Giving Thanks With Harold

     On Friday, November 18 in Atlanta, Georgia a grand airport tradition occurs once again as an air cargo entrepreneur reaches out far and wide to host several hundred people to an old fashioned home made turkey dinner with all the trimmings, as America looks ahead one week from now to celebrate the wonderful holiday called Thanksgiving.
     Thanksgiving is the great day when the only thing that matters is family and the meal.
     But behind the ATL airport community open house is one of the great people that we have met during our 35 years covering this beat—Harold Hagans (pictured here).
     Hagans is an ex-military man who not only honors America, but also passes on what he knows and goes out of his way to help and support the ATL airport community. Right now Harold is Chairman of the Board at The Atlanta Air Cargo Association (AACA), which was selected by Air Cargo News FlyingTypers as Best Air Cargo Club In the World.
     When, as expected, TIACA announced that Atlanta, Georgia will host its Forum Trade Show for 2012, it most certainly was in part because of people like Harold and the wonderful membership of AACA.
     But one other thing Harold Hagans knows about as a true Southern Gentleman is preparing a meal out of turkey, the favorite food in America this time of year. While nearly everybody else puts the bird into an oven, Harold digs back into the past and sets up a unique and imaginative deep-frying operation for turkey right inside his ATL air cargo facility. He then throws open the doors and invites the neighbors in to deliver a little bite of heaven.
     “We love to do this, to show our appreciation and share our good fortune at Thanksgiving with others,” Harold says.
     “Frying the turkey seals in the flavor and juices and makes the bird crisp and delicious.
     “While many are now using this method, we also fix up our poultry with special herbs and rubs handed down in my family over the years.”
     Harold Hagans has served as chairman of the International Committee for Clayton County and as President of Atlanta Customs Brokers & International Freight Forwarders, which was selected as the international business of the year in 1995 and again in 2001 by the Chamber of Commerce. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Criminal Justice from Columbia.
     In addition to teaching international import and export classes for Mercer University and Perimeter College, he has also served as instructor for Dale Carnegie.
     His past credits include serving on the Atlanta International Committee, acting as Chairman Vice President of the Terminals Committee for Hartsfield International Airport and President of the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Atlanta.
     “My employees and colleagues in air cargo are my family,” he says.
     “I am here early every morning because we handle such a broad variety of specialized shipments.
     “Our business in Atlanta has been greatly enhanced by the ability to utilize the excellent perishables center here.
     “We move unusual cargo that others shy away from by offering several value-added features, including fumigation, on site Customs and Department of Agriculture, and other services in a one-stop arrangement.
     “Everything we do at ACB begins as hands on total service.
     “So every day I start early and make my rounds.
     “For example, twice weekly we move more than three million worms for two companies up north." I often wonder who counts all those worms?
     Harold Hagans is what this business is all about, or at least, it ought to be. It is arguable that if Mr. Hagan’s had never done much else, his willingness to act as mentor to scores of air cargo people that now span generations would have qualified him as one of the all time greats in the history of world air cargo transportation.
     The offices of ACB are efficient, warm and friendly. The place, by any measure, is both beautiful, bright clean and comfortable. They make you think, “Anybody who takes this kind of pride in his place, is surely going to be good to ship with.”
     But Harold Hagans takes things farther.
     In addition to serious business, he seems to know a lot about the stuff he is shipping. Inside the handling facility and warehouse, three tons of coffee sit next to pallets of flavored chips used to smoke meat. Elsewhere sits a big consignment from Mongolia, resting easily with a Lotus racecar bound for South America. Several boxes from Africa filled with stuffed rare animals are about to be cleared by Customs.
     “You should have seen that stuffed gorilla that just left here,” one of the girls laughs. “Talk about big!”
     But back to what matters now—frying turkey.
     “One of the ‘musts’ to get things right is our use of peanut oil.”
     “We started out a few years ago with three of our folks here eating a peanut butter sandwich,” Harold smiles.
     “That small group has grown to some 200-250 people consuming a fried turkey lunch.
     “It’s a real open house and everyone should drop in, eat until your hands get tired and have some fun.”
     Harold and his crew will be opening up the facilities at Atlanta Customs Brokers on November 18, 2011, from 12:00-2:30 hrs.
     Atlanta Customs Brokers. Tel: 404-762-0953, Cell: 678-414-6817. acbiff@atlantacustomsbrokers.com www.atlantacustomsbrokers.com
Geoffrey/Flossie

