Summer Tales

Am a crazy New York Yankees baseball fan and seldom miss one of the 161 games they play each summer.But my ability to watch those boys of summer games on TV hit a glitch until a kind lady named Jennifer Vivas who works for YES The Yankees Entertainment &Sports Network both assuaged my fears, and found my signal and sent it to me.So I sat right down and wrote her a letter now shared here with a bit of LaGuardia Airport history

Return with us now to yesteryear ....As we approach another anniversary of that terrible day The National September 11,(2001) Memorial & Museum leads the nation, and the world, in marking the the day that changed our lives forever. The 23nd anniversary commemoration ceremony will take place next week in Manhattan at the WTC Memorial Plaza, focused as always on an in-person reading of the names of the 3000 souls lost in the tragedy, by family members and friends who like all of us will never forget.

But what of the people that were inside that somehow made it to the outside and live on today?

Our friend and head air cargo guy for Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is one of those people.

Today Jim Larsen who was ex Seaboard World Cargo when he became the second and so far greatest most innovative airport cargo executive you ever met lives quietly by himself in Lakehurst New Jersey about an hour from New Yok City.

But on that bright beautiful day September 11 and 08:00 he sat down inside Tower One, and as the first plane crashed into his building thought the tower was going to turn over, and it was curtains for him and everyone else on the 65th floor of the building.

Here is a timeless story of true courage and greatness told once again just as he told us a few days after his miraculous survival and great courage as Jim became a great hero of that terrible day walking all the way down and out of that soon to crash building with others including physically challenged people.

It’s Summer Dog Days and time when cargo people and their organizations kick back a bit, almost everywhere in the world by taking one for the team at various golf and social events outside the daily grind of industry events.Trade shows and upbeat discussion groups and company pitchmen and women are off somewhere spending lazy afternoons for a brief few weeks, catching their breath after a very active business and social first half of 2024.While the interlude in contact air cargo will be brief, one way you can tell early July heralds a slow air cargo news month, is to Google “air cargo” as we did on July 8 to the following result:“Get your Tommy Hilfiger John Light Cargo Shorts in Khaki Only $48.00,” lit up our screen for the Google search word "Cargo."When a snazzy pair of cargo shorts is bigger 'cargo' news than “sustainability, digitalization, or artificial intelligence” in Google, that seems like a good time to get to work to find news that is always there, where the rubber meets the road.Exciting news from Emirates SkyCargo, which has just named Badr Abbas as Divisional Senior Vice President (DSVP) SkyCargo, reporting to Nabil Sultan, who himself got upped from DSVP SkyCargo to Emirates Airline Executive Vice President Passenger Sales and Country Management, (also in charge of SkyCargo).EK come to think of it has only had three top Cargo executives (DSVP’s) since it was founded in 1985, the aforementioned duo named here and the man that put them into business in the first place, Ram Menen.

Having launched FlyingTalkers, a weekly podcast every Monday for air cargo 18 months ago, I guess we could only expect that it would just be a matter of time until someone  came along and branded Cargo Talks.

Turkish Airlines Cargo is putting up Cargo Talks, a first-time webinar that takes place beginning at 11:30 GMT Tuesday February 10.

Rates Clobber India Flower Exports

The flower farms at Bengaluru, Pune and a few other places are alive with color but this has not brought smiles to the growers and exporters.

Reason: Covid-19 and its aftermath.

Let’s separate the signal from the noise. Praveen Sharma, President, Indian Society of Floriculture Professionals (IFSP) was blunt when he told FlyingTalkers:

“2020 was the toughest year in the recent past for Indian flower growers for two reasons: the Covid-19 lockdown and the Nisarg Cyclone.”

Kung Hei Fat Choi

It is Lunar New Year: 2021 is the Year of the Ox. The new moon on February 11 heralds a new year that begins on Feb. 12, according to the lunar calendar.

But we are locked down during COVID-19 and going out for celebrations now is not an option.

