Flyingtypers Cargo Talks!

President Donald Trump participated in somber memorial services with First Lady Melania Trump today on the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks In the U.S.. We recall when New York/New Jersey Port Authority Director of Air Cargo Jim Larsen showed up at our house on September 13, 2001 with a manuscript of how he  escaped the World Trade Center minutes before Tower One came crashing down. Here is that story, word-for-word as Jim wrote it 18 years ago..

“The worst-case scenario, of an airline that’s forced to police the political views of its own workforce in order to maintain the open skies it needs to operate, would be a horrendous one for Cathay,” Bloomberg's Dan Fickling writes. “Driving a wedge between management and staff inclined to support Hong Kong’s aspirations for greater freedom, and between the airline and customers who retain loyalty to it as an icon of the territory’s unique status, could quickly erase the gains from nearly four years of turning around the business. “Waiting in the wings in that event is the risk that the long-rumored takeover by Cathay’s second-largest shareholder, Air China Ltd., could finally come to fruition." Ran into our friend Nalin Rodrigo who we first met on Dubai Creek some years ago when he was fronting the cargo fortunes of Sri Lankan Cargo from his offices in Colombo. Nalin an all-cargo pro was always completely unflappable, energetic and to tell it a great air cargo dreamer and doer. A Louisiana USA Senator named

Ram Menen has seen many seasons come and go, spending more than two decades first as part of the launch team and then as top executive of Emirates SkyCargo where he led that organization to the top of the world. Today, happily retired in Luxembourg and Kuala Lumpur, Ram is a much sought after air cargo executive that readily shares his take on 2019 in an exclusive FlyingTalkers interview. Neel Jones Shah is a smart guy and a dreamer and doer.   He is no shrinking violet either, but rather someone who is actively on the front lines of change, having moved rather easily from top management at the airlines into top management at the wunderkind bunch at Flexport where he serves as EVP and Global Head of Airfreight. Once upon a time, Neel as the head of Delta Cargo, led approximately 2,000 employees worldwide and oversaw over $1 Billion in freight & mail revenues. In USA, Bake Me A Wish, headquartered in New York City began in 2005, offering nationwide service for gourmet birthday cake delivery natio

   The great race to connecting with air cargo customers on a real-time and all day basis, is nice work if you can get it. Enter Vanya Bukova and Jennifer Haigh. Both are part of an account executive team that reports to Helen Kristensen, United Cargo’s Manager Strategic Accounts.    When writing of the Hong Kong conflict going on right now in the former Crown Colony, (now a special district) we cannot help but wonder what’s next for air cargo? So, we figure why not go to someone who carries the credentials of experience, knowledge, passion and air cargo building, Stan Wraight, CEO of Strategic Aviation Solutions (SASI). www.sasi.com.hk  Ex-DSV executive Steve Walker called on FIATA to “become a safe haven for forwarders to discuss a wider new industry strategy,” in the face of vertical consolidation by shipping lines, and the attempt to control data via platforms such as TradeLens, a join partnership between IBM and Maersk.

   Something For A Summer Monday...After beating Hodgkin's lymphoma, San Francisco teenager Skyler Stoba got to wish for anything in the world.  Naturally, it was a toss- up between having lunch with Beyonce or seeing Buffalo Airways Cargo Second World War DC3 cargo aircraft. Yellowknife Canada-based Buffalo Airways, which operates a fleet of World War II-era aircraft carrying cargo shipments under government contract that are the aerial lifeline to a number of northern Canadian villages , have been featured on History Television's Ice Pilots NWT for several seasons. A Summer Monday Special continues with the latest Chapter ((1937)  of Steve Gibson Aviation Detective Series. Trip back in time just for fun, via Pan Am Clippers and short wave radio, through the eyes of a teenager who loves aviation. 

  As Virgin Cargo marked 30 years of service to the U.S., an intimate gathering in summertime Manhattan under the watchful eye of the glorious Empire State Building served as a celebration point. This was an understated fun event with local cargo people, who showed up and were shown a good time, with lots of great food and conversation in this splendid setting. Boxcars in the Sky written by the most important air cargo journalist of the 20th century Richard Malkin, was created in 1951 after Richard had just returned from covering the Berlin Airlift. Boxcars is a beautifully written, recently discovered short story predicting things to come , that today nearly 70 years later, for the most part has come true. 