Air Partner Red Track Happy      

      It’s the largest listed charter broker worldwide, established 50 years ago. But only in recent times did the London Gatwick-headquartered firm step into the air freight business– obviously quite successfully, as demonstrated by the 24 percent cargo sales contributed to the company’s turnover in fiscal year 2009/10. Revenues totaled 273 million euros; earnings before tax amounted to €4.1 million. That’s nice to have, but more is better, indicates Air Partner’s CEO, Mark Briffa, (right) his appetite growing for rising cargo results. “We are aiming at 50 percent for equaling our revenues achieved by our passenger activities,” he reveals.
     A new product called ‘Red Track’ launched three months ago might help reach this goal in the medium run. It’s an ultra rapid offering to the market consisting of time-sensitive overnight or same day door-door transports, be they urgently needed documents, spare parts for the automotive and aviation industry, or emergency shipments of medical goods. The solutions aren’t especially cheap but cost much less than an airline has to pay in case one of their aircraft is hit by an AOG. Depending on the length of a technical failure, the amount paid for grounding a big commercial jetliner like the A340 or B747 can easily surpass $100,000 per day.
     The real time access of “Red Track” is enormous. Every single step is exactly documented—from pick up to final delivery. So “clients know the precise status of their shipment at all times,” Richard Smith explains, pointing at the green and red records displayed on his computer’s screen. Richard Smith is Air Partner’s Director UK Trading, responsible for all cargo related matters.
     “We are not engaging in the mass parcel business, so we’ve got to offer customers all the information about the transports they desire,” he says. He stresses that the intermediate results “Red Track” produced are quite encouraging. There is the acknowledgment, however, that the speedy product has been booked mostly by major European clients until now.
     Air Partner’s core cargo business consists of arranging customized airlift for oversized, extremely heavy goods; standard shipments are less of a concern. “You tell us what you need and we engineer charter flights with Cessna’s elegant Citation Sovereign jetliner or the mighty Antonov 225,” promises CEO Briffa—an offer constantly requested by members of the energy and automotive industry, but occasionally also by governments or humanitarian organizations in case of earthquakes, flooding or other natural catastrophes, when rapid aid is needed.
     “Over the last five to six years we have steadily grown,” states Smith. Charter solutions are always required when oil drilling equipment is needed in remote places like northern Siberia, Africa or parts of Latin America. “You can’t utilize the capacity of scheduled freight carriers since they don’t serve these regions; you have to come up with tailored solutions—your clients expect it,” he explains.
     Air Partner’s business activities are based on three pillars: firstly, the charter or part charter of commercial aircraft for groups of at least 20 and at most 500 people; secondly, the utilization of private jets for individuals or groups of less than 20 individuals; and, last but not least, the growing air freight column.
In fiscal year 2009/10 revenues totaled 273 million euros while earnings before tax amounted to €4.1 million. During the period mentioned, 14,828 flights were conducted on behalf of Air Partner, accounting for 34,000 flight hours.
     The German market contributed 35 million euros to the turnover (11 percent), making it a cornerstone of the enterprise—next to the UK, but well ahead of the U.S. (5 percent).
     “Cargo is a segment we want to further develop because we see ample opportunities in this field,” says Birte Pueschel-Kipke, (left) VP Europe of Air Partner. She also told ACNFT that the existing partnership with capacity provider Air Hamburg will be intensified. Both companies have been in cooperation since 2008. In this year’s first half, 94 charters were booked by Air Partner and conducted by Air Hamburg according to the airline’s CEO Floris Helmers. “From our point of view, it would be a good move to further strengthen our ties,” declared the manager.
Heiner Siegmund

