#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE
Thursday
December 12,
2024
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#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE |
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| Vol. 23 No. 51 | Thursday
December 12,
2024 |
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TIACA Built To Be More |
| FlyingTypers
was delighted to attend the Air Cargo Forum 2024 in Miami, which admittedly
was “built to be more than an exhibition”. The promise was fulfilled,
no doubt. Many of our readers participated in the ACF this year. The fact that the ACF is more than an exhibition is a clear concept for the numerous participants of the ACF, possibly the largest air cargo conference in the world. The ecumenical nature of TIACA comes to shine brightly when airlines, forwarders, shippers, airports, handlers, regulators and an endless list of related third parties gather under the aegis of TIACA to discuss, learn and decide on issues that matter for international trade at large. The entertainment, which is always there throughout the entire three-day event, is not to be forgotten, but TIACA also manages to feature enjoyable working sessions without diminishing their importance. Looking at the pictures it was obviously an exultant, successful conference. FT had the opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones, after the long hiatus caused by COVID. Glyn Hughes is the mastermind behind the organization since he took over as DG in 2021, not an easy period to start in an organization such as TIACA, whose relevance and success is constantly measured by its ability to attract large numbers of professionals. Glyn was not only able to keep the machine moving despite the pandemic, but even increase its influence. TIACA is far from being a one-man band: a glimpse to the names listed in the Board gives you an idea of its significance in our area of business. Starting this interview, it was obvious that we had to reflect on the numbers, before moving to the content.
FT: Glyn, we read from your own PR’s that “the event drew over 3,500 delegates from over 80 countries across the globe to discuss issues that affect the global air cargo community. The exhibition featured over 300 booths from trucking, ULDs, IT companies, airports and airlines. Plenty of networking opportunities with new event features like the golf tournament, sunrise yoga sessions, evening receptions and a F2F meeting scheduler connected delegates in fun and personal ways.” Impressive numbers, sure thing. Do you think this is an established trend showing that the past restrictions are completely forgotten and we can look forward to a future of trade conferences as we experienced pre-COVID or even more? GH: A great question to start. Firstly, we were absolutely delighted to have over 3,500 attendees, and from the feedback we have received so far it was a perfect balance of airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers, airports, industry suppliers, shippers, and regulatory agencies. The key value for delegates when attending conferences is to enhance business opportunities and relationships, whilst learning about industry trends and solutions and of course having some fun in the process. We really hope that ACF 2024 ticked all the boxes. And with the annual event calendar getting fuller it seems air cargo has an appetite for more of this type of engagement. Some people say that there are too many events, but I believe the voice of the customer is the truest feedback. If they see value they will attend, if not they won’t. As to Covid I do see one lasting impact which is the prevalence of hand sanitizer . . . we all shake many hands at these events and we all seem to practice more careful health controls as a result.
FT: We also read from your statements that “this year’s forum featured a Main Stage as well as the Air Cargo Spotlight Stage which allowed the industry to feature their developments on the tradeshow floor.” Could you explain how this works for the few who were not there and explain why being there in future is an absolute must? GH: We always like to try new things based on prior event feedback. So, the Conference program we put on is controlled by TIACA in the sense we set the topics and invite the best speakers to educate and challenge the audience. The spotlight stage, which was a smaller more intimate setting, was available to organizations to manage a 30-minute slot as they wanted. Some chose to talk about a new product, others gave a corporate update and others showcased a project which involved multi-party collaboration. So, it’s a very different focus. The feedback so far has been very positive. FT: We took note that “topics such as airports, regulatory and business challenges, creating new opportunities, network expansion, digital innovation, people in the workplace, pharma, sustainability and the air cargo outlook were some of the topics discussed.” There is enough to write a policy paper if not a book here, but if you wanted to take these topics one after another in terms of their impact on our industry, how would you start? Was there any lesson learnt this time that showed a new perspective, if compared to what you were looking at, say, five years ago? Or ten? GH: This just reminds us of how complex our industry is and how it is impacted by so many different influences. There were some very key elements that came out of the discussions. We had two leadership roundtable sessions this year comprised of all sectors of the supply chain, and both sessions were extremely positive