On Feb 4th, 2020 Andy Kirschner, Director Americas Sales, Cargo, Delta Air Lines sat with Freightways for a ten-minute interview. This talk preceded the eruption of the COVID pandemic by a few days, and if you look at the interview with today’s hindsight you realize how much is unpredictable in the air cargo industry, as well as how big its strength and resilience.  We all know what aviation went through, and Delta in particular was put to test by the situation developing five years ago.
     We wondered whether the past trouble has been completely digested and, in a completely serendipitous encounter, we are fortunate enough to have a conversation with the same Andy Kirschner, trying to find out where Delta Cargo stands at the beginning of 2025. After the usual pleasantries, we produced straight questions and Kirschner’s answers today were as effective as those in the interview he released five years ago.

FT:  Please describe Delta Air Cargo in February 2025. Where is your plan for air cargo at this time?
AK:   We have a robust network and are growing our fleet of cargo-friendly aircraft. We currently have a large network of widebody aircraft, flying on both international and key domestic lanes. We focus on lanes that are important to cargo to ensure we are servicing those markets with the best possible aircraft solutions. We also have a wide range of trucking and joint venture airline partner options to offer our customers.

FT:  Outline initiatives. Can you share some vision of the year ahead, perhaps a review of the last year and what lessons were learned?
AK:   The company recently announced the largest schedule in Delta’s history coming in Summer 2025. Also, Delta added more widebody aircrafts to its fleet, including the Airbus A350-900s and we look forward to the addition of the A350-1000s expected to arrive in 2026. We strategically position aircraft on the right lanes that are mutually beneficial for both maximum cargo movements and passenger travel like our long-haul markets to SYD and JNB. Finally, our newest joint venture partnership with LATAM offers our mutual customers a more seamless experience through streamlined operations and an extensive network across both North and South America. We always look to have the best service and capabilities for our customers as well as learn from our joint venture partners.
 
FT:   What surprised you? 
AK:   After 2024 and this beginning of 2025 is there anything that can really surprise us?

FT:  How important is Texas and the Southwest to Delta Cargo? Give the options in the market, why choose Delta Cargo?
AK:   The Texas market is very important to Delta with strong capacity going both east and west from the state along with a regular trucking service to ATL daily. Also, we have a dedicated Texas-based account manager, who is experienced in the market and very creative with solutions for our Texas customers.

FT:  What, given five minutes to speak to key shippers you meet in Dallas, would you say?
AK:   I would say that our customers will have a great experience working with the Delta Cargo team. From ease of use with setting up programs to our operations teams’ experience with drop off and pick up – we aim to have a smooth, expedited experience for our customers. Our reliability is among the top in the industry, with Cirium again naming Delta as North America’s most on-time airline in 2024.

FT:  Can you talk a bit of commodities and include the entire range of goods Delta handles better than anybody else.
AK:   We pride ourselves in the level of service that we provide to our customers for all of our products. Our DASH service is known for its dependability and our customers have grown to expect this high level of service. We also have our DASH Critical service that focuses on the transport of highly sensitive commodities such as human organs, AOG, etc. Our Pharma business has developed over the past several years and now our customers heavily rely on our top performance and our capabilities, with cooler storage facilities available around the world.

FT:  What is the most common misunderstanding about Delta Cargo?
AK:   Since Delta is known for being a premier carrier of passengers throughout the world, many want to know if there is the same level of commitment to cargo.  The answer is a clear and overwhelming – YES. The amount of investment that Delta has put into the cargo division has been tremendous.  In the summer of 2024, Delta hired Peter Penseel to be the President of Delta Cargo, sending a clear message that we want to provide top level customer service to go along with our global network, and have the strongest customer partnerships in the industry. We are confident that our customers are seeing this energy level and commitment on a daily basis.

FT:  How has Delta supported the proposition of utilizing the DFW gateway for cargo? What initiatives or outreach or training or information programs are offered to help clients navigate doing business with Delta Cargo via Gateway DFW?
AK:  In DFW we partner very closely with our customers in many ways, with domestic customers and couriers making use of our direct flights in and out of the DFW market, as well as our international customers who leverage our daily trucking capabilities to and from the market. We allow shipper-built units from DFW with trucking connections in ATL for a host of international destinations. The ease of use of working with Delta sets us apart and our “can do” attitude and dedication to finding solutions for our customers always shines through.

FT:  How important is collaboration? How does Delta cooperate as example with forwarders and other service partners?
AK:  Our main focus is to collaborate with our customers, and we see them as partners. We coordinate on a daily basis to offer solutions including putting together an array of specific programs to meet unique needs. We also have a host of joint venture partners that we coordinate with to offer solutions for our forwarder partners, such as our latest joint venture partner LATAM.

FT:  As a long-time dedicated air cargo executive, take an industry view and please suggest some things the industry can do to better itself and frankly work better all around?
AK:  It’s always a pleasure spending time at conventions such as the Air Cargo Conference where we have a focus on building the industry to higher levels. We always aim to focus on areas that improve the overall experience. As I mentioned earlier, it’s important to have cargo-friendly airports that make getting cargo in and out of warehouse areas easy.  Also, ULD management and continued improvements in digitalization resulting in less manual entries would be great improvements to the industry all around.

FT:  What would you like to be able do in air cargo that has not already been done? (get rid of paper, tighten security etc.)
AK:  Streamlining the process for companies to process cargo daily by minimizing paperwork and carrier congestion at airports come to mind.

FT:  Who will be the air cargo industry leaders and managers of tomorrow? What must the air cargo business do to attract young talent you work for the betterment of air cargo? 
AK:  We have to mentor young talent and encourage them to learn the cargo market; we want talent to want to get into the cargo business. We offer a large-scale co-op program at Delta Cargo with about 10-15 undergraduate students from various colleges and universities at our ATL headquarters each semester, learning different aspects of the cargo business. We also have a strong mentorship program at Delta Cargo as well. Again this year, we are sponsoring the Women in Cargo reception at the AirCargo Conference on Monday, March 3, where we are hosting a panel of women, to discuss how they mentor young women in the cargo business.
     Last year Delta positioned itself in Texas with a unique initiative to view the only total eclipse visible in Dallas until 2045 from the air; this year Kirschner comes to Dallas with a comprehensive strategy that is meant to address his customers’ requirements, in particular those closer to the Texan community. A good opportunity to meet him and touch base on the opportunities available at the beginning of March 2025.
MLS