|
| |
 |
 #INTHEAIREVERYWHERE |
| Vol. 21 No. 29 | Monday
July 25,
2022 |
 |
|
|
Read somewhere to say Happy Work Anniversaryto Jan Krems for eight big ones at United Cargo. How about thanks for being a great human being? That you certainly are. A bag of chips and a cold Heineken wish to you on this warm Summer's Day in 2022. When Jan Krems began his tenure eight years ago as President and top cargo executive at United Airlines Worldwide Cargo we wrote: “Winston Churchill said of Franklin Roosevelt that 'meeting him was like uncorking your first bottle of champagne,' which is exactly what talking to Jan Krems feels like." Face-to-face, or on Zoom, take your pick, Jan comes across as a very broad thinker and a brilliant air cargo mind. But he also is a very approachable guy who knows how to both motivate people and thought and have some fun as well. United Cargo business is on fire all over the world setting new records. Airline of the year? United is airline for every year! Right Now Krems and his team have UA Cargo out front and pulling away from every other U.S. flag combination carrier in the air cargo business. Don't know if we will ever see the vintage of that grape we hear you have raised, kegged and have stashed somewhere. That you are the class of the business, inventive, original and the True Blue man in the world following airline greats from the Netherlands, including Jacques Ancher, Pieter Bouw, Jan H. Meurer, and Jan Kok, who was a very Blue ops guy and true blue soul of the airline, with whom we swapped stories and drank beer. But Jan is the right guy at the right time, an all-star air cargo man who along with his team has made United Cargo first class in every way. Eight years is more than you might have wanted but you made the most of it and those of us who are lucky to have worked beside you only want more. So forgive us, as we wonder if God would please let us go on this way. Superbedankt, Jan Geoffrey |
 |
The Urge To Merge . . . For the Air Cargo Trade Show Industry the surge to pump up the return of highly successful mostly maskless event around the world continues at high pitch. This year has witnessed return of air cargo people to revenue-rich event venues from India to USA with some UK and a Korean interlude and even Istanbul and Miami yet to happen during Fall 2022. But as COVID continues with the demon still out there and maybe an even worse strain (God Forbid) in Fall, we pray for your health and better vaccine while we also continue to call for more aggressive monitoring. We also need your help so that we can get the word out. To date at industry events, like a recent employee gathering in New Orleans and Air Cargo India and elsewhere, there has been zero effort to inform the public of risk and infectious results from trade show organizers or their cargo media partners. So while air cargo is celebrating a global windfall in business and profits driven in large part by the pandemic, the headlines being generated send the message that air cargo people love to get awards and individuals who get an award love themselves. It is absolutely outrageous to barely hear whispers amongst all that shouting as we are stricken to learn that people are arriving back home sick from air cargo meetings and trade shows. How are you feeling? Are you planning or have you put on an event? What precautions are in place or were taken? What kind of feedback was received or what did you hear from attendees? Send us a message here and sign it with a nom de plume if that works better for you and we will protect our source and get the word out. “The COVID is a demon and we must not let the demon hide.” We are informed so you be informed. Stay Safe! GDA |
Hello Geoffrey, Thank
you for the suggestion and for raising the need for post event monitoring
and communication where cases were identified/spread at an event. We monitored
the AMS event and it seems we had zero cases identified by participants.
