What appealed to you joining the air cargo business? One of the things I quickly realized after joining the air cargo business is just how important it is to build relationships of trust with our customers. Events like last month’s Air Cargo Americas in Miami are a good opportunity to touch base with customers and report on our accountability. Miami is a great venue, especially for a carrier like American, to also emphasize the depth and breadth of our network as the largest operator of widebody aircraft between North and South America. I would hope that along with strengthening friendships and business relationships, our participation at Air Cargo Americas allowed us to convey those two important points, namely that we have a deeply caring team that is dedicated to serving our customers, and that we have the industry’s best network out of Miami.

Is there an emerging need for an enhanced standby plan to deal with crises? What is your view on what air cargo can do to help others? I don’t know if you can ever be sufficiently prepared for something as devastating as the hurricanes we saw in the Caribbean this year. But as a Boy Scout, “Be Prepared” is permanently engrained into my psyche and is more than a motto for me, and we continue to think about how we can improve in the future. We were fortunate to get some relief supplies to Puerto Rico before the storms hit, and stage more supplies in Miami that made it easier/faster to then get relief to the islands immediately following the storms. Because San Juan used to be a hub for American, a lot of our team members have family in Puerto Rico. So, of course, getting aid to the people there was very personal for us. In the first month following the storm we moved more than 2.5 million pounds of relief supplies to Puerto Rico and ran 777s to increase our lift in the first few weeks, when frequencies were constrained by Air Traffic Control limitations.

Where is American Airlines Cargo in December 2017, and how do you see 2018? Throughout the year, we’ve continued our focus on creating value for our customers and their overall experience with us, both pre- and post-shipping. I am convinced that eFreight will transform our industry to the benefit of carriers and shippers alike. I’m inspired by the commitment I see across the industry to cut down on our environmental footprint, but I’m equally excited about the way our paperless future can transform the way we do business together. We’ve also worked to improve our temperature-controlled facilities that help us make sure perishables and pharmaceuticals can go further. Connecting Asia with South America is both a massive strength and an opportunity for us. We’ve just launched new service out of Beijing (PEK) to Los Angeles (LAX) that will further strengthen our connectivity between these two important regions.

What surprises you? I don’t know if or when I’ll ever get over the fascination I now have about where my food comes from. Before getting involved in the cargo business, this was something I absolutely took for granted. Perhaps even less understood is how hard people work to make it occur so smoothly (so that everyone else can go on taking it for granted).  I now have a front row seat to how devoutly our team works to get it right, and that is something I wish everyone could see and appreciate. I think it would make your food taste even better.
      Our teams take a lot of pride in delivering for our customers. Quarterly we award a “Cargo Cup” to the station with the best performance and celebrate their efforts to continually improve. That level of passion and commitment isn’t often talked about in the media or at the shows we attend, but it is something we are committed to recognizing and rewarding.

Imagine that you are talking to Richard Elieson 25 years ago as the person you are today. What would you say? Knowing how the story ends always alleviates pressure and anxiety, doesn’t it? There is an author that I really love, but he has a tendency to kill off all his leading characters. He is very nerve-racking to read.
      I have either been quite fortunate or I had low expectations, because my life continues to present opportunities that have exceeded my young-adult predictions. I have always been happy, but my wife and I marvel all the time at how our life just keeps getting better. I wanted to go out with Lisa because she was attractive and she drove a Mustang. Little did I understand or appreciate how important it would be 25 years later to have a partner who is generous, funny, and who is willing to stay up all night helping my son with his calculus homework. I’m not sure that registered on my radar when I was 25, but now it’s hugely valuable to me.
      If I were to give my 20-year old self advice (following some very targeted stock investment guidance), the first counsel might be to indulge in the present. I very much believe in taking the long view on any given issue and have never been one to fixate on momentary or transitory issues, but those same planning and saving characteristics probably kept me from basking in “the moment” as well as I might have. When my kids were little they would run to hug me when I got home at night. My kids are all teenagers now and they have become more fun and interesting with each passing year. But they don’t often run to greet me at the door.
      I still think a lot about the future and how to best prepare, but remembering to “stop and smell the roses” feels like pretty sound advice. That is one reason why I take a lot of pictures—it helps me remember the moment.

Rick Elieson transitions easily between a vocation at American Airlines Cargo to his avocation as a very talented naturalist photographer. His dexterity in the latter practice is evidence to the depths and commitments of his passions.   A magnificent collection of his photographs, (here) which capture the detail and force of natural life, should confirm his perceptiveness.   Mr. Elieson took the reins of President Cargo at the world’s biggest airline earlier this year. American Airlines has surely benefitted from his bright and keen eye, which shines from his gallery collections.   Photographers, we have learned are a special breed.   While Rick was talking about his photographs here, our thoughts returned to something Ansel Adams one said:   “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. “When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”   Rick Elieson is a double threat—he gets the picture and can talk about it! Have A Camel. “A camel ride in UAE, after a meeting a few weeks ago with some business partners, was my first desert experience.   “Not only was that beautiful, but the food was fantastic and I came away ever more interested in the cultural dynamics of the region.   “Travel is great that way bring things from the abstract to concrete and as brief as my time there was, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Goofing With The Bears. “My polar bear trip was to a small island off the northern coast of Alaska (the city of Kaktovik) where bears tend to congregate for a couple of weeks each year while they wait for the sea ice to form, allowing them to venture out and hunt for food (seals). I was part of an expedition with three other photographers all determined to see how cold we could get before our hands froze to our cameras! Unbearable Future “Kaktovik is one of the best places in the world to see polar bears, but changing weather patterns as well as government regulations related to marine wildlife (which governs polar bears) are making it increasing tough to manage bear encounters,” Rick Elieson said.

