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Vol. 15 No. 25	Friday March 25, 2016

Achim Says Goodbye

Endless Summer… Achim, with his “much cherished” Americas Team, spent some days soaking up the rays before taking off for Europe and new adventures in air cargo starting in June 2016.

     Amongst its numbers report last week, which stated that in 2015, Lufthansa Cargo achieved Earnings Before Interest & Taxes (EBIT) of 74 million Euros—down 40 percent as compared to 2014—the carrier outlined some new programs it hopes will boost business. In addition, the carrier also named some new people to various posts within the organization.
      The news included a surprise appointment of Achim Martinka, who departs as Vice President Area Management The Americas to his new post in charge of sales and handling in the regions of Europe & Africa (excluding Germany), starting June 1.
      We spoke to Achim, who said:
      “The new posting is a fantastic challenge that I’m really looking forward to!
      “Over 90 countries and a spread from South Africa over Europe to the far east of Russia.
      “Coming back to Europe/Africa is wonderfully exciting.
      “Having lived a few years in France, Spain, Turkey, and Togo and speaking both French and Spanish reveals why these two continents are also very close to my heart.
      “My Atlanta-based successor is Bernhard Kindelbacher, who is currently our SVP Strategy and was also based as Regional Manager in NYC for quite some years.

      “I’m convinced that he is well-suited to the market and our customers, and he will certainly enjoy this amazing job as much as I did.
      “Although there are still some weeks to go, I must admit that the nearly 6 years here have been the best years of my professional life so far. “The (Americas) area market with the big gateways in North America and the adventurous surroundings in Latin America is very special and was a perfect fit for me.
      “I do admire what the people in this industry are achieving day by day and I’m thankful for the enormous learning curve I was privileged to enjoy.
      “What I will miss most are the people, no question.
      “It doesn’t matter if I’m talking about our loyal suppliers, our fantastic customers, or our fully engaged employees.
      “I had hundreds of great moments with each of them, which makes this industry so special.
      “On the private side I’m very much looking forward to the move to FRA, as my family has been back home there for over three years now.
      “Maintaining a family life over the Atlantic is not really the healthiest thing to do.
      “On the other hand, I’m curious to see if my family supports me being around so much in the future,” Achim smiled.

      “Unfortunately I will have to leave the Americas with a few great projects underway, but not finished yet.
      “For example, we are really moving the marble for our planned cooperation with United Airlines Cargo.
      “The team spirit we have already developed in the preparation phase is unmatched and the joint offer we will have for our customers will be outstanding.
      “The good thing is that Bernhard is the guy who has developed this partnership from a headquarters perspective.
      “And I will definitely be pushing our cooperation from the other side of the Atlantic, so all is good.
      “We are also in the phase of preparing Sales and Handling for the Eurowings Intercont-Fleet, which is a 100 percent subsidiary of Lufthansa.
      “That will enable us to open some new destinations and enlarge some current stations served.
      “Extending our network we will have a new entry point into Europe/Germany via Cologne, a good alternative to Frankfurt, Munich, or Vienna, which we are already serving.
      “Completed are the opening of new stations like TPA, CUN, and PTY with passenger aircraft, as well as NAT with freighters.
      “Also, there is no doubt that Panama will be a great transit point for cargo from the entire region to Europe.
      “We will further add, together with the Eurowings flights, 10 new origins in the Americas and also connect SEA with a Freighter Service to/from Germany as of April,” Achim Martinka said.
Geoffrey

Oliver Evans From Arms' Length

Editor's Note: If it looks like SWISS’s retired Chief Cargo Officer Oliver Evans was carrying the air cargo industry around on his shoulders, then he probably is. As chairman of TIACA and involved with almost every other major global cargo organization, Oliver has worked hard for the industry.
But time and the river and some 20/20 hindsight come into play here, as Oliver offers up some personal observations as IATA Cargo met in Berlin last week.