This was reassuring then I went on holiday and my entire family contracted
it on a cruise ship in the Norwegian Fjords, so I agree we are not yet done
and considering the Autumn season may see yet another surge, particularly
considering the increased transmitability of the latest variant I will certainly
ask Rachael to look into options and will discuss with Messe München
(event partner). I attended an ACI event last December which also had a
similar service.Thanks again. Brgds, Glyn Glyn Hughes, Director General, TIACA |
Even as IndiGo, India’s largest airline, is all set to induct its first freighter plane – FT reported some time ago that IndiGo was keen to start his freighter airline, on the heels of the air cargo boom that was ushered in the pandemic – InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company has gone ahead to craft a 50:50 joint venture with Atlanta-based logistics giant United Parcels Service (UPS) for an initiative in the Indian logistics market. In fact, UPS had been looking for an Indian partner to boost its India business. UPS, incidentally, is challenged by the likes of DHL and FedEx in India and is, in fact, way behind both. It is not that UPS had not tried to push its India business. In 2021, it had floated Iris Transportation Service, where InterGlobe Enterprises had a 50 percent stake. Also, UPS had, some years ago, a joint venture with an affiliate of Jet Airways. When Jet Airways stopped operations, the JV died. India has been on the cards of global logistics giants. This time around, the JV will venture into anything connected with logistics like warehouses, transportation and inventory management as well as shipments of goods by air, land and sea. The India market holds potential. It may be mentioned that FedEx invested USD$100 million in logistics start-up Delhivery in 2021. DHL, perhaps, understood the importance of India way back, when it took over Blue Dart in 2004 and today holds 74 percent stake in the company. Even though Interglobe Enterprises holds 37.82% stake in IndiGo airlines and despite air cargo watchers pointing out that IndiGo’s cargo business could reap dividends from the JV with UPS, the joint venture was completely separate from the airline’s operations. “The cargo arrangement between Interglobe Enterprise and UPS has nothing to do with us. That’s a standalone operation. They have their own agreements which have no impact on IndiGo,” CEO Ronojoy Dutta said some time ago in a post-results call with analysts. In fact, CEO Dutta emphasized that IndiGo’s cargo business would continue to service all its customers and not be selective about UPS. “The business of UPS is more likely to focus on small shipments and surface transport. We are into consolidated shipments. These are two ships passing in the night. We don’t signal each other. We have nothing to do with each other,” he said. FT spoke to J. B. Singh, Director, InterGlobe Enterprises, in charge of the new JV with UPS that has been named MOVIN. FT: Why do you think this is the right time for a logistics company like MOVIN to start operations? JBS: Today, the logistics sector is at its most dynamic embodiment and is expected to grow more than 10% in the next couple of years with an estimate reach of USD$320 million by 2025. The credit goes to the big investments in the infrastructure development, therefore creating more opportunities for the logistics sector with improved efficiencies at optimized cost. At MOVIN, we bring in the operational excellencies with world-class technology across the sectors for different stakeholders. We are certain that our foray into logistics will enable the businesses to expand their footprints across India and the globe. FT: How will UPS help MOVIN to become a major player in the logistics sector? JBS: Entering the logistics market with a globally reputed partner like UPS is a logical extension of our long-term business strategy of creating best-in-class brands to serve the Indian market. The values of prioritizing customer needs, people focus, and future mindedness is something both UPS & InterGlobe identify with, and these common values will surely be beneficial to this partnership. We are confident that our understanding of the Indian customers and their preferences, as well as UPS’s global expertise in logistics, transportation, and delivery solutions, will help make this partnership a grand success. FT: Supply chain problems have been in the headlines around the world. How much of a factor has increased demand for physical goods been due to the pandemic? JBS: The biggest lesson from the pandemic is the urgent need to improve supply chain resiliency to mitigate business risks. Supply chain visibility available today is rich set of technologies such as IoT, barcodes, RFIDs, and data analytics. The growth of e-commerce and business demand has contributed to an increase in digital financial services provided to small businesses and consumers. FT: With high fuel prices, do you think the situation at present is difficult for MOVIN? JBS: The rising fuel cost is a matter of concern; however, we are hopeful that the Government will be taking the helpful measures that will help in curbing the price inflation of fuel. We are committed to meet the business expectations and adopting the alternative transport mediums as our geographical presence increases in the market. FT: Do you think the logistics industry in India has not been quick enough to adapt to changing circumstances? JBS: The Logistics sector has evolved with time and in fact has adopted technologies and solutions ahead of the time. Express deliveries, AI driven technologies, real time monitoring with the help of IoT enables seamless efficiencies. Consequently, better tools and strategies