to current investigations into surcharges and price fixing.
     We wish him well.
     Just about a week ago KL/AF Cargo held a press conference in the same airport hotel at CDG where the movie “French Kiss” was made a few years ago.
     The duo unveiled this detailed plan to essentially try and bring forward a new deal to the industry for air cargo fuel and security surcharges.
     But in the process the Dutch/French duo delivered a complex, hard to understand. albeit well-intended blueprint that probably needs a lawyer named Loophole to truly understand.
     While the KL/AF initiative may gain traction and might even work, the immediate offshoot of the action has been to rev up some long standing arguments between the airline and the agents, with the agents in this case most vocal as our lead story (click ACN cover below), titled "KL/AF Surcharge Avalanche,” (and stories all last week in Air Cargo News FlyingTypers) clearly demonstrates.
     Finally, despite any other uncertainty, it is interesting to note the mega billions of dollars in new aircraft orders coming out of the 2008 Farnborough Air Show in UK this month.
     There maybe some uncertainty in various economies, what with India and China taking a pause and USA either sliding into, bottoming out or continuing in recession (go try and get a consensus about that one) but Boeing and Airbus backlogs for aircraft yet to take wing offer promise that uncertainty, like this all too brief summer, will soon be over.

Greetings & best wishes,
Geoffrey & Sabiha Arend