Air Cargo IT CHAMP Buys TRAXON Europe

BIG deal in air cargo IT, as CHAMP buys TRAXON Europe from Lufthansa Cargo and Air France.
       Apparently these two companies (now one), which are all capital letters, are thinking BIG in other ways too, by seeking the best and the brightest all around. John Johnston, CEO of CHAMP, makes the point as the deal is done.
       “TRAXON Europe will continue to operate under the TRAXON name.”
       That seems to be OK for Felix Keck, who continues as Managing Director of TRAXON.
       “The deal, agreed between CHAMP, Lufthansa Cargo and Air France, the majority shareholders of               TRAXON Europe, will deliver real synergy between the two companies, providing a strong, integrated portfolio of solutions that will accelerate initiatives such as e-freight, Cargo 2000 and global customs compliance,” Mr. Johnston said in a statement.
       “The combination of CHAMP’s software solutions and TRAXON’s wide network will result in the most comprehensive suite of software and distribution services available in the market.
       “[It will be] a combined force for change, innovation and, above all, leadership, representing a positive impact on the industry, as well as stimulating growth in the combined group.” says John Johnston, CEO of CHAMP.
       “TRAXON’s and CHAMP’s strategic objectives are complementary and together project a stronger united force in the industry.
       “The portfolio of electronic air cargo solutions we can jointly offer is a clear benefit for both company’s customers and the wider air cargo market.”
       Today as news of the blockbuster deal broke worldwide, we caught up with Felix Keck who, as usual, was anything but at a loss for words.
       In Mr. Keck’s view, the IT road ahead will be made all the more pilotable. His vision includes a win-win situation for everyone involved.
       Reflecting on the sale, Mr. Keck confessed that a regular review of shareholdings and subsidiaries is industry standard for large corporations.
       “By selling their stake in TRAXON to CHAMP, AF & LH are continuing their policy of concentrating on their core business.
       “The air cargo communication industry is not necessarily a part of it.
       “At the same time, the TRAXON Europe core market is changing quickly and the requirements are moving towards more software-oriented solutions with a larger complexity.
       “In this environment, joined forces with complementary solutions are an advantage.”
       FlyingTypers had heard rumblings in the marketplace about the sale of TRAXON for some time, but conditions were only made perfect for the shift within the last year.
       “The decision to screen the market for companies interested in the acquisition of TRAXON was made in summer 2010.
       “AF & LH, however, always reserved their right to step down from the process if the conditions were not favorable for TRAXON. As key customers, they had a keen interest in a functioning supplier.
       “CHAMP Cargosystems was seen as the perfect candidate. Once the mutual agreeable Share Purchase Agreement was negotiated between AF&LH and CHAMP Cargosystems on November 9th, 2011, the deal was successfully closed.”
       The motivation behind moves such as these always leave us wondering whether or not it was because a business could not compete in the marketplace.
       Felix is quick to assure us that “actually the opposite is the case. “From TRAXON Europe’s view, it was a question of strategic positioning and for AF & LH, a question of corporate fit into their portfolio.
       “Once the determination was made to seek a buyer for TRAXON, the air cargo industry was screened carefully before decisions were taken. Organic growth, mergers and acquisition of and by other companies were considered as possible alternatives.”
       Of course, there will be inevitable shifting ahead—like a game of Tetris, it will be of the utmost importance to ensure that all the pieces fall into place. As a new entity, there is always the possibility of job and responsibility changes, but Felix confirms, that “TRAXON will remain as a standalone unit.
       “CHAMP and TRAXON together will be able to leverage the global presence and portfolio of one another. These combined forces will be able to harness an expanded portfolio of products and services on a global basis.
       “TRAXON Staff is a key asset of the company and we foresee no changes.
       “We also informed our customers right after the agreement was signed that all contracts would remain unchanged and assured them that delivery of service would be maintained at the same high level.
       “We expect the impact to be perceived positively because the combined portfolios with the integrated and comprehensive offerings are going to be beneficial for our customers.
       “Further, the combined weight of both companies will afford us a better position to drive forward industry initiatives like Cargo 2000, e-freight and global customs.
       That sounds like good news for all those involved at both TRAXON and CHAMP—it sounds like there’s a brand new, extended family forming, and rest assured, it will be BIG!
Geoffrey/Flossie