are being sought by firms in order to enhance their decision making. At the firm level, the logistics focus is moving towards reducing cycle times in order to add value to their customer experience. The industry continues to evolve with the demand and continues to customize the experience based on consumer behavior and requirement. FT: What would MOVIN like the government to do to ease supply chain bottlenecks? JBS: Supply chain challenges in India mainly relate to poor infrastructure, complex tax infrastructure, weak distribution system, fragmented market, and lack of technology adoption. Though the complexities of India's supply chain may appear overwhelming, understanding and mastering them is a critical success determinant for a business attempting to serve customers in India. An efficient review of supply chain design will help better position companies in what is becoming an increasingly competitive marketplace. FT: Do you plan to use IndiGo’s cargo planes or are there plans to start a dedicated cargo carrier like Blue Dart? JBS: We will hold cargo space with several partners and vendors as per our needs and IndiGo will be one of the service providers. FT: How dependent is MOVIN on technology? JBS: Our ambition is to provide a suite of services matching the needs of B2B customers by bringing in higher levels of efficiencies, stronger distribution channels, advanced innovative technology, along with global best practices. With time as our operational excellence becomes complex with expanding routes, we plan to invest heavily on technology as our systems and processes are built to be agile and drive efficiency; thereby enhancing customer experience throughout the shipment journey. FT: Can you talk about the services provided by the company? JBS: We understand that speed is fundamental to a logistics company, and we work hard to stay agile across every location that we serve. We cater to B2B businesses with express logistics needs on the basis of our key strengths mentioned as follows: • Standard Premium Day Definite: We have day-definite Standard Premium service offering by surface for guaranteed day delivery. • Express Time definite: - We have 3 time-definite Express service offerings ie Express Early Morning – before 10:30AM, Express Mid-day - before noon and Express End of Day only available for Air Express customers. FT: What makes MOVIN different than its competitors? JBS: We are the first in the logistics business to completely digitize the whole customer journey with paperless transaction. The features like e-POD, customer repository of invoices, shipping reports etc. will surely be something new to experience in the B2B logistics industry. With new and differentiating features, the pricing hypothesis and its rationale has been set based on the existing incumbents in the market. We are confident that the feature versus price is aptly planned/ pegged and will make us stand out from the competitor. TG |
Five years ago on July 11, 2017, while still working as a reporter, thinker, dreamer and doer at age 105, Richard Malkin who founded the publication Cargo Airlift during the Berlin Airlift of 1948 filed his last story and took off forever. Thinking that a new generation should know Dick Malkin, who wrote about air cargo for 70 years, we offer some comments on his passing from the great air cargo pioneer Bill Boesch. Today Bill, happy to report, is still going strong and playing a critical role in getting vital supplies from Covid vaccines to you name it, via military airlift everywhere in the world. “When I started in the air cargo business with Seaboard Word Airlines in the 60s,” Bill writes, “Richard Malkin was already a legend. “He used to come into SWA offices at JFK and interview our top brass. “People like Richard Jackson, our CEO, John Mahoney, and Al Levinson were community figures Richard brought forward in features.” Simply put, looking back more than sixty years ago, the younger Bill Boesch thought that if Dick ever interviewed him, it would be the mark of having made it in the air cargo industry. The Air Cargo Genius “You see, when it came to reporting, thinking ahead, or for that matter reasoning what was happening and what it all meant to a fledgling industry, including what would happen tomorrow, Richard Malkin was the only voice out there. “Now looking back at what he wrote, thought, and contributed leaves no doubt that our industry was walking with a shepherd of the air cargo form. “Richard Malkin was by any measure a genius of air cargo. “And then one day in the 70s it happened. My secretary told me Richard Malkin was on the line. “He asked me if I would meet him for lunch at the Wings Club in New York City. “I showed up at the Wings Club an hour early just so I wouldn’t be late and waited for Dick in the lounge area outside of the dining room. “The pictures on the wall of the past Presidents of the Wings Club and a framed note from Charles Lindbergh added to my apprehension over what the hell I was doing there, and I almost left. “But just then, Dick walked in wearing his signature grey suit. “We sat down and Dick took out his notebook where he had a series of questions already prepared. “Thinking back over the years, parts of that day are still crystal clear and now will remain so for the rest of my life. “I recall being OK when he asked me what was happening, but when he got into what might happen ahead, I had to admit I didn’t have any answers. “But that didn’t faze Dick. He just nodded and went on with the next question.  “But
I swore to myself that I would never again be put into a position where
I wasn’t thinking about how we could make air cargo better. That one
