Retirement 101. Pictured at home in the Netherlands, Jacques Ancher was featured in our issue last Friday. Here in a letter are some thoughts from a beautiful mind for logistics and air cargo as Jacques takes things farther.

RE:   Jacques Ancher The Thought Leader

Dear Geoffrey,

     An addiction . . .
     Your article last week was a surprise. But it is always nice to be reminded of the people and the fascinating airline industry.
     It is extremely difficult to be specific (with a cargo overview of today) when you have been out for 18 years.
     My general feeling is that people are doing a fine job by optimizing cost and revenue, filling the large cargo space of the many aircraft.
     At the same time the industry lags behind in transparency, access and automation.
     I don’t think this is the time for pioneering major changes in air cargo, except for innovation in automation.

The Addiction

     When KLM decided to change the direction of the company at the end of the last century, it became obvious that our cargo ambitions could not be further developed.
     Our plan to become a completely separate business could not be implemented.
     A reason for me to retire and I did that “cold turkey.” It was not only best for me personally, but also for my successor and the next generation of cargo people.
     (Our management group from that period still meets for dinner once a year. Happy to report that all of those people made a successful career in and outside the industry.)

Speaking Out Again

     Until today, my retirement and silence on industry affairs was only broken when I received the TIACA Hall of Fame Award, in Istanbul in 2014.

Too Many Empty Cargo Aircraft

     During that event, I emphasized the problem of cargo being a by-product with the example of the short-distance aircraft.
     I reckon today there are approximately 35,000 of those airplanes flying their routes every day with empty cargo space.
     So here is a continued subject for discussions and questions.
     Is the fact that these aircraft have not yet been adapted an indication of how difficult it is to make changes in the industry?
     Rising handling costs, reduced rates and pressure on the turn-around time will snowball the effect of empty space to more routes and other aircraft.
     I do not think I made this point clear at TIACA Istanbul.

Action But No Reaction

     The other point I mentioned, and reported by you was the need for continued innovation.
     While on the passenger side, new entry carriers forced the industry to react, we in cargo admired the fast growing integrators but failed to act.
     Now in 2018 a few of the largest customers are flying their own aircraft.
     In my mind there are a few reasons for our behavior.

Too Much IATA

     Of course, as I said earlier one of them is that air cargo remains a by-product.
     The other one is that the airlines and the forwarders are still holding each other hostage.
     I firmly believe that the attractiveness of the industry makes it hard or perhaps impossible to accept change.
     There is still too much IATA on our mind.
     Please give my regards to Sabiha and let’s hope that we are still around when the first “no pilot flight” takes place.
     Logically this will be a cargo plane.
Jacques