     “The best view of a territory is always from a certain distance: this is what I am now able to enjoy since my departure from that wonderful company which I led for 12 years with great pride and delight, Swiss WorldCargo. It is therefore my pleasure to try and describe that view in the humble hope that my vantage point offers some fresh insights.
     “The global air cargo industry is blessed with countless dedicated leaders and teams who love what they do and give their all with passion and endless energy. At the same time, the territory seems cursed for a variety of reasons that are particular to this industry and no other. First of all of course, air is only one of many modes of transport, and not well loved from the shipper’s point of view because of the relatively high cost (amongst other reasons). Secondly, the complexity of the territory means that there are many stakeholders, with disparate and unaligned interests, and those with the biggest and least flexible investment, the airlines, are far from being able to control developments. Thirdly, cargo is only one of the markets for an airline, and very much overshadowed by the huge and dynamic passenger market: decisions about capacity and fleet expansion are often made with other interests in mind, and overall supply in the market can and does end up totally out of proportion to the demand.
    “But let’s return to those brave, dedicated, and passionate air cargo leaders: faced with these numerous challenges, they should be realizing the limits of what they can do with their own resources, suppliers, customers, and partners, and stepping up to create, or populate, a common, visionary association that uses communal wisdom and experience to guide and lead the air cargo industry. Granted, efforts to do this have been made repeatedly over the years, and I myself accepted nomination to leading roles at TIACA with exactly this purpose in mind. However, just as the current President of the United States is getting ready to step down and hand over to his successor, while bemoaning the dysfunctional and divided political system of his country, so I went on to the next phase of my life with deep sadness about our collective inability to set a course for the industry and drive it purposefully. Can the industry use existing institutions to regenerate from within? Does it need a totally new vehicle and departure? I don’t know—this decision in itself needs public debate and engagement.
    “But from my vantage point, where I am new engaged in a disruptive new technology and mode of transport (which will not supplant but complement existing modes), I say: take the future in your own hands, otherwise it will carry you by the seat of your pants.”
Oliver Evans

BER Two Step

     As we reported last week, the new capital airport “Willy Brandt International” in Berlin, Germany, is an ongoing boondoggle—a national and international embarrassment of cost overruns and delayed completion. The General Accounting Office (GA) of the State of Brandenburg published a damning report decrying the shortcomings surrounding construction of the airport-to-be and accusing both the supervisory board and the senior management for neglect of their legal obligations.
      Recently, the well-respected German daily Tagesspiegel questioned whether the hope for a BER opening—now set for late 2017—is even feasible.
      The new “hitch in the giddy-up“ for getting things completed at BER are the authorities once again refusing to sign off on the fire protection code at the airport.
      For the record, getting clearance for fire safety at BER has been nixed and altered and nixed multiple times already, and if recent word is to be believed it is no closer to a solution at the present moment.
      An airport spokesman sounded hopeful that “the technical team is confident they can align the state of the technical drawing to the progress already made in construction.”
      Speaking to the press, BER CEO Karsten Muehlenfeld stressed that he thinks these issues would not prevent an orderly opening of BER in the second half of 2017.
      Whether these are just more empty words and assurances after years of the same old song is yet to be determined.

Running For Cover

      In the meantime, the majority of politicians in the Brandenburg State Parliament (to no one’s surprise) decided to block any proceedings based on neglect of duty against current and former member of the BER management and supervisory boards, as recommended by the GA’s office.
      The majority of Social Democrats (SPD) and Linke (the former socialist party ruling communist Eastern Germany until 1989) blocked attempts by the minority of conservatives (CDU) and Gruene (Environmental Protectionist Party) to institute the proceedings recommended by the GA.
      SPD-MP Klara Geywitz outlined that “the responsibilities for these shortcomings are pretty hard to determine, as even the Berlin state court had not seen any serious neglect of duty on the side of former airport CEO Rainer Schwarz.”
      Linke-MP Stefan Ludwig added that “the responsibility of the board members had been examined by legal experts in a most encompassing manner and that there was no need to repeat such an undertaking.”
      Brandenburg State Secretary for Finance, Christian Goerke (Linke) concluded “he had shared the GA’s report with the other shareholders, the City of Berlin, and the Federal Republic of Germany and there was agreement that any further liability assessment in regard to the conduct of former and present management and board members was both unwarranted and unnecessary.”
      So while there apparently may not be a finished airport in sight for Berlin, as it stands right now there is also no one to blame for it.
      The old political two-step of one step forward, two steps back, which has lived as the rippling rhythm of political life from Washington to Timbuktu, is alive and well in Berlin, as taxpayer money pays the piper, keeping the dance of these dummkofs in motion.
Geoffrey

If You Missed Any Of The Previous 3 Issues Of FlyingTypers Access complete issue by clicking on issue icon or Access specific articles by clicking on article title
Vol. 15 No. 22 The Berlin Wall Every Which Way With Samways Chuckles For March 16, 2016 Honestly Shobana Up The Irish	Vol. 15 No. 23 FlyingTypers Celebrates The Berlin Airlift Buoyant Bellinder Sunny Side Up Chuckles for March 17, 2016 Cargo 2000 Is Now Cargo iQ BER Bumbles Into 2016 Hands On Maritime Easy As ABS	Vol. 15 No. 24 Geoffrey Named FIATA Fellow SWISSerific Posts Profits 2015 Chuckles for March 21, 2016 Cuban Cargo Havana Good Time

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