about the industry prospects for 2025. We also had two digitalization sessions which illustrated there is absolutely the right technology available today to achieve industry optimization, efficiency, and enhanced service, we just need to embrace the new world opportunities. Sustainability, compliance, workforce, and e-commerce also featured regularly in all the various panels, illustrating that these topics will also continue to shape the industry agenda. FT: One of the big features of the ACF is the Sustainability Award. You allowed a fairly rare personal public statement: “Every year our industry submits so many innovative applications for the Air Cargo Sustainability Awards. The industry truly has taken this challenge to heart and is seeking unique ways to make air cargo more sustainable. It gives me great pleasure to congratulate Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT) for being selected as the overall Corporate Winner and Alpha Augmented Services as the Start-up/Small Business winner.” Clearly this shows a sense of personal commitment in an initiative that seems to be tailored for TIACA’S policy area. Can you share a bit more on how this award came about in the beginning and why it matters more and more today? GH: An industry or organization that doesn’t continually innovate will ultimately struggle to stay relevant or may even disappear, so its crucial for air cargo to continue to drive new ideas, services, solutions, and procedures. TIACA wants to play a part in that journey so the board established the annual Sustainability awards 6 years ago and invites everyone to consider submitting a nomination. The criteria are very open to anything that impacts People, Planet, or global / industry Prosperity. We then have an independent jury who selects a corporate winner as the company that most inspired them with their submission and 3 finalists in the small business / start-up category. Those finalists then present at the ACF and the audience in the room votes to decide the ultimate winner in that category, who then receives a USD 10k prize and a trophy. CHAMP Cargosystems generously support the Awards. But all the nominations were amazing so we will feature each in future newsletters dedicated to the Sustainability awards. The program has been so successful we are considering creating a second award category to allow us to spotlight even more great initiatives. FT: At the ACF you announced the appointment of a new Board Member: “Adrien Thominet brings diverse experience and knowledge beginning at the start of his career where he worked as Commercial Director at FICOFI, a luxury brand promoting Bordeaux ‘grands crus’ fine wines globally. Adrien then worked for UniFrance Film in Tokyo where he managed the Yokohama Film Festival. Adrien joined the air cargo industry in 1995 as Commercial Manager for ECS Group and continued on a path to Chief Operating Officer in 2011.” Could you tell our readers in which way you expect this appointment to expand the horizon of TIACA’s portfolio, which already holds an enviable position from many point of view? GH: We were very pleased with the appointment of Adrien to the TIACA Board which is a matrix of members from all industry sectors across all geographical regions. The Board is very influential in steering TIACA strategy and actions so it’s crucial it reflects the entire membership. FT: We saw many happy faces at the ACF and a number of colleagues and friends shared their appreciation and even their joy to participate in your meeting. Your view on this could be fundamental: which element has the biggest impact on their appreciation in your view? The high level of professionalism of the participants and the consequent quality of the conversations or the sheer numbers that make the event impactful based on the camaraderie and the opportunities that such a large assembly of professionals affords? GH: That is a really interesting question. I hope it’s a case of all of the above. We really appreciate that people took time out of their busy schedules to attend the ACF so I hope they got the best experience possible from meeting current and future business partners to sharing ideas and opinions and to have fun at the various “off duty” functions. FT: You announced that “the next global Air Cargo Forum that will be held in Abu Dhabi, November 4-7, 2025. The Air Cargo Forum is expected to draw thousands of visitors over 4 days for exhibition, conference and networking.” A year from now, what do you expect our industry’s touch and feel will be by then. Do you expect any breakthrough? If so in why areas? Have you thought of selecting a theme or a title for the event as others do? GH: Indeed, the Board took the decision to hold the ACF annually now with two permanent locations, Miami, and Abu Dhabi. We hope that the upbeat industry perspective will be just as strong next November as you look towards 2026. The Abu Dhabi experience will try to build on the success of this year’s event with even more opportunities for the industry to engage with each other. And I must admit that I am really looking forward to an evening function at Ferrari World theme park and museum. Thank you!! Marco Sorgetti |
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 Vol. 23 No. 48 ATC No Secret Sauce Andy Cargo Fine & Dandy |
 Vol.
23 No. 49Hopscotching TIACA ACF Chuckles for November 27, 2024 Going Home & Giving Thanks |
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Publisher-Geoffrey Arend • Managing
Editor-Flossie Arend • Editor Emeritus-Richard Malkin |
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