interview with Dick shaped the rest of my life in air cargo.“How could we make air cargo better? “I can only hope all the people coming up in this great air cargo industry can find the space, time, and sensibility to respect its founders and brilliant thinkers like Dick Malkin. “So I remember Dick and he lives in my heart and in all the hearts of those who work finding the path to make air cargo better.” |
“I Don’t Got To Show You No Stinkin’ Badges,” amounts to what Amazon said to The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, operators of Newark Liberty Airport right after the USD$125 million cargo terminal deal with the Bi-State agency fell through. The proposed deal would have paved the way to allow the Jeff Bezos- megaconglomerate to take over almost all the facility, terminating all tenant leases in the building. We screamed bloody murder and so did the neighbors around Newark Liberty Airport and, of course so did the shipping companies screwed out of a place to make a living. Companies affected included SAS - Scandinavian Airlines, which in fact put Newark air cargo in business in the 1980s, but kept the bitchin’ under wraps after they were sent the kiss off that they needed to seek facilities elsewhere. But don’t cry for either the New York and New Jersey Authority or Amazon. We regret to report that as far as we can tell from our 50+ years experience, Port Authority is among “The World’s Worst” airport cargo operators. Amazon will go right on growing, even if it means continuing to sort packages outside in the weather including near our neighborhood PS 178 Kindergarten windows as pictured here. And forget all the political statements. What happened plain and simple was hubris and mishandling by both Amazon and the Port Authority. But the worst in our view was Port Authority cancelling people and companies out that operated and had a life at Newark Liberty Airport. Officials from Make the Road New Jersey, one of the groups that opposed the lease, said Amazon “walked away” after it was “unwilling to meet the minimum requirements that the Newark and Elizabeth communities asked for on labor and environmental practices for the deal.” Recently a bit of construction at JFK International Airport has been underway. No matter what they build at that airport with vast fields of old, outdated cargo terminals, the Van Wyck Expressway, providing shippers the main truck access route to the airport can best be described as trying to put hundreds of twenty wheelers through the head of a tube of toothpaste. It just gets worser and worser . . . |
 |
The China India Burma Hump (CBI), "The Hump” being the Himalaya Mountain Range—the tallest, most dangerous place on earth for flight. During the first half of the last century the CBI can be recalled as where modern air cargo was born. CBI operations took off during the Summer of 1942 80 years ago. If John Wayne had made the movie titled “The Flying Tigers” about the hundreds of cargo transport pilots based at Assam, who were flying Av-gas, bullets, tires and spare parts to the fighter pilots in Kunming, maybe air cargo would have been recognized as a vital force by the general public the way it is today after covid struck nearly eight decades later. As it is, the U.S. military saw the benefits and saved the City of Berlin during the Soviet Russian blockade six years later in 1948 during “Operation Vittles” more popularly called The Berlin Airlift in 1948. 
In fact, a movie starring Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas
titled “The
Big Lift” about CBI can be found on YouTube. I have often thought one meeting/break room at any cargo trade show should have this film on a loop running 24/7 ,with an open bar and a popcorn machine. The founder of Flying Tigers Line, an air cargo company at LAX that dominated across the Pacific and eventually was merged into FedEx was a man named Robert Prescott. Tigers P/R during the intro period of the B747F enjoyed distributing Bob’s picture from WW II, sitting on the tail of a P-40, A2 jacket and all, when he served as a cargo transport pilot.  Bob,
along with hundreds of others, humped cargo from Assam, India to Kunming,
China when the Japanese closed the Burma Road in May 1942.“The Forgotten War” was what happened during those early days of the AVG that fought and won because of brave frontline fighter pilots and equally courageous transport pilots. The Himalayan Mountains claimed scores of Curtiss C46 “double bubble” early pressurized aircraft and their crews that were out there dodging 18,000 foot peaks that among other hazards often tossed these tiny 6,800 kg cargo capacity aircraft around as they tried to navigate ferocious downdrafts and other hazards. As late as 2000, they were still recovering wreckage from CBI operations. This Summer of ‘22 as we recall the true birth of the big air cargo movement in Summer of ‘42. a good place to learn more and celebrate aviation, spend a day looking at airplanes and also during July and August, a Car and Motorcycle Show is just about 45 minutes from LAX. Lyon Air Museum, founded by Major General William Lyon, (pictured above left) is located on the west side of John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. Read some more about CBI and then go see a C-47 and some other war birds at Lyon. 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. 26 The Human Rhapsody Of Rudy Auslander |
|
|
Publisher-Geoffrey Arend
• Managing Editor-Flossie Arend • Editor Emeritus-Richard
Malkin Film Editor-Ralph Arend • Special Assignments-Sabiha Arend, Emily Arend |
Send comments and news to geoffrey@aircargonews.com
|
Air
Cargo News FlyingTypers reserves the right to edit all submissions
for length and content. All photos and written material submitted to this
publication become the property of All Cargo Media.
100%
Green