   Lior Ron is a 42-year-old Israeli-born businessman, who in 2016 along with Anthony Levandowski and some others co-founded Otto, a self-driving truck company. Both Lior and Anthony went to work at Uber after Uber bought Otto in 2016. But then Anthony was fired from Uber after a dustup wherein the executive was accused of stealing Google’s self-driving car trade secrets for use in Otto’s technology.. Ron jumped from Uber after Uber paid Google parent company Alphabet $245 million to settle the dispute. Well, in 2019 Ron is back at Uber Freight, now that Uber has finally closed the deal for Otto Trucking that is currently operating as a stand-alone entity as part of the Uber firmament. In the USA, Uber Freight connects 48 states and reportedly generates more than $125 million in quarterly revenues. “We fundamentally believe there’s a new era of opportunity in logistics,” Ron said. “Technology streamlines things, connects things and that builds trust in physical networks.”   History & s

   News that the Cass Freight Index of North American Freight Volumes moved downward, another -5.3% in June adds up in USA and almost everywhere else to a slow dance of negative cargo volumes seven months in a row 2018/2019. The Cass Freight Index covers shipments of merchandise for the consumer and industrial economy via all modes of transportation, but it does not include bulk commodities, such as grains or chemicals.

  At Virgin A Really Big Change “Huge, and we are not underestimating or taking anything for granted,” said Dominic Kennedy, Virgin Atlantic’s Managing Director, Cargo. “Our entire business model is based on giving customers more choice and flexibility, whether this means more routes and frequencies, new products and services, or the ability to interact with us in the way they want to do business,” he said. “Now Virgin Atlantic Cargo is set to be the first airline to adopt Accenture’s cloud-enabled, end-to-end AFLS 8.0 cargo management platform to spearhead our future digital experience when AFLS 8.0 goes live in early 2020."  Amazon & Air Cargo In Focus The smile turned upside down as labor unrest complicates the world, according to Amazon. Bill Boesch has some answers: “The first thing to remember,” confides air cargo great Bill Boesch, “is that Amazon is not an airline but a unique e-commerce platform controlling its door-to-door operations to provide free next-day or 2-day shipping for

      It is unfortunate and maybe a bit  sad to see that a number of different agendas seem to driving the unrest at Amazon. Strike action is never a happy situation. In today’s world productivity is the key to success and in certain parts of the world, sorry to say, that there are people who just don’t seem to get that . . .  Delhi International Airport became the first airport in India to operationalize a dedicated Transshipment Excellence Centre (TEC). The initiative was taken by DIAL, as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) under the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 to develop Air Cargo Transshipment Hubs at major airports around the country.   “Changing the customer experiences from our interactions, products and services, and mastering the data challenge and driving innovation,” are the orders of everyday at Unilode,” said Benoît Dumont, Unilode  CEO. Meantime ULD Care Readies Annual Event.  We are dreamers, Montreal? Septe

Where is air cargo in Summer 2019? To hear some people tell it we have gone through the best of times into the worst. No doubt, last month in Munich at Air Cargo Europe people were into the wurst. But seriously where are we now? First in a roundup report we note that air cargo rates continue to see weekly volatility, but with the demand outlook tepid and ample capacity available on most lanes, pricing continues to fluctuate, albeit within boundaries far below those enjoyed in 2018. Next we share some thoughts with Air Cargo legend Ram Menen, someone who has been there and done that, and now looks ahead.

Asked Turhan Ozen top cargo officer at Turkish Cargo how goes business and how was that big move from Ataturk Airport last month, and his reaction is a broad smile, not a weary one. The idea that an airline cargo division could pack up and move half of its operations from one airport to another now accomplished on time and apparently without a hitch, Turhan eases back in his chair and smiles.

        “TempControl’s transport of vaccines and other high-value biopharmaceutical shipments is increasing rapidly,” said Jan Krems, President of United Cargo as the carrier became the first U.S. flag to induct SkyCell temperature-controlled containers.  We celebrate Emery Air Freight's Richard Wiebe, who died on May 29. He was 94 years of age. Thinking about Dick in June 2019, must say he has shone bright in memory, though out of sight for some years now. But his decent kindness will remain with me forever.  Many people thought it odd that a book to save Building One at Newark Airport, titled "Great Airports Newark" and another a year later to save The Marine Air Terminal titled "Great Airports LaGuardia" would also carry the logo of Emery Air Freight. But one day at a meeting I mentioned to Dick that we should stand for something else in air cargo—and saving our airport history would be a good thing. Dick, as top corporate communications man for John Emery Jr. picked up t

   Great inspirational Super Summer 2019 ,or anytime story, from the great Marco Sorgetti... "Issa’s background is as remarkable as his success and this fascinates us immensely, so we want to do more than merely celebrate his success. Issa wrote once that “life is about mutual respect” and this is precisely what I believe he deserves. Let me see that his achievements gain a little space in the hearts of our listeners, too.We all know Issa Baluch is a man who has achieved a lot in his life, and not only in FIATA, which crowned him as its President in 2003. Issa is surely not a person to enter a room unnoticed. He is strong, rather tall, still wearing his masculine charm easily in 2019, despite the fact that the young logistics trailblazer he was in the ’80’s has now adjusted into the thoughtful professor and father to a large family while his own multifarious talents have safely landed onto the planet of talent-mentoring in more than one university across several continents."

