FT060922

#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE

Vol. 21 No. 24	Thursday June 9, 2022

May Was The Month That Was whilst we registered a wind of change that will dictate our future in a way that perhaps was not expected. The proclamation made by U.S. President Biden was duly published, as it is usual since 1948, and ends with these ritual words:
     In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.

     In reading the full text of the proclamation you experience a first chill when you realize that it starts like the eulogy and acquittal of globalization and continues by looking at international trade from a convinced U.S. perspective. The main concern of the President is U.S. workers and their welfare, understandably so, but this does not help you perceive the global approach that international trade requires. If it has to dictate the World Trade Month, this message needs a profoundly different tone.
     In reality the month of trade is hardly a global celebration, and such proclamation barely hits the news in Europe. Probably it is not so big in other parts of the world too: if you check the WTO, i.e. the very place that extols trade and commerce as paramount values, there is insufficient coverage of the idea of a World Trade Month on their website. But the WTO is now fully focussed on September 2022, when the annual Public Forum takes place to develop the concept of a “sustainable and inclusive recovery: ambition to action”. My impression: the times when Mr. Azevedo (the former DG) was one of the most courted speakers in the world are over. Mr. Trump torpedoed the WTO with his statements as soon as he entered the White House, and my view is that nobody should rejoice about it, but one has to admit that the minutiae of the work that the WTO requires is ill at ease with the grandeur that Trump had in mind, and it does not coincide with the concept of celebrating. At the time Trump started his campaigns, even FIATA sounded an alarm by publishing a strong public statement in favour of free trade. In more recent times the topic has been debated by the Chatham House with a view to acquiring another perspective on the issue. Fact is trade has been booming at the beginning of this decade, but it has been exploding in a rather different way than we were accustomed to in previous decades across the Y2K divide.
     One of the declarations of FIATA’s Public Statement stipulated that “losing faith in international cooperation leads to futile contemplation and sterile fire-fighting from one insurgence to another. In the end social unrest prevails and this could jeopardize peace.” Five years after this statement was made, we could say it was sadly predictive. But let us focus on the booming resurrection of free trade we have experienced in the last fifteen months, is it something we can bank on or shall we scramble again to understand where our next meal comes from? There are several elements that are conjuring a new paradigm. Whilst I do not believe in predictions about future economic and trading trends and patterns, as they seem to often change in ways nobody can actually anticipate, I think there are lessons learnt from our immediate past that we may not overlook. We are nearly out of a historic pandemic, considering we need to go back one hundred years to find anything comparable, and we just stepped into the biggest threat of a global conflict at the end of February. The horror in the territory of Ukraine has been in the news since February 24th non-stop. And yet, trade continues, even in Ukraine. Recently the first ships loaded with metal ores sailed from a devastated Mariupol.

To enlarge and see in detail, click here

Let me tell you that our sector, freight forwarding, looking at 2021 has just reported the biggest increase in turnover in many years. I have personally spoken with many of our entrepreneurs at the FIATA Headquarters’ earlier last month and all confirmed 2021 has been an exceptional year. Freight forwarders, as was observed by several speakers at the hybrid Geneva event, are the most up to date trade index one could think of, in other words when forwarders thrive, international trade prospers. Some of the guys even dared predict a more than decent 2022, despite the problems with war in Europe. The atmosphere in Geneva was ecstatic, FIATA members were able to meet again face-to-face since 2019 and everyone was on high spirits. I am told the same atmosphere was felt just a few days later at the CNS in Phoenix, where many of our common friends were in the attendance.
Let me also mention our own Italian federation: Fedespedi. President Silvia Moretto concluded her tenure in Venice on 22nd and 23rd of May by celebrating the 75th anniversary of the association with a convention bearing an expressive title: “Inspired by a world that changes”.

