Cargo 2000
Targets Airports

    Up to the minute numbers underscore that, a total of 71 enterprises participate at Cargo 2000: twenty eight airlines, a dozen forwarding agents together with twelve IT providers, sixteen ground handlers, two trucking firms plus one airport – Frankfurt Rhein/Main.
    “Raising the quality standard while involving as many parts of the supply chain as possible is a standard we must strive toward while coping with air cargo during turbulent times ,” says IATA head of Cargo Aleks Popovich.
    So now it appears that Cargo 2000 is about to change in order to fill the missing link within the supply chain by getting more airports to join.
    After all, it’s there where the shipments are being delivered, security controlled, documented, customs cleared, palletized and loaded in the bellyhold or main deck compartments of the aircraft to be flown off.
    That’s what makes airports so unique and absolutely indispensable for Cargo 2000’s objective to re-engineer the air cargo transportation scheme from shipper to consignee.
    First initiatives to lure big air freight hubs into his club will be taken at Bangkok’s WCS meeting, Lothar Moehle, Cargo 2000’s Program Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa confirms.
    “Certainly we want to have as many participants as possible but only those fellows who are thoroughly interested in being active to implement our quality standards to better and simplify the throughput of shipments.”
    Regular audits will be held to control the duties they agreed on and quality standards they have committed to implement, the manager announces. Talks with a number of major hubs have already been held, he says, without revealing any names.
    However, it’s not a big secret that places like Hong Kong, Seoul, Dubai, Singapore, Luxemburg, Paris CDG, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles are on Cargo 2000’s list of most wanted candidates.
    “Amsterdam we have already approached but as far as ground handling processes are concerned everything has been outsourced there by the local airport authority.”     Circumstances that make it less attractive for AMS to join his organization, Moehle admits.
    Responsible for raising the interest of airports to become Cargo 2000 members are the local associations. So far, twenty-eight of them have been initiated worldwide. Their main task is to implement the quality standards set by the Cargo 2000 management by offering training programs and workshops for local staff members of airlines, agents and ground handlers.
    “As board members we pretty much know what’s up at Cargo 2000 but getting our targets to really work lies on the shoulders of the many people doing their daily job right out there,” Moehle points at locations like Johannesburg, Nairobi, Bangkok, Singapore, New York JFK or Frankfurt.
    The Cargo 2000 board is presently elaborating a new coaching and training program for giving the local associations a more profound platform on hand for their practices.
    Further, on Cargo 2000’s Bangkok agenda stands the future measuring of temperature controlled shipments like vaccines, pharmaceuticals, perishables and alike—sensitive goods to improve the seamless air transportation chain for these kinds of products.
    “By adding the cool items to our list we broaden our portfolio and enhance the service the air cargo industry delivers the customers.”
Heiner Siegmund

More Room For
Savannah Boom

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Fixing Air Cargo Must Include
Understanding What Happened

Up Close & Personal
Oliver Evans, Swiss WorldCargo
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     At World Cargo Symposium, Oliver Evans Swiss WorldCargo’s top executive surveys the landscape and offers some thought to what lies ahead.
     "In terms of what I hear from panel and floor at our World Cargo Symposium this week is that the greatest value of gatherings like WCS is meeting people.
     “I therefore, recommend giving more time and room for talks during next year’s event because if you don’t have larger breaks the meeting hall tends to get empty.
     “To my understanding a major question in air cargo now is how as an industry do we get out of this crisis?
     “Here, we’ve heard some interesting and encouraging suggestions.
     “My view is the more vital point for our industry however is, how we got into this situation?
     “By looking back we can find many mistakes we have made in the past from which we should learn our lessons.
     “I’m talking about the massive expansion of the cargo airlines in the recent past, questionable deals with banks, and choosing wrong partners.
     “We were led by a herd instinct that is part of human nature but doesn’t bring us very far.
     “Hence we not only ignored the warning signals but kept on following old patterns rather than leading the industry and identifying one’s own role.
     “Today’s challenge is that the leading managers of our industry should develop a greater ability to really pick up and interpret the signals on the wall to be fully aware what’s happening around them and their enterprises.
     “All of us, shippers, forwarders, customers, regulators, customs and capacity providers have to share thoughts much more than in the past. “For doing so, more and better communication is necessary.
     “Finally, we should stop complaining about unfair competition by government subsidized carriers that spoil the biz of the commercial cargo airlines by offering low rates for air transports. “Instead I strongly recommend on focusing on quality, cost cutting, speeding up processes and enhancing performance.
     “Complaining is never a viable approach for solving problems but taking responsibility and actions very well are."