But we are in this air cargo business and as such, we are also dreamers and doers.

So relax and dream a little dream about your post pandemic business life returning to include an expanded view toward travel.

For a while most people in air cargo transportation knew Lionel Van der Walt from the time he served as President of Cargo Network Services (CNS).

All of that has changed because for some time now Lionel has served as CEO of fast-rising PayCargo.

The thing about Lionel is that he is a genuine good guy.

He listens well, is not fearful of tough decisions and standing up for what is right. Most endearing, to us at least, is that he is somebody always willing to lend a helping hand.

A money guy with heart, what a concept!

Lionel van der Walt has the milk of human kindness by the quart in every vein.

COVID Will Shut Down 2021 Meetings

OK we get it that you are desperate to get out to a meeting.

But hear this  . . . it is February, a grim first anniversary of the world in the grip of COVID-19, and the pandemic is still raging everywhere.

So do the math, and have a reality check:

Truth be told, there is about an ice-cube’s chance in hell that any air cargo trade shows or live gatherings make much sense right now, or will take place in 2021.

The Wings of Man

In a world where timing is everything and COVID-19 has turned aviation upside down, the wonder is how could these folks behind this latest Eastern Airlines start-up attempt not feel snake bit?

Last year in early March as the COVID-19 began raging and we were all locked down wondering what would happen next, the tulip beds springing back to life around our home sent their quiet message of life and renewal and beauty.

In uncertain times being able to slow down a bit and contemplate the flowers works.

Undoubtedly if you work in the flower business whether growing or selling or shipping you have felt that a special affection endures.

We spoke to Joost Bongaerts the owner and President of California based Florabundance. 

Spend a few minutes with this gentleman and you will know what we mean.

In the U.S. on Monday January 18, our nation celebrates the life and legacy of Martin Luther KIng. MLK Monday comes along just as the nation is about to welcome a new President after many months of political acrimony and unrest, and with COVID-19 still the continued threat to lives everywhere. With a tip of our hat to Rev. King always, we continue FlyingTalkers groundbreaking series covering the courageous women of air cargo and aviation with a look back at pioneering aviatrix Bessie Coleman.
Next month America celebrates Black History Month, and March is Women’s History Month; It feels right today to celebrate  the life of a  beautiful human who is also as historically significant as Bessie Coleman.

To paraphrase musicologist Edward A. Ellington:

"If it feels good, it is good," said the Duke.

Our Martin Changed Air Cargo

If you want to learn about August Martin, the great air cargo pilot who flew for Seaboard World Airlines during the 1950’s, and was also the first black man to captain a U.S. flag air cargo airplane, you better plan on either using your old Funk & Wagnall’s Encyclopedia, or visiting the wonderful high school located near JFK International Airport in Queens, New York City named in honor of the air pioneer. Here is the rest of the story and why August needs to be honored by our industry.

 In America, February celebrates Black History Month and March celebrates Women’s History Month, which beggars the question of where to place someone as historically significant as Bessie Coleman. 

When Jan Krems began his tenure four years ago as top cargo executive at United Airlines Worldwide Cargo as President we wrote:

“Winston Churchill said of Franklin Roosevelt that 'meeting him was like uncorking your first bottle of champagne,' which is exactly what best describes talking to Jan Krems, President of United Airlines Cargo."

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 seems 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, having moved somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 cargo only flights. 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.

A LaGuardia Love Affair

Hard to believe that I have been having this affair in public for the past 43 years. She is  beautiful, one of a kind. And still today the very thought of The Marine Air Terminal (MAT) at LaGuardia Airport in New York City makes my heart sing. In 1978 the MAT was an overlooked, slightly long in the tooth run down part of LaGuardia Airport.

Today the MAT is alive and well, and as one of the first buildings on any airport in the USA to be designated a Historic Landmark (1980), you would think her future is assured.

But now some people want to use the MAT and make some changes that are little more than a device to proclaim there own importance.