Deutsche Post Reports
Stellar Earnings

     Deutsche Post reports revenues of 38.8 billion Euros for the financial period from early January to end of September 2011.      This is an increase of 3.2 percent in comparison to the previous year’s first three quarters. The operating earnings climbed by 40 percent, totaling 1.8 billion Euros. “Our growth path clearly continues,” emphasized CEO Frank Appel of Deutsche Post, while presenting the latest figures at a recently held press conference in Bonn, Germany.
     Lauded Appel: “We are well located in all of the regions and markets that continue to generate particularly strong growth, be it the emerging Asian markets, the Middle East and Latin America or the dynamic German parcel market.” The manager announced an EBIT increase of above 2.4 billion Euros in fiscal 2011, after having previously projected a range of 2.2 to 2.4 million Eeuros for the earnings before interests and taxes.
     Upon closer inspection of the performance of Deutsche Post’s various business units, DHL proves to be the driving force pushing the financial figures to new heights. During the first three quarters, the four DHL divisions—Express, Global Forwarding, Freight, and Supply Chain—contributed 1.3 billion Euros to the company’s operating earnings of 1.8 billion Euros, boosting Deutsche Post’s operating earnings by more than 40 percent.
     One billion Euros were invested during the first nine months, exceeding last year’s level by nearly 300 million Euros, in order to bolster the platform for future profitable and sustainable growth. Accordingly, most of the money was spent on a more efficient freighter fleet, new courier vehicles, additional warehouses and IT-infrastructure. “In the upcoming months,” Appel said, concluding his outlook, “we will channel our positive momentum into further improving our product offering for our customers and continuing to prepare ourselves for future market challenges.“
Heiner Siegmund

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Frankfurt Welcomes
IAG B747-800F

     Boeing’s new freighter flagship B747-8F landed last Wednesday for the first time ever at Frankfurt’s Rhein-Main airport in Germany. The G-GSSD registered aircraft is the first cargo plane since 2000 to be branded with British Airways’ livery.
     It is operated on a five-year leasing contract by Global Supply Chain, an Atlas Air (51 percent) and BA (49 percent) joint venture.
     The craft’s stay in FRA was rather short; it departed at 7:05 pm heading to Chicago with a freight load of 120 tons on board.
     The aircraft can carry up to 134 tons over a distance of 8,130 km (4,390 nautical miles) without refueling.
     It is capable of transporting a further seven pallets in comparison to the B-400F and offers different temperature zones for adequate carriage of sensitive products like pharmaceuticals, healthcare, flowers, meat or vegetables, to name only a few.
     In total, IAG Cargo, the combined freight division of British Airways and Spanish Iberia will operate three B747-8Fs.
     They are set to replace the aging B747-400Fs, which will be returned to lessor Atlas Air after the expected arrival of the two remaining B747-8Fs in the coming weeks.
     The new cargo jumbos will be deployed on existing routes to six destinations, namely London Stansted, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Frankfurt, Chicago, and Delhi.
     In addition, new routes to Nairobi, Johannesburg, and Chennai will be included in the network of the B747-8F. Chris Nielen, Area Commercial Manager, Central and Eastern Europe of IAG Cargo, welcomed the craft in Frankfurt, saying:
     “The investment in this new aircraft clearly signals our freighter commitment to the European air cargo industry.
     "This will provide our customers with much sought after additional capacity on our existing freighter routes and the ability to diversify the products we carry, including Constant Climate, our temperature controlled proposition.”
     Last year the operations of British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo had a joint turnover of €1,096 million and operated 5,886 million cargo ton kilometers.
     They have a combined workforce of more than 2,700 staff covering a global network of over 200 airports.
Heiner Siegmund

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