Brian Pearce Paints A Worried Picture

     “It will take three to five years for the air cargo industry to return to 2007 transport volumes.”
     IATA’s Chief Economist Brian Pearce gave this rather gloomy outlook to the roughly 700 attendees at Bangkok World Cargo Symposium during the opening session March 3rd.
     Mr. Pearce outlined a substantial number of reasons why the industry will be faced with low loads for a longer period than anticipated by most experts.
     These are his key points:
     After major consumer markets tumbled into recession, even most of the emerging markets that were offering hot spots in 2008 were actually shrinking.
     Overall business confidence right now has hit new lows with heavy indebted consumers unable to spend much money.
Therefore, the private sector in the mature markets will prolong the recession.
     As substitute governments have stepped in with huge fiscal packages to replace consumer spending and prevent national markets from collapsing.
     This action however, will ultimately lead to higher taxes which channels funds out of the private pockets into the public sector.
     A weakening of buying power will inevitably be the consequence, predicts Mr. Pearce.
     "We are seeing the deepest recession since the 1930s," he exclaimed.
     Other threats are state protectionism and de-globalization of production and trade, over-leveraged Western economies, political interference such as the emissions trading scheme the European Union intends to impose by 2012 and other risks including diverting exchange rates.
     So is there some light at the end of the tunnel?
     The price for jet fuel fell, easing carrier’s expenditures.
     Some markets are still growing like Latin America, Middle East and some parts of Asia and banks cut their interest rates substantially.
     However the real picture is that banks have greatly tightened their credit standards after being clobbered by more than 5 trillion dollars in losses and are still unwilling to lend money.
     "First signs of recovery will come when credit starts flowing again," stated the IATA economist.
Heiner Siegmund

Qatar Has Perishables Wrapped Up

      Recently Qatar Airways Cargo commenced testing a new initiative to increase the protection of temperature sensitive shipments with the introduction of heavy-duty thermal blanket pallet cover to protect perishable and pharmaceutical cargo during transportation by stabilizing the cargo temperature and shielding it from weather and temperature fluctuation, including rain and sunlight damage.
      Early reports from QR look positive.
      Vikram Singh, Qatar Airways VP Cargo Sales reports:
      “The thermal blankets provide us with the means to offer our customers a better and more efficient way to transport perishable goods across the extensive network offered by Qatar Airways Cargo by reducing the risk of the cargo being affected or damaged by extreme weather and temperature conditions from the time that the airline accepts delivery right up until the products are collected.”
      Qatar Airways Cargo said it is delivering everything from fresh lobster and freshly cut flowers to racing cars and racehorses via a strengthened freighter network that added a new freighter route to Sialkot in Pakistan late last year.
      The new route takes the cargo network to a total of 19 destinations worldwide with flights via Gateway Doha to: Algiers, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Chennai, Colombo, Dhaka, Dubai, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Karachi, Khartoum, Lahore, Luxembourg, Milan, Nairobi, Sanaa, Sialkot and Tunis.
      Qatar adds yet another new destination when the carrier commences daily B777-200 services from Houston Texas non-stop to Doha March 30.
      The flights will offer cargo lift and also provide excellent cargo and passenger connections between the U.S. and the whole of India & Pakistan.
      Ahlan Wa Sahlan, Howdy, and Welcome Qatar Airways are operative words in the Lone Star State’s oil capital right now.
Geoffrey

