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Vol. 24 No. 9	Thursday February 27, 2025

Jan Krems. Manon Krems, Max Krems, Boris Krems

As March 2025 marks the beginning of our 51st year of publishing, we recall some favorite pictures and stories that it has been our pleasure to share during our half century on the air cargo beat.
     Here is Jan Krems, President Cargo and now Vice President United Airlines in a wonderfully unstudied moment with his family where he usually can be found at work and in life, smack dab in the middle of the action.
     Glad to report in 2025 that all, perhaps a bit older, are well and busy as the new year everywhere in the world right now, continues to pick up steam.
     When Jan Krems began his tenure eleven 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.”
     Now as time marches on we ask Jan just one question, as we ready the long trade show season in the USA that gets underway in Dallas next week March 2-4 with AirCargo Conference 2025 bringing together three great forces for logistics today: AfA, AEMCA & ACI.
     We asked Jan:

     Here is what he said:

Booth 522 AirCargo 2025 A great leader is humble, customer-focused, and dedicated to building a strong team. Recognizing that no one excels in every area, effective leadership means identifying your unique strengths and surrounding yourself with individuals who complement your skills. It's about creating an environment where team members feel empowered to share ideas, challenge the status quo, and work collaboratively to make meaningful changes.
     Furthermore, leadership is fundamentally about connection—being present, listening attentively, and acknowledging the contributions of others. By engaging in face-to-face interactions, celebrating successes, and even having a bit of fun, leaders build trust and inspire teamwork. At United Cargo, we believe that our collective success is rooted in these principles, making them the cornerstone of true leadership.
     In the fast-paced airline and cargo industry, these leadership attributes become even more crucial. Leaders in this sector must navigate complex logistics, stringent safety regulations, and rapidly evolving technologies while ensuring efficient and reliable service. They inspire confidence in both their teams and their customers by fostering an environment of continuous improvement and adaptability. This industry demands precision and resilience, and effective leaders drive innovation and collaboration that not only meet operational challenges but also set new standards for excellence.

     It’s not without a tinge of sadness, complete respect and even a faint sense of loss, that we report that we learned today that Wally Devereaux Vice President Cargo & Provisions at Southwest Airlines Cargo will retire at the end of March 2025.
     It is no exaggeration to suppose that as long as Southwest Cargo has been in business, Wally Devereaux has been part of it.
     No doubt, this always affable and easy-to-do business with cargo executive has been a positive force for good, situate at the top longer than anybody else at a cargo-carrying airline,
     Not hard to understand why Wally has been a leader and key factor because when you talk to his customers, his team and others in this business, the discovery is that despite whatever else might be going on at the airline, Wally has been a steady hand that is up front and on the case in all manner.
Southwest Cargo Booth 201

     “I’m getting close to my 33rd year with Southwest Airlines with 25 of those being in the Cargo business,” Wally told me last November at The International Air Cargo Association TIACA Miami.
     “I began my career at Dallas Love Field Airport as a Customer Service Agent in February of 1992!
     “After stops in several different departments around the company, found my way to Cargo Sales in 1999.
     “It’s been an incredible journey.
     “What made the years work for me was doing what I can to help our cargo team provide an exceptional service.
     “We have delivered a determined passionate, truly amazing team of folks in cargo across our system. Am very thankful to have been a part of the team, and look forward to their continued success," Wally added.
     Wally is scheduled to appear at AirCargo 2025, beginning Sunday March 2 in Dallas.

FlyingTalkers

New WFS Cargo Building 260 At JFK

     Forty-five years ago, when we were all much younger, driving from Eagle Plains, Yukon to Inuvik, NT was quite adventurous, in a way even more than flying back from the Beaufort Sea to Vancouver where our journey through western Canada had started. On the way back by air, we did fly through Yellowknife, which had not been reached during our surface roaming through all kinds of Canadian roads, some clearly existing only in summer. The aircraft took off and landed in different airports on the way to Edmonton: it was a big plane for a small airport, landing in Yellowknife in 1980. Putting these introductory words together brought back incredible memories and superb landscapes, an experience like no other. Where did we put all those photos?
     Considering I was a passenger, not cargo, it is impossible that I met Joe McBryan on that plane, or . . . maybe he was the captain there, even after launching Buffalo Airways in 1970? Possible or not, FT spoke to his son Mikey a few days ago and here is what we talked about. The conversation was about McBryan speaking at the Air Cargo Conference in Dallas, Texas.
     When Mikey McBryan steps up to the microphone and delivers a keynote for Air Cargo Conference on March 3rd, the very approachable, folksy Manager of Buffalo Airways from Hay River and Yellowknife, Canada will be sharing a truly great story of not only what he does, but also how he and a determined group of people achieve something completely different from the rest of the world of air cargo.