   Qatar Airways delivered more punch to it's air cargo offering announcing purchase of five B 777 Freighters at Paris Air Show in a ceremony that included  His Excellency Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti, Qatari Minister of Transport and Communications. "This is an order that will propel our growth and, I firmly believe, confirms us as the leading cargo operator in the world.  " said His Excellency, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways Group.   Ingo Zimmer, CEO of fast growing ATC, a big winner in the global GSSA game serving 75 airlines, passed up attending the “gala” Air Cargo Europe awards dinner Wednesday June 5 in Munich.      Ingo, as dynamic as he is tall at 6 foot 5, had a better idea, delivering a simple thank you to his customers in an extraordinary once in a lifetime setting. Air Cargo Europe bestowed another blizzard of air cargo awards at its “Gala Dinner in Munich.      Forgive our skepticism, but something about this rings a bit hollow when air cargo folks sit down to a $75 or $150-a-plate tra

Latest news that you can use out of Air Cargo Europe last week in Munich has Virgin Cargo making a huge investment in a new IT system to drive it's business forward from 2020. Elsewhere many happy returns as Achim Martinka takes commend of the vital cargo market in Germany for Lufthansa Cargo. United Cargo President Jan Krems gets it about challenging times and delivers the best quote we heard all last week about what to do as business 2019 marches on. Beautiful women artists in evening wear as supple musicians, softened the hard edge of a giant trade show as Qatar Cargo launched Air Cargo Europe on the right note.  Last chance maybe forever...The airplanes that taught air cargo how to fly are in Germany all this week and should not be missed. Is The Sky Falling? While the mood in Munich’s maze of exhibition halls last week was decidedly – perhaps surprisingly – upbeat, a deluge of negative data and forecasts were raining down.      And for what it is worth Chicken Little, Henny

    Airbus & SAS have  a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for hybrid and electric aircraft eco-system and infrastructure requirements research. The MoU was signed by Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Officer, Airbus and Göran Jansson, Deputy President EVP Strategy & Ventures, Scandinavian Airlines. Collaboration begins this month June 2019 and will continue until the end of 2020. 2020 Sulpher Cap Impact Beyond The High Seas For forwarders and shippers, the key challenge of the coming months will come from the higher costs that implementing new environmental shipping regulations will impose on global supply chains. From 1 January 2020, new International Maritime Organization regulations will put a 0.5% cap on sulfur content in marine fuels globally, down from a maximum of 3.5% now.  In EU it ain't  just all about Brexit! This year - 2019 – Climate Change has been high on many EU countries “priority” list; in Denmark – as in many other Nordic and EU countries – 56% of the Danish citizen said that “Cli

   If Elliott Paige had any better a handle on what it takes and what Atlanta has to offer as he explains the cargo fortunes of the giant southeastern USA gateway it could only be another revelation.. The Air Services Development Manager at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport is so smart and upfront about HJIA’s cargo program, you can go to school on the word picture he paints.   Bill Boesch started his career in global transportation and logistics in 1965 working for Seaboard World Airlines. He later joined Flying Tiger Airlines and Emery Worldwide.  If it sounds like Bill was present at the creation you will get no argument from us. Bill has held top posts all the way… At Pan American World Airways’ Senior Vice President he headed both Passenger and Cargo Sales and Operations. American Airlines Robert Crandall tapped Bill to serve as President of AA Cargo. When Bill retired from AA in 1998 he and his team had positioned AA as a world leader in the air cargo and logist

   Right now in Germany is emerging not only the most exciting but also going away the best GSSA operation in the world. Not only that but to listen at ATC CEO Ingo Zimmer, ATC has only just begun to continue its unprecedented growth plan that has seen the GSSA move from regional European services to ATC spreading it’s wings across America and Canada and into South America and now Asia in just the past five years.    Whatever you do this week whilst attending Air Cargo Europe in Munich, (June 4-7) do not allow the opportunity to enjoy a proper German white asparagus dinner slip by. White asparagus or spargel is a very short seasonal offering in Bavaria and it is everywhere this time of year, unique in the world, and so very delicious!    When we met with United Airlines’ France Cargo Sales Manager Laurent Bernet in a small, elegant hotel garden in Place Pigalle Paris recently, we discovered a seasoned veteran of the air cargo business. He’s worked both sides of the Atlantic; first at Fritz, where he did an in

   Up Close & Personal—A story that you have never heard before . . .  July 14, 1964:  More than a month ahead of the anticipated arrival of the Beatles at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), management of the Los Angeles Department of Airports had their first meeting with local disc jockey/nightclub owner/concert promoter Bob Eubanks, as well as representatives of the local police and fire departments to plan for two "B-Days" —code for days on which The Beatles would be at LAX.