Mail Like A Champ

      In a move to expand the cargo capabilities of its customers, CHAMP Cargosystems reveals today the IATA Cargo Symposium in Bangkok, an agreement with CDA IT Systems for the provision of an integrated worldwide airmail solution.
     “Traditionally, mail in each country has been handled by the respective flag
carriers,” James Fernandez, VP Sales and Marketing, CHAMP Cargosystems told Air Cargo News FlyingTypers.
     “If others want to compete in the market, and increase their revenues by processing international mail, they must observe the strict functionality and compliance demanded by the mail authorities.
     “These requirements include utilizing tracking functionality and secure messaging between mail authorities and those transporting mail.
     “The CHAMP/CDA partnership will offer carriers CDA’s MailSystem
and MailAgent products within the CHAMP portfolio of cargo solutions.      "This will give carriers an integrated means to achieve compliance with postal customers, including M39, CARDIT and RESDIT standards, and to improve quality, efficiency and transparency in the airmail business.
     “We are expanding our portfolio of new-generation products through strategic partnerships.
     “Our customers can now get a mail solution with our cargo applications, such as Cargospot, opening up a new revenue-generating opportunity to them.”
Geoffrey

Some IATA Initiatives
Should Be Law

    Due to the global economic downturn our industry has to accelerate the integration process of air cargo.
    The basic tool set is available.
     However, to my understanding it lacks enforcement to implement the existing IATA initiatives like `Cargo 2000´ e-freight etc.
     On the passenger side initiatives like e ticketing have been literally mandated with the deadlines having largely been met. Airlines that don’t comply with the e-ticket standard were deprived from doing interline biz with partners.
    On the cargo side which obviously is more complex than the passenger business we still allow soft targets only.
     Take for instance the IOSA audits where carriers will be excluded from IATA membership if they don’t meet certain standards.
     In cargo however, we continue to allow many participants to not comply with certain requirements that are vital for our own industry without penalizing them.    
      IATA should investigate how they can apply tougher standards on their membership criteria to reach the air cargo business at large mass with a final breakthrough for the organizations’ much needed and valuable initiatives.
Ingo Roessler
VP Cargo
Royal Jordanian Airlines

Cargo Workshop Involves Stakeholders

     If we all had our druthers as some Midwestern people in America like to say, we would be inclined to carefully survey our clients so to have a better sense of what works best all around.
     You can say what you will about IATA, but you cannot say enough for the organization’s zeal and ability at taking surveys to find out everything from what’s happening to best practices.
     So when this world organization steps up to tough times and brings it best and brightest like Simon Lafortune, Head of Events, front and center to head up a meeting called Cargo Innovation Workshop, sit up and pay attention or miss it and when you feel better, pay some consultant a lot of hard earned money to hear about the same thing (if you are real lucky).
     At WCS Third Day March 5, Cargo Innovation Workshop will also reveal IATA Exclusive Shipper Survey Results including, “What the Clients are Saying” as Glyn Hughes, IATA’s Director Cargo Distribution continues the dialogue.
Later a panel will (hopefully) take the gloves off seeking answers to the questions that are searing their way through the industry right now:
     “What are the challenges on the cargo supply chain as prediction of a 5% drop in cargo traffic sinks in during 2009?
     “What actions should and can air cargo take to become more efficient and to respond more accurately to the needs of customers in turbulent times?”
     Serge Pauporte, Regional Cargo Director, Europe/Middle-East/Africa, IATA and Peter Chong, Regional Cargo Director, Asia Pacific, IATA will join Philippe Schwall, CFO, Air France Cargo.
     In small teams each, including an IATA representative, participants in these sessions that are open to everyone will be challenged to identify areas of improvement, solutions to current and foreseen challenges and also supporting services/products that could help everyone better achieve their goals.
     Aleks Popovich, IATA head of Cargo puts it this way:
     “Delivering success through a crisis is an obvious challenge for all organizations, large or small.
     “As WCS is a unique forum in the sense that participants are truly enabled to influence the air cargo agenda, this very interactive workshop is designed to let ideas flow.
     “Come with your colleagues and share your thoughts, your concerns and build action items for IATA to develop in the coming year.
     “The floor is yours . . . ”