Who do you admire in business and life? Why are you optimistic? When I was a teenager living in Japan, I was obsessed with learning the language. Not to be dramatic about it, but my motivations were spiritual and it was extremely important to me. I had some really gifted teachers and I progressed very rapidly. I soon reached the point where there was no longer anyone around after whom I could model my Japanese. I distinctly remember looking around and wondering if this or that person might be a mentor for me in my quest. Instead, I embraced everyone as a mentor. That is to say, I realized that each of them had something to teach me, flawed or imperfect as they might be. 
      That was a shift in mindset that stuck with me and I still subscribe to that approach. I believe that everyone has something of genuine value to teach me. The question is more about my readiness or receptiveness to learn. To the extent that I am humble and open minded, I continue to learn from the diverse experiences and perspectives of the people around me. These days it’s pretty easy—I’m surrounded by people who are brighter and more capable than I am. It’s great!

What are some measures that air cargo can employ to advance the business? What do you admire from other industries that might be changed or adopted for air cargo? I spent the better part of my career in pricing and inventory control functions. Back office tasks (how to most accurately model demand and determine a fair market price) as well as customer-facing aspects (how to distribute and position my products in a way that best conveys their value) are things we still seem to grapple with as an industry.
      The lack of transparency is frustrating for the end consumer, and the lack of dynamism is frustrating for the carrier who desires to respond to changing customer demands or operational necessities. If we were a younger or less complicated industry with fewer legacy systems and processes to overcome, this would have changed already.
      I don’t think anyone disagrees that we need to modernize and become more customer-focused and transparent. That is like motherhood and apple pie. It is less clear to me, however, how committed we are to making that happen before more potentially disruptive forces either compel us or relegate us to the sideline. eFreight is a simple example. I’m not throwing stones. I’m not where I need to be by any stretch. But at American we’re making record investments with an aim towards changing that. I believe this is one of those cases where it is not about who has the superior vision, but rather about who has the greatest ability to adapt that will determine which companies are rewarded with the greatest future success.

Will there always be an airline forwarder partnership as core to our business? In the first few weeks following the devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean, we delivered more than 2.5 million pounds of relief supplies. Much of that occurred as part of an employee program that we launched. Even while broader relief agency efforts were being put into motion, we immediately introduced a policy that allowed American Airlines employees to ship a generator and relief supplies to family or friends in Puerto Rico for free. Because American used to operate a hub in San Juan, our ties to the island run deep and team members respond in truly amazing fashion. Aside from the obvious good this provided for the island, it was also a stark reminder to me of how critical Freight Forwarders are to the process.
      Safety, security, and logistics are not trivial matters. Our team members sent more than 4,500 shipments. And it flat out overwhelmed us. Our infrastructure—nobody’s infrastructure—is designed to accommodate that many individual shipments. There is a massively different impact on the operation of 100,000 pounds destined for the trucks of a half dozen Forwarders, compared to 100,000 pounds awaiting pickup by 300 different individuals. In Puerto Rico, we accomplished an amazing feat motivated by the best of causes, but it is not a sustainable or cost-effective strategy. We are at our best when partnering with forwarders who are open and collaborative. We’ve really been able to do some cool things for customers as a result of three-party meetings between American, the forwarder, and the originating customer.  There is a lot more potential out there if we can prove that we’re trustworthy. Our goal is to be the most trusted air cargo carrier in the business and that can only happen in an environment where partners appreciate and respect the value that each brings to the process.
Geoffrey

     Swiss WorldCargo “Hub Zurich” landed the coveted renewal of GDP compliance from Swissmedic, the Swiss authority responsible for the authorization and supervision of therapeutic products.
      Recognizing Cargologic handling facilities’ GDP compliance certification was issued in September 2017.
      Swiss WorldCargo’s ground handling partner was one of the first to secure GPD compliance in 2014 and the “Center of Excellence for Independent Validators” (CEIV) certification from IATA for the handling of pharmaceutical products in 2015.
      Swiss WorldCargo said that it has embarked upon an aggressive program of investing in replicating this best practice model in collaboration with its ground-handling partners around the world.
      “A network of certified trade lanes is being implemented to ensure the highest quality standards and product integrity in cold chain handling on a global scale,” SWC said.
      “By the close of 2017, some 50 ‘quality corridors’ are expected to be in place, covering the top pharma destinations.”
More: www.swissworldcargo.com
Geoffrey