Leave it to air cargo and transportation worldwide to bring people together.
     Next year FIATA holds their Annual World Congress from September 25-29, 2018. The host country will be India, with opening ceremonies in New Delhi. Newly-elected FIATA President Babar Badat of Pakistan will welcome shipping community leaders as well as Indian government leaders to the venue, opening the most important cargo transportation event of 2018.

Transportation Pioneer

     Mr. Badat, an acknowledged pioneer and leader of transportation in Pakistan and member of the FIATA Board of Directors was elevated to the Post of President of FIATA for the next two years in a ceremony held at the close of FIATA World Congress 2017 in Kuala Lumpur October 8.

All Pro Badat

     After talking with Babar Badat, Chairman of Transhold Pvt Ltd. of Karachi, Pakistan, it’s easy to understand why the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations confirmed this effusive and approachable executive to the post of President in Kuala Lumpur.
     FIATA, with national representation from 160 countries and more than 40,000 international logistics companies as members, had many places to turn and several excellent choices, but moved toward Mr. Badat.
     Babar, very quietly and without much fanfare, has emerged as a leader and pioneering organizer of a robust and effective logistics industry that has become a bright spot on the Pakistani landscape.
     Mr. Badat is a founder and served as first Chairman of the Pakistan International Freight Forwarders Association (PIFFA), which has grown from just a few companies in 2005 to more than 500 today.
     The role of PIFFA includes support for Pakistan trade worldwide and the development and maintenance of a healthy international freight industry within Pakistan.
     PIFFA also works to ensure that a level playing field exists for companies involved in attempting to establish and maintain the movement of freight both in the country and worldwide by all modes transport.

Present At The Creation

     Mr. Badat’s first company, Transfreight, was founded in December 1982, an outgrowth of a JV with a German company that began in 1979.
     It is one of Pakistan's earliest international freight forwarding organizations.

It’s a family affair. Pictured in KL as Babar Badat accepted leadership of FIATA were (L to R)—Son, Haider; Babar Badat, brother Yawar; son Taimur and nephew Akbar.

Why Are These Men Smiling?    Pictured in a lighter moment is newly-elected FIATA President Babar Badat (right) and Debashis Dutta, who heads up the FIATA World Congress 2018 organizing committee and is the immediate Past Chairman of the Federation of Freight Forwarders' Associations in India (FFFAI).    As FIATA President, Babar of Pakistan will lead the biggest world organization of freight forwarders—some 40,000 strong—when the next World Congress occurs September 25-29, 2018, in New Delhi.

One Step at a Time

     Babar Badat may have low friends in high places in Pakistan, but he uses his unique position to drive the destiny of his homeland into the modern logistics world. Despite the many well-publicized challenges, he remains convinced Pakistan’s day is coming.
     “You must always maintain your sense of purpose and mission to build on the great potential of the country and the world.
     “Now approaching 200 million people, we rank as the sixth largest nation on earth.
     “It also does not hurt to maintain your sense of humor,” Mr. Badat smiles.
     “Yes, there are problems, both social and political, which stretch across the canvas, affecting our ability to move ahead, I think but the government is moving to right things.
     “Our country contributes to charity; in fact, outside of America, we’re one of the biggest contributors in the world.
     “Transhold is primarily a freight forwarding company with offices throughout Pakistan.
     “From our beginnings we have kept pace and even slightly ahead of market.
     “Over the years we have set up independent companies (including trucking) that served as conduits to move cargo—first for Russia and later for NATO into Afghanistan and elsewhere.
     “Of course, as a matter of how business is done, Transhold considers itself quite flexible and ready to use its market position and expertise to create custom programs to meet any specific demand,” Mr. Badat declared.
Geoffrey

     When the Seventh Caspian Air Cargo Summit got underway October 7-11 inside the Boulevard Hotel in Baku Azerbijan, Silk Way Group President Zaur Akhundov was front and center.
      Mr. Akhundov oversees the fortunes of 23 aviation-related companies, including Silk Way Airlines.
      Silk Way is the Azerbaijani state-run cargo airline with head offices and flight operations at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku.
      Silk Way operates a couple dozen aircraft, including B747-8Fs, Antonov, and Illushin.
      Next year Silk Way will commence induction of the first of ten B737-Max aircraft ordered from Boeing.
      We spoke to Silk Way Airlines USA, Inc. Commercial Director, Americas, Lisa Wallace.
      Lisa revealed some big plans. Driven by a boundless energy, she’s building a legacy of service and pioneering from a powerful and growing air carrier based in Baku.

All Cargo All The Time

      “Silk Way Group currently operates two cargo-only airlines, with both operating as a cohesive unit dedicated to seamless operations for our customers.
      “Silk Way West Airlines, established in 2012, uses only western type aircraft with a fleet consisting of seven Boeing 747 freighters (five B747-8s and two B747-400s). Silk Way Airlines, on the other hand, operates eastern type aircraft such as the IL-76. Silk Way West Airlines provides the extended intercontinental reach and capacity of its B747 fleet, while Silk Way Airlines provides more of a regional reach using smaller aircraft.
      “The combination of the two helps to create a large network with multiple solutions for customers,” Lisa declared.

Adding AZAL

      “When you add Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), the state-owned passenger airline, into the mix, the network and capacity become even larger. 
      “With AZAL recently announcing their fleet expansion through the purchase of four new B-787-8 Dreamliners, and with Silk Way’s efficient utilization of AZAL’s lower deck/belly cargo capacities, we are anticipating an additional boost in the growth of postal mail and freight traffic in the region.