Joe McBryan, Kathy McBryan, Mikey McBryan, Ron McBryan

     Mikey of the North is heart and soul of Buffalo Airways, where his father Joe McBryan and his sister and brother and all the McBryans report to work every day: their service and legend continues to grow. Buffalo Airways Cargo operates round the clock during these shortened winter days in the Northern climes, when -10° might feel like “spring break”. Buffalo Airways, we learn, is situated at a place frozen solid at -30° most of the time. The other day, en route to work, Mikey found himself watching an actual buffalo plodding through the deep snow keeping pace with his car as he gazed out the window.
     The Buffalo flights are unique: the only way that supplies can get to several tiny settlements scattered throughout the remote Northern Territory of Canada region. Right now Buffalo, which lifts cargo everywhere in Canada – and this includes fighting fires via its aerial tankers in summer – is also stepping off to new horizons while its airplanes are a true blast from the past.
     Watching the air ships come in and push back from Yellowknife is a real treat as a C-46 (one with a tell-tale Lufthansa Crane seen faintly on the tube) double bubble, early pressurized tube, veteran of the type, provide daily Buffalo service.      Once upon a time those aircraft served to move war supplies aboard the China India Burma Airlift. Now, in a last stand service anywhere, the C-46 announces itself with a throaty roar as it moves consignments of everything from refrigerators to cooking oil, paper towels and potato chips to places that would not be easily serviced by road or rail.
     Buffalo also moves cargo aboard its fleet of DC3s, DC4s and Electra-Lockheed 1-88s and some others. But high adventure and keeping alive an era with needed critical service in the 21st century aside, now Buffalo has taken the plunge and has also gone pure jet with a B737 freighter it began operating three years ago. “We join a very small group of companies (in modern times) that can say they’ve flown DC-3s and B737s,” Mikey McBryan said. Mikey-driven Buffalo acquired the 737-300SF in 2022, in part because existing freight connections into the NWT were challenged keeping up with next-day demand. Cargo carried by Buffalo mostly arrives in the Northwest Territories by truck. Consignments are then loaded onto the airline’s DC-3 and C-46 aircraft, for onward travel to the territory’s smaller communities.
     It is extraordinary that the acquisition of a single aircraft would garner continued and widespread attention from the media, but Buffalo Airways is no ordinary carrier. In 2022, Buffalo said its B737 would replace much of the airline’s reliance on trucks to get freight into its network: “The DC-3s, C-46s are still in use to cover the final journeys into smaller NWT communities, not the least because more modern aircraft like the 737 are not equipped to handle gravel airstrips.”
     As air cargo conference attendees next week will bask in the sun at Dallas, Buffalo Airways with characteristic determination and dedicationto lift on through temperatures that right now can hit -40°C.
     Buffalo has now spent several winters with a cargo jet when we caught up with Mikey. Mikey McBryan is the perfect combination of smart and dedicated, up in the morning, out on the job. With his Dad Joe, brother Rod and other members of the family and an extended family of people, this cast of characters have garnered an international following due the television series: Ice Pilots. Today there are maybe 100 episodes of Ice Pilots playing on places like: The Weather Channel, Ice Pilots YouTube, on video and also available by special order and on social media.      “The Buffalo Boeing,” Mikey said “has been doing very well considering both market fluctuations and the change this great cargo lifter brings to our culture here.
     “We are lucky to have some northern locations with paved runways,” Mikey smiled. “Reality is that our B737 is the apex predator in terms of cost per pound! We have been able to stay in the black despite crazy weather, ensuing issues with barge deliveries and delayed or shortened ice road access across our service area. Our Boeing offers value for money and service reliability, lessening the monetary impact for shippers during continued seasons of unpredictable weather. Bottom line, as all of us in air cargo know, the bigger the plane the less over all flying per pound . . . and of course, the cost per pound goes down. People that have followed Buffalo have seen our intrepid DC3s, C46s and other great aircraft. In most cases likely, they care about airplanes, but at the end of the day for air cargo the customer focus is about price and service.
      “The Boeing,” Mikey confides, “flies high, wide and handsome into new horizons for Buffalo Air Cargo.” We wonder what if anything surprised Mikey moving cargo at jet speed? “A lot of people told me that Boeing doesn’t care about the smaller operators,” Mikey said. “That could not be farther from the truth. Everyone I have interacted with at Boeing has been very helpful and very quick. So when I see in the news that they have issues, I know it is a problem they take very seriously and they will be back at top very soon.”
     We asked Mikey if Buffalo has looked at a QC variant of the B737, as once served in Hawaii? The answer was direct: “I personally don’t get excited by hauling passengers in a 737. The extra cabin safety procedures and requirements is not something I want to invest time and effort in. We want to haul freight and focus on doing that as best as we can,” Mikey said.
     We also asked: “Mikey, how Joe, a true devotee of reciprocating piston engine aircraft, feels now that Buffalo is routinely flying cargo in a jet?” Mikey’s Dad (aviation pioneer and legend of Canadian aviation Joe McBryan) mentioned him as point man early on in the Boeing experience: “But I am sure he will not be trading in his DC-3 PPC anytime soon . . . or ever,” Mikey smiled.
     We wonder, as he approaches a couple days deep in the heat of Texas, what Mikey will share with conferees at Air Cargo Conference in Dallas aside from the weather? Will there be some time for some Q&A?
     Many questions come to mind, Mikey keeps his hands-on approach and goes straight to the point: “If there is time, for sure I would love to answer any questions on stage. But also I will be there in person for the whole event, so anyone can come up to me at any point and we can talk.
     “My main concern is for people to be entertained and to get some laughs. My motto has always been that people will most always never remember what you said, only how you made them feel. I just hope they like me and Buffalo Cargo.”
     We then asked whether there is possible expansion of Buffalo activities in the future? Mikey responds, saying, “Buffalo turns 55 years and we have grown almost every year . . . just slowly like a 4-foot arctic tree that is 55 years old.”
     Our final question, what motivates him most: the joy of winning or the fear of losing, elicits this response, “To answer this directly, it is the joy of winning. There is no better feeling than a plan (or plane) coming together. Just seeing the Buffalo Boeing in real life really brings me hope that we can do anything we put our minds to. Losing is temporary, winning is forever.
     “We will all end up in the scrap yard in the end, so do as much as you can while you can,” Mikey of the North gently advises. Perhaps the continuous confrontation with harsher climate and obstacles makes this gentleman so straightforward, yet fascinating as he actually is. Come to Dallas and you will see!
Geoffrey Arend/Marco Sorgetti