Ivan Petrov, Silvia Moretto and Willem van der Schalk

     Part of the celebration was a visit at the exclusive Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a jewel which is not always getting the credit it deserves, but Venice is Venice and making the list of its best attractions is challenging.
     Elsewhere, there are many other opportunities to meet this year and if you look up in the air you can see that aircraft fly again in large numbers, if not as many as in 2019, capacities are picking up again.
     Yet expecting international trade and tourism to precisely return to the same level is not realistic. Trade shows are nowhere near the frenzy we had experienced at the end of the last decade and the practice of holding hybrid events will surely continue, so my expectation is that trade shows will never return to the same level we have known in recent years, and some of us may have been thinking “thank God” . . . Clearly this calls for some thinking out of the box, perhaps by using the novel hybrid models with unexpected approaches, for example by making it possible for participants to choose how to participate on a daily basis, to suit their employment responsibilities. In my view we need a few more trade shows to crash the barrier and tell us if any or all of the usual suspects’ wandering crowds will be looking for the next ball again.
     Meanwhile, the hordes of tourists are back. Maybe they have different faces, as not all countries are recovering at the same pace, but leisure travel is picking up again and it is possible to fearlessly book a flight to your next fancy destination. Not everywhere as yet, but there is a reasonable choice. So my expectation is that it will not take long for tourism to be pushing our economies strongly again.

Ivan Petrov, Antonella Straulino and Nicolette vander Jagt

     In the trading community things are also moving. There are signs that big multinationals such as Amazon, who nearly monopolized sales in the most recent years, start showing some respite. Timid articles appeared in the news, questioning the fact that the behemoth would have excessive staff and stacks of products in search of destinations. If you connect this observation with the articles we were given to read during the pandemic, when we were locked-down and could do nothing else, but making online retailers rich, there seems to be some food for thought here. I think many could have thought that Mr. Bezos’s sassy laughter accompanying the articles reporting his skyrocketing profits were not well paired with the grieving articles reporting the pains of the people struggling with the pandemic. The Greek called this retribution “phthonos ton theon” i.e. the envy of the gods, who decide to take away from those who had been exceedingly successful part of their triumph, considered excessive. Probably a company with Amazon’s spine will manage to cover the cracks on the wall soon, but we have to register the fact that something has changed for no apparent reason.
     On the other hand, even in Europe and in America many countries’ GDP’s are rapidly climbing to proportions we used to observe in South East Asia only: there must be something moving in the boxes if imports and exports are soaring . . . Leaving Ukraine out of the picture for a fraction, the only shadow in this portrait is inflation, and Jason Furman sends a warning in his article featured by the Group of Thirty. We learnt our lessons in the 1970’s on how devastating inflation can be, but in my opinion today’s markets move at a different speed and the trend can probably be curbed faster than in the past.
     Our society is also dealing with new and unexpected trends in the way people grade their priorities: both sides of the Atlantic large numbers of employed individuals have left or consider leaving their jobs as the myth of a “steady job”, as the Beatles would cite, no longer exists. Younger women and men seem to understand that their job is just another variable in the image of development and they seem to grasp the concept faster and more comprehensively than their employers, who actually ignited the process. We also hear the approach to work is changing that in China and Japan at a pace, and this is a totally new feature. Nobody knows how fast and deep this change will cut. Clearly these consequences do not merely reverberate in this generation’s own personal life. They actually start changing the landscape of “bigger, better, smarter” that we have been accustomed to for such a long time. Perhaps it is just the beginning, perhaps it is not, time will tell and those who can read these changing stars will have a much clearer route crossing their charts.
     When I was in South Africa for the FIATA WC 2004, we went to one of the natural parks and the group was advancing on a four-wheeler through the bushes. There were many trails and we were on one of them watching for wildlife, when all of a sudden a striped equine crossed our path. One of the guests said: “it’s a zebra crossing.” That’s it . . .
     We are all of a sudden at crossroads and those who are cool enough to understand the way forward will have their day, and chances are they could be more careful and considerate than we have been.
Marco L. Sorgetti