This is one tug-of-war that has no winners. On the one hand, you have the Indian government trying its utmost to revive the country’s national airline Air India; on the other hand there are people—and often events—that bring down the airline.
     In the latest shock to the Maharaja, more than 100 pilots have written a letter to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rohit Nandan threatening to quit if the management does not change its discriminatory attitude towards them. Copies of the letter have also been sent to the Minister for Civil Aviation Vayalar Ravi and other officials in the ministry. If the pilots do take the ultimate step of quitting, the Maharaja might as well say goodbye to his international operations.
     The move that brought about the letter came just a few days before pilots selected for the Dreamliner training program were to start their course; Air India will be getting the plane in December of this year. The pilots—all members of the Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG)—said they were upset with the management and were “compelled to seek a No Objection Certificate (required by the pilots to take up a new job) so that we may consider seeking employment elsewhere. Kindly consider this a unified and collective request from all of us as a group.”
     The crux of the problem lies with the merger of the two airlines – Air India and Indian Airlines. These pilots—all of them are from the former Air India—are upset about the management's decision to provide training to the former Indian Airlines for the Dreamliners. Since the new planes would be used for long-haul international flights, the IPG pilots want to be picked first. The IPG has around 200 pilots from the pre-merged Air India.
     The letter goes on to say that 120 Air India pilots were “arbitrarily” transferred to Air India Express (the low fare version of Air India) leading to a shortage of manpower, and that was “now being used to justify the induction of pilots from erstwhile Indian Airlines to fly the Boeing 787.” To top it all off, the letter claimed that the Indian Airlines pilots had little experience to fly Dreamliners.
     Even before the letter, the IPG circulated an online note asking its members to vote for a strike. According to Indian labor laws, any organization deciding to go on a strike has to give advance notice to the management. The online voting was a precursor to the notice that the IPG plans to serve to the Air India management for the strike. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has, in fact, constituted a panel led by a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari, to look into the human resources issues that have arisen after the merger of the two airlines into the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL). The panel, appointed in February this year, started work on April 27, 2011—coincidentally the first day of a strike by around 700 pilots from the two erstwhile airlines— and was expected to submit its findings and recommendations by September 2011. The IPG pilots have said in their note that, by sending the Indian Airlines pilots for training, the Air India management was “pre-empting the outcome of the Justice Dharmadhikari panel, which is yet to submit its report.”
     One of the anomalies pointed out by the pilots states that while pilots of the former Indian Airlines with only four years of experience were being promoted to the position of Commanders, around 80-odd pilots from the unmerged Air India with eight years of experience were still in Command Training.
     Compounding the problems, the Indian Airlines pilots have issued a warning to the management that if the order on training for the Dreamliners is reversed, they too could resort to an agitation. For the moment, however, the first priority is to make their salaries at par with those drawn by the Air India pilots. One of the pilots who did not wish to be named said that they needed to get their salaries. When they went on strike some time ago, the management told them: “No work, no pay.” This time around, the pilot said they would adopt the principle of “No pay, no work.”
     Air India informed the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the training schedule of the pilots for the Dreamliner, slated to start from Thursday November 3, 2011, has been deferred till the end of the month as negotiations were on with the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) over the issue.--
Tirthankar Ghosh

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     Frankfurt-Hahn based Air Cargo Germany commenced twice-weekly flights to Seoul via Novosibirsk in Russia.
     The carrier also added a weekly frequency to Paraguay and also plans on flying to Lima by the end of the month.
     The carrier reports that twice-weekly flights to Johannesburg, South Africa, which began last November, will be continued.
     “Fareast looks more sombre due to low rates,” says ACG CEO, Michael Bock.
     “What makes things even tougher is this year’s absence of a peak season during the last quarter.
     “Currently nobody knows for sure if the worst is already over or still waiting around the corner to come.”

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RE: British Airways World Cargo B747-8 freighter At ATL

Hi!

     I enjoy reading FlyingTypers and just wanted to drop you a note about our new British Airways World Cargo B747-8 freighter.
     I know it has been mentioned in previous articles of yours.
     Our 747-8 freighter landed in ORD late last night before flying onto ATL for a 6:15pm departure tonight (November 10) after a small event at planeside.
     Just wanted to make sure you were included as Flying Typers is what I read most!
     Thanks for your time!

Best Regards,
Kimberly Bauswell
British Airways World Cargo & Cargo Iberia
Atlanta GA 30354

Dear Kimberly,

    We all lift our glass this evening and celebrate that big beautiful plane and wish everyone at BA great good luck with it.
    Three cheers for a full freighter both in and outbound!

Good wishes,
Geoffrey

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