     Amar More, a co-founder and CEO of Kale Logistics Solutions has been in the center of the major revolution in the way airports handle cargo for some time now. He burst upon the scene, fresh as Listerine, over a decade ago, putting up the system that changed the way the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport moves air cargo forever.
     Amar, who is true to the cause and because he loves it, makes his home with wife and children in Atlanta. Here he shares some thoughts for 2025 and also our question for today asking about industry leadership.

We are very proud that we will be building the very first Airport Cargo Community systems in Africa (in Mozambique) and South America (in Bogota).
With these, we now passionately take our mission of connecting communities to most continents globally covering the North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Our customer base has now expanded to around 45 countries and most importantly we continue to offer challenging and interesting work to our team members who are now spread across 12 countries globally. We now have a very talented team at the “C” level who bring in diverse experience and more passion to our organization building efforts.

Objectives 2025
Amar More, Pradnya More, Amruta More, Atharva More      This year of 2025 Kale will focus on growing our existing community systems and rolling out more use cases to our existing customers. With a global footprint in place we will focus on developing deeper relationships with our existing customers and helping them move forward in their digital journeys. We are also looking at inorganic growth opportunities and will acquire companies who provide more value to our existing customers. e-commerce will be a big growth area for us. Our e-commerce platform is very unique and helps the community in addressing the challenges being faced in complying with the growing customer expectations and ever changing regulations. We are expanding our reach to the BCO community with our unique Logistics & Customs Control Tower (LCCT) solution, which provides the importers and exporters to connect with the logistics community for efficient international supply and demand chain management.
AI will be a big focus area for us. We have already developed our own Gen AI platform called KAITe (Kale’s AI Technology) which is really helping our team phenomenally.

In the Air Everywhere
     This year, we are setting up our own AI Excellence Center in the city of Pune in India. We had built several AI use cases in our products which will grow manifold this year. We will help our customers in developing their own AI-based differentiators. We are already engaged with a few marquee customers on this journey.
     All in all, 2025 is going to be a year of building on the strong global foundation created, enriching our offerings through organic product development and inorganic product growth and of course, AI.

What Is Leadership?
     Leadership is the ability to guide, inspire, and influence individuals or groups toward achieving a common goal. So clearly the leader should have the Vision. Vision for himself, the team, and the society in general. Next is the ability to inspire. To get extraordinary output out of common people, it’s not just perspiration but inspiration that is needed. So aligning the group to the common goal needs an ability to inspire them through great communication skills. Again, on the path to achievement of a goal, there are always challenges and failures; so the leader needs to be resilient (as they say the only person who never failed is the one who never tried anything). Most importantly, the group/the team/the society needs to look up to the leader so Integrity to me is of paramount importance when talking about leadership.