FlyingTalkers

Ram & Des What Old Friends Do

Best In Show
     One of the busiest people in Mumbai recently was the person who creates the awards and honorariums.
     We may wonder as example, if every panelist needs a citation for their attendance and participation in a talk session, but guess that is a personal choice.
     No doubt about it, one award that stood out from the pack at Air Cargo India last week as well-deserved, if not over-looked for years was presented to Ingo Zimmer, CEO of GSSA ATC Aviation Services AG and Dagmar Hanau ATC Group Marketing Manager.
     The duo is pictured here with a presenter amidst a glitter bonanza on stage at Mumbai.
     Dagmar and Ingo hosted the VIP Lounge at Air Cargo India, but actually when it comes to being a GSSA they don’t carry the bag for anybody.
     ATC won the Air Cargo India GSSA award because they are simply the best on the planet.
     So congratulations ATC, that finally got some long overdue respect at a trade show.
     As far as we can tell in our 48 years on this beat, ATC has always been “Best in Show”.
Geoffrey

     The Adani Group, headed by Gautam Adani, has, in just over two years after entering the aviation space, become the largest operator in India. Through the Adani Airports Holding Limited (AAHL), it manages the airports at Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram (all the airports were won through a competitive bid that was announced in 2019). Adani also bought the Mumbai International Airport from the GVK group - today, it is the jewel in the crown. The six airports along with the Mumbai airport, handled nearly 80 million passengers in 2019-2020, approximately a quarter of India's total air traffic of 341 million.
     It is no wonder that the Adani Group said in a statement that “AAHL is now India's largest airport infrastructure company, accounting for 25 percent airport footfalls. With the addition of MIAL (Mumbai International Airport Limited), it will now also control 33 per cent of India's air cargo traffic.”
     The group's airports' business model is one of "hybrid revenue". Simply put, the company earns from airport-related activities such as cargo and ground handling, parking, and housing, and aircraft fuelling, and also non-aero functions such as income from duty-free shops, retail licences, advertising, parking space, and development rights on land adjacent to the airport.
     The acquisition of management of the seven airports has enabled Adani to be the biggest private airport operator in India. That means only the government of India, which controls 12 of the major ports and a host of airports through AAI, is AAHL's main rival as far as airports and ports infrastructure is concerned. Incidentally, airports and ports are important and necessary for passenger and cargo movements in what is considered one of the fastest-growing economies of the world.
     The Adani Group has come, according to aviation experts, at the right time. Airline traffic – both domestic and international – is seeing a steady rise. The group believes it will be serving directly to a 300+ mn-strong consumer base comprising fliers as well as non-fliers.
     These seven airports – especially Mumbai – have strong cargo links. We asked Jeet Adani, who spearheads the Adani Airports business, about the group’s plans for cargo.

FT:   With seven airports, what are Adani Airports Cargo’s plans to boost cargo tonnage. What are your plans for the immediate future as well as long term ones?
JA:   All our airports present immense air cargo growth potential, both domestic and international. In the short term, focus is on increasing interim cargo infrastructure in the quickest way possible so that all airports provide enough cargo capacity and infrastructure to improve service levels, provide seamless IT connectivity and improve volumes. In the (not so) long term, all our airports will be equipped with Integrated Cargo Terminals (ICT) with all products and services under one roof (including Transshipment) while the ICTs will be designed and developed to provide enough capacity at least for the next 5 years, based on foreseeable volume demand. All the ICTs will be modular and scalable, with some being highly automated. Roll out of ICTs are expected to bring global service and infrastructure standards to our airports.

FT:   Have you chalked out special plans to boost the pharma cargo and how do you plan to implement that?
JA:   Of course. Some of our airports are already major gateways for pharma exports. In some, we have made some significant investments in the recent past to develop necessary terminal infrastructure to facilitate growth of export of pharma while in others we are actively working on developing global standard pharma logistics centres. We do see pharma has great growth potential for exports.

FT:   A lot has been talked about Krishi Udan 2.0. How are you preparing to service domestic agriculture?
JA:   In all our ICTs, we are developing cool rooms to facilitate movement of perishables. This is both in domestic and international terminals. We are working closely with the concerned government agencies to implement the necessary process and regulatory changes to contribute to the growth of perishables.