Even More Aircraft

      “In order to meet market demands and provide better connectivity to our customers, we have recently expanded our network and added more capacity with our fifth B747-8F, which was delivered just this past April. 
      “Silk Way significantly increased its global footprint by expanding our network on the main airfreight routes between Asia, Europe, and the U.S. while at the same time expanding regional routes into Central Asia and the Middle East.
      “Additionally, we continue to invest in technology and building/improving our infrastructure.”

Baku Cargo Handling Ups The Ante

      “Over the last few years we have built a state-of-the-art sorting and handling facilities in BCT, or Baku Cargo Terminal, to handle shipments of pharma, perishables, and e-commerce that require special handlings. The facility includes the 12,000-m2 Baku Logistics Center, the 8,000-m2 International Logistics Center, and a 2,000-m2 Postal Terminal; each is equipped with the latest shipment tracking technologies. As such, Baku, more specifically Silk Way, has become a preferred choice for many customers.”

The Business Climate

      “Business for Silk Way in 2017 has grown significantly in both of our scheduled and charter services.
      “In terms of scheduled services, we experienced a double-digit tonnage increase in Q1, and closed Q2 with higher fleet/capacity utilization.
      “We accomplished this by increasing both network and frequencies to and from destinations such as Chicago, Amsterdam, Zhengzhou, and Hong Kong.
      “Additionally, by continuing to focus on improving performance and adding more capacity, we enhanced our position in the European and Asian air cargo markets.
      “The portfolio of customers in the charter segment has also grown considerably.
      “When compared to 2016, the number of charter flight hours flown has also increased by double digits for both the IL-76s and the B-747s.
      “The airline business is just fascinating, with ever-changing market dynamics and innovative technologies to serve customers’ evolving needs.”

An Airline Career So Far

      “It’s challenging and rewarding at the same time, and there is no room for boredom and complacency working in the airline industry.
      “My take is that airlines can certainly benefit from gender diversity in senior management positions.
      “I think the role of women in the airline industry has been constantly improving, especially on the passenger side. On the cargo side, it has been encouraging as well, as we see more women participating in leadership roles.
      “I was an English major at college in China, and came to the U.S. and completed my masters in Computer Information Systems and Marketing.
      “I’m not sure what I would be doing were I not in the airline business. I could be in the hospitality industry or running my own authentic Chinese restaurant serving dumplings!” 

Ahead For Silk Way

      “As an airline, we help facilitate trade growth and trade relations between countries and regions, and I can say that we as a company are doing all that we can to support trade developments.
      “Currently we are offering near-daily connections into Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia out of Baku.
      “The Russia market specifically has been served well by our partner airline, Sky Gates Cargo Airlines, and our close cooperation with them.”

Consignments Abounding

      “The type of goods we are moving hasn’t shifted too much from our traditional main deck cargo, such as odd-sized cargo, Oil & Gas, etc.
      “These industry sectors have contributed a large portion of our tonnage.
      “Having said that, however, we’ve seen significant increases in other types of general and project cargos.
      “We have also experienced phenomenal growth in e-commerce and specialized cargo such as pharmaceuticals and perishables.
      “By being able to offer customers special handling and various cold chain management options, we have really started to see the investments we’ve made in our infrastructure to pay off.”
Geoffrey

Back to the Mike

     Mike Oslansky, United Cargo’s ebullient head of U.S. Cargo Operations, reached out to update us on the carrier’s campaign to deliver emergency relief supplies to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.
     Mike first detailed United’s response to the devastating effect of multiple hurricanes in FlyingTypers’ September 20th edition.
     He picks up the story from there:

Energy Abounds

     “I continue to be overwhelmed by the enormous energy the United team is putting into this humanitarian effort.
     “In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria, through the work and passion of countless United employees, we operated several humanitarian-only flights to the island.


Getting Back On Schedule

     “Logistics conditions are still very challenging and United Cargo is just now resuming limited regular cargo service. While United flew a limited passenger schedule, we continued to carry essential relief supplies on flights from our New York/Newark and Chicago hubs.
     “The totals keep growing, but as of the first week of October I’m gratified to say United has transported more than 1.5 million pounds of desperately-needed relief supplies to areas pummeled by Harvey and Maria.
     “In addition, because so many United employees have family and friends in Puerto Rico, we launched a first-ever program to enable United employees to send relief cargo free-of-charge to SJU and BQN.


A Family Affair

     “The response from the United family to this opportunity was tremendous – I won’t say surprising, because I’ve reached the point where the generosity and compassion in response to this crisis surprises me. Over 700 ‘family and friends’ shipments were donated and more than 150,000 pounds of requested supplies have been flown so far.
     “One thing that’s become increasingly clear is that people genuinely, desperately want to help. So it’s satisfying to provide them a way to make that happen. And because the need is still great and the United team is so generous, we’re relaunching our employee relief shipping program this week.
     “Another great example of generosity and willingness to sacrifice is a United 777-300ER that flew from Newark to San Juan last Wednesday.
     “Along with 35,000 pounds of food, water and other essential supplies, the flight carried more than 300 first responders and volunteers – nurses, doctors, engineers, carpenters, truck drivers and other highly-skilled professionals – to assist in relief and rebuilding efforts on the island. All these experts and the United crew volunteered their time for this mission, and none of the volunteers hesitated for a moment when they were asked.

Ongoing Effort

     “When I think about the totals I referenced earlier, I’m humbled to be able to speak for everyone who has contributed to this labor of love – United teammates, our partners, and those who generously donated the supplies we shipped. This effort is ongoing, so this is not the time to exhale and evaluate. But I expect that eventually we will look at those numbers and say we were all involved in something memorable and valuable.”
Geoffrey

Vol. 16 No. 80
CNS President Quits Air Cargo
Chuckles for October 6, 2017
Malaysia Heats Up FIATA 2017
Air Cargo Aid Hangs Tough As Need Expands