Editor's Note: Look for Donna Mullins of Kale Logistics Solutions at AirCargo 2025 in Dallas.

Cameron Roberts Our De Minimis article published on February 23rd was met with a certain number of reactions. There is one that we consider particularly valuable, as it appears to completely clarify and assess the legal progress of the rule. Here is Cameron W. Roberts' contribution provided under the aegis of his law firm: Roberts & Kehagiaras, Attorneys & Counselors At Law.

• On the first day of the current administration, January 20, 2025, President Trump (the “President” or the “Administration”) issued a memorandum, America First Trade Policy, requesting an assessment of the loss of tariff revenues and other risks resulting from the de minimis provision along with recommendations to protect the revenue of the U.S. and public health by preventing unlawful importations.

• On February 1, 2025, the President issued three memos imposing duties on products of China (including Hong Kong), Canada, and Mexico. Each memo included a provision eliminating the availability of duty-free de minimis treatment to products subject to the new duties.

• On February 3, 2025, CBP issued CSMS # 63988468, providing guidance on the additional 10% tariffs on products from China (and Hong Kong) and eliminating the de minimis provision as of February 4, 2025.

• Between February 5 and 11, 2025, the Administration and CBP issued notices implementing the new tariffs and eliminating the de minimis provision for products from China (including Hong Kong), Canada, and Mexico.

• Between February 5 and 11, 2025, the Administration paused the additional duties on products of Canada and Mexico, which postponed the elimination of the de minimis provision until March 4, 2025. At this time, it is unknown if the de minimis provision will be eliminated for products from Canada and Mexico, if Canada and Mexico continue to make concessions to the US. Chances are likely that the tariffs will be paused, and the de minimis provision will remain for products of Canada and Mexico beyond March 4, 2025.

• On February 5, 2025, the President issued an Executive Order (note that while this EO was dated 2/5/2025, it was not published until 2/7/2025) re-establishing the de minimis provision for products from China until adequate systems are in place to process and collect duty on these shipments. Note that no date has been announced when the de minimis provision will be eliminated for products of China.

• On February 7, 2025, CBP issued CSMS # 64082249 clarifying that imports that qualified for de minimis but were forced to be imported as an informal or formal entry with duty paid would not be eligible for retroactive refunds.

• Several of our CHB clients have asked about filing formal entry, and our response has been: “If a licensed Customs Broker (“CHB”) elects to be the importer of record (“IOR”), which is not recommended, but deemed commercially necessary by the CHB despite the risk, a CHB can file a formal entry and act as the IOR. There is nothing to prevent an IOR from filing formal entry, and CBP’s Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) No. 63992482, effective February 4, 2025, stated that “The filer/importer has the option of filing an appropriate formal or other informal entry and paying all applicable duties, taxes and fees.” The CHB should have a written 19 CFR § 111.28 supervision and control plan and be prepared to provide evidence that it exercised reasonable care when acting as the IOR under 19 U.S. Code § 1484.

     It would be difficult to imagine a more complete and punctual assessment of the legal situation, kudos to Cameron Roberts, with our readers’ thanks.
     We have seen that the de minimis rule is not very popular among freight forwarders and Customs brokers; the administration did not take much time to decide on its deferment for a large part of U.S. imports, as its abolition was problematic to say the least. In this particular case, the administration itself seems to be struggling with finding the resources required to proceed to fulfil its own objectives. I am an old cat and I have seen so many changes in the patterns of trade that all this sounds a bit precarious to me. Who will end up with the short end of the stick? In similar predicaments in the past what we have seen is this sequence: action required -> find necessary resources -> no resources at hand -> the user must pay!
     So my expectation is that in a while the buyer will foot the bill through a chain of actions-reactions that will flow downstream until it reaches the end consumer. Sometimes rivers flow so slowly you have the impression that the water is still, or even that the current goes back with the tide, but in the end the stream reaches the ocean and is absorbed by its vastness.
Marco Sorgetti

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Vol. 24 No. 6 Alaska Pivots Cargo Offering Ian Morgan New Horizons Air India U.S. Pitch Chuckles for February 14, 2025 India Cargo National Asset Orlando Cargo taking Off Dog Days Of Winter	Vol. 24 No. 7 ATC Nairobi Bound ATA Doha Meet Chuckles for February 19 Making Alps Transparent Letters for February 19	Vol. 24 No. 8 De Scoop On De Mimimis India Rupee Devalue

Publisher-Geoffrey Arend • Managing Editor-Flossie Arend • Editor Emeritus-Richard Malkin
Senior Contributing Editor/Special Commentaries-Marco Sorgetti • Special Commentaries Editor-Bob Rogers
Special Assignments-Sabiha Arend, Emily Arend • Film Editor-Ralph Arend

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