FT:   Boosting transshipment cargo has been a major issue for metro airports in the country. How are you planning to grow transshipment cargo?
JA:   It is, indeed. Transshipment process also needs to be defined, standardized and monitored, across the country, through a well thought out TP Policy which is a work in progress by the Ministry. We do see great opportunities to grow this segment, across all its variants such as I2I, I2D, QRT, QWT, etc. Where possible and relevant, we have plans to develop airside dedicated TP facilities for efficient processing of TP shipments on airside. In all our ICTs, the design includes a dedicated TP corridor for seamless processing of TP shipments within ICT, to facilitate QWT shipments. Our systems are already intelligent enough to support very efficient processing of all types of TP movements.

FT:   Are there plans to set up Air Freight Stations for domestic cargo to help declutter the airport cargo terminal?
JA:   We have no plans to set up Air Freight Stations for domestic air cargo, at the moment. We believe decluttering is expected to happen with adoption of automation, process optimization/efficiency and IT integration at the cargo terminals.
Tirthankar Ghosh

  Air cargo trade show elbow and fist bumps, kisses and hugs and sharing food in what used to pass as normal behavior in a trade show setting anywhere, right now, may be premature and worse, might make you sick according to some people that we talked to in the past days.
  Pictured in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture recently, people wear face masks amid renewed increase of the coronavirus COVID-19.
  Cargo Network Services Corp. (CNS) and Air Cargo India both were full-tilt boogie into an opportunity to ditch the mask and feel life slowly, if not immediately getting back to normal.
  But hold your horses Louie, we have received several reports of cases of people that have returned home from CNS testing positive for COVID.
  People don’t like to talk about it and as we have mentioned, there is no central clearing house. But, up and down the line, people are still contracting the disease, it is still out there and air cargo people are getting bit!
  The problem everybody has is with mandates.
  So forget the wrist slapping and angry social pressure.
  You wear a mask as purely a self-defense mechanism.
  Mandates, as we all know, simply do not work. The problem is not the mask.
  Masks work and worn correctly can save you a nasty couple days of a really big hurt with lingering impact that can continue for some time.
  What you will discover with COVID is that you cannot be reckless around it.
  Mask up. Get some K95s from Wellmore. Wellmore makes a K95 mask with adjustable ear loops and nose forming values that are much more comfortable, (that don’t have you looking like Mickey Mouse) to wear for long periods of time.
  Like we've said, the proof of the trade show will be the second or third time these events are held should cast better light on their true value.
  Our hope is that we can all be together again, ongoing.
  Meantime take some defensive action right away.
  Please wear your mask.
GDA

     Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité On June 6
     On June 6 we recall D-Day in France during World War II when the Allies landed and it was the beginning of the end of Nazi rule of Europe.
     We especially recall three years ago when on June 6 more than 40 DC-3s that had first accompanied the landings in 1944 returned to the skies above the coast of France to mark the 75h Anniversary of the landings.
     Many of those DC-3s were pressed into air cargo use immediately after the war by enterprising people that bought them up at USD$1500.00 a piece and formed airlines with names like Seaboard World, Flying Tiger Line and others.
     Once again as we salute all the brave soldiers that served, it can be said air cargo saved the day which is why so many DC-3s are still around.
     In Yellowknife, Canada where Buffalo Airways is still flying supplies and people around in DC-3s, Buffalo’s Mikey McBryan assembled a team that completely rebuilt a derelict DC-3 (that had flown above Normandy June 6,1944) and made it air worthy again to celebrate the aforementioned 2019 75th Anniversary.
     You can pick up that story on Plane Savers-to our mind one of the best exciting builds and comebacks recorded of an old airplane ever.
     We have family in France and often journey to Bernay in Normandy.
     One of the great things about reporting on aviation in air cargo is the places you visit and the people you meet.
     Bernay is a small town of just 10,000 and is a place filled with beautiful fifteenth to eighteenth-century homes. The downtown area in particular is exquisite for its period architecture.
     One is struck by the lively local population and wonderful markets on summer weekends. The cozy pubs are filled with warmhearted, friendly people.
     You also get a sense, looking at the beautifully aging buildings and the unique architecture, of the fragility of this town; that a 40-foot rig full of cargo highballing down the road through Bernay at 60 kilometers would cause the buildings on main street to collapse onto the road itself.
     Of course, no big vehicles are allowed, but you get the picture.
     To their credit, the French know what they have and are out to protect not only the heritage here, but also their unique and envious lifestyle.
     Based in a former sixteenth-century abbey house, the Municipal Museum of Bernay is home to a fine art collection ranging from antiquity to the 20th century.
     Bernay’s Musee includes archaeology, Egyptology, French, Italian, Flemish, and Dutch paintings, and a superb collection of ceramics from Rouen considered amongst the finest in France.
     Near the museum, the eleventh-century Abbey Church of Our Lady, a superb example of the Romanesque style, is simply stunning.
     Picturesque forms line the streets of Rue Thiers and Rue Gaston Folloppe, accenting the old half-timbered houses in Bernay.
     History is alive in Bernay
     Although Bernay is located in the coastal area of Normandy, which in contemporary history is much remembered for June 6, 1944 and the allied effort to free Europe, its rich and full history dates back to Roman and Norman times.
     Joan of Arc is buried in Rouen, less than 20 miles away from Bernay.
     In Bernay there is a small private airfield that opened in 1934, seven years after Charles Lindbergh electrified France and the rest of the world when he flew from New York to Paris.
     Today operated by the Aero Club de Bernay, the airport once served as base for the German Luftwaffe, which built a hangar here and some barracks that are still in use for aircraft and related storage.
     Bernay Airport is quiet except for some occasional private flights and of course an active flying school.

     Anne Le Flohic is the sparkplug and bright light chairwoman of the Aero Flying Club in a place that recalls the early days of aviation, right down to a big friendly golden retriever that greets everybody heading into the pilots’ lounge.
     In Bernay, our cousin Claude Cardine lives quietly with his wife in a beautiful Chateau built in 1745.
     Today at 81, Claude and Madame Azra Cardine are stylish French people who class up just about every place they visit.
     For his part, Claude most enjoys haunting the local auctions and doesn’t remember much of the Second World War except what his parents told him when they lived in the town of Brionne.
     What he does remember are the squadrons of fighters zooming about the sky above and bombers that were sent to destroy the bridge that spanned the river Risle near Brionne.
     “The aircraft came in waves again and again and my mother and father and my siblings were aware of the conflict although we were safe and never felt threatened.
     “I remember one day the bridge on Risle was gone and some homes in the town of Brionne were destroyed,” Claude ventured.
     “There are many examples of death and destruction in Normandie during that time, but I guess that’s war.
     “It’s an indelible memory even for a three-year-old boy,” Claude smiled.
     “I’ve gone back to my former home in Brionne and thought of those days.
     “This is a magnificent place.
     “We have a very active aero club for private fliers and training for the next generation of aviators here in Bernay, where I live today with my wife Madame Azra, and where we raised our two children.
     “Every once in a while there’s an event with formation aircraft at Normandy that reminds me of those terrible times long ago.
     “I also think about all of the brave selfless people who sacrificed themselves so that Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, and the colors of the flag of France, could continue to lift our lives, ensuring that our children were born into freedom,” Claude Cardine said.
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. 21 No. 21 Sullivan & Hughes At FIATA Chuckles for May 24, 2022 Life Goes Down To Zero	Vol. 21 No. 22 Amar Is The Phoenix At CNS Chuckles for May 25, 2022 Memorial Day 2022	Vol. 21 No. 23 Bharat Thakkar Heart Passion & Wisdom Another Opening Another Show ATC Hosts VIP Lounge Ram & Des in 2022

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