To that we say, wait just a New York minute!

There is a celebration this week in New York City. The nearly three quarters of a million people that are mostly commuters going to and from work in New York & New Jersey have been forced to travel pre-pandemic through Pennsylvania (Penn) Station in Manhattan, a daily subterranean dismal railroad encounter since the misdirected destruction in 1963 of the monumental Beaux Arts 1910 version of Penn Station. These commuters will get some relief beginning later this week when a new passenger experience begins on January 1st.

Happy New Year 2021!

A moving holiday essay from a loving daughter decorates and drives our holiday spirit this muted Christmas 2020 during COVID-19.

Here is how Christmas ought to be, ,once was , and pray will be again, when the Pandemic of 2020 finally moves into the rear view mirror.

Florence Arend(we call her Flossie, takes off the gloves and paints a powerful word picture of her Christmas.

"Every year around this time, I struggle to find new words to offer to our loyal FlyingTypers’ readers. I am not immune to the warm responses inspired by our annual Christmas story, and I would be posturing if I said it doesn’t feel good to know it is so well received. However, the pressure mounts to say something new; to not rehash the things you already know; to provide some meaningful insight into our holiday gathering.
    You know we are a family business in an age when most companies yearn to proclaim that simply for the feel-good cachet it affords them. People love a good legacy story. We just celebrated our 45th anniversary and no, you can’t put a price on that. In a world where everything has been commodified, you still can’t buy time or experience."

Having spent most of my life in logistics, when we started talking about COVID19 vaccines in the springtime I was anticipating the greatest logistics challenge of our times: delivering COVID19 vaccines as soon as available to thousands if not millions of POU’s all over the world. Famously we recall challenges such as the Berlin Airlift which kept west Berlin alive in times of cold war, perhaps less famously but even more challenging we record the yearly feat of delivering the Beaujolais Nouveau wine to the five continents, ready for its grand opening every autumn.

This year of 2020, a year loathed by most, will nonetheless witness the kick-start of the largest logistics operation of all times. We have had ways of understanding that 2020 is one of a kind. This is especially true in logistics, and will be on our records for many years to come.

Here  from Marco in Turin is the latest news from Europe  as  vaccine deliveries worldwide quicken and Christmastide promises to be like none other in recent memory.

Ronald Edward George (REG) Davies is probably someone you may not have heard about.

Davies died in England nine years ago at age 90.

Simply said, REG Davies was and today remains the greatest and most prolific airline historian that ever lived anywhere in the world.
His legacy to aviation, captured in 25 books and other social efforts, are as pioneering and important in scope as many of the subjects he wrote about including Lindbergh, Earhart, Berlin Airlift and almost every major airline in the world, past and present. His service via his immense output of books and research and work as the very first Curator of Air Transport at the National Air & Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, D.C. is detailed and enormous.

This could be the week that the world has been waiting for as that now imminent vaccine is on the boards to begin deliveries. From India to Indiana, the world will be able to breathe a long sigh of relief as air cargo jumps centerstage to commence what could be the greatest airlift in history. But are we ready? Here we talk to some leading transportation professionals of India. The Flying Cool Warehouse "Opticooler protects the most temperature sensitive and risky cargo and is a flying cool warehouse, at any climate and any temperature offering  almost unlimited runtime (compared to passive solutions),"  says Andreas Seitz. 

     When Sirius would appear in the sky just before the sun, in July, that marked the beginning of the very hottest days of the year.
     The Romans referred to this period as "dies caniculares" or "days of the dog star," which was eventually translated as just "dog days."
     Too hot to handle?
     Now that the world seems warmer and that last trade show of the first half of 2024 was over at PVG last week, we are counting the ‘Dog Days’ as July 4th in America approaches Thursday wishing all A SUPER SUMMER 2024!
     At home we look at our four-legged friends with some passion whilst they continue to do what they have always done best as great spirits looking up every time, we enter the room and no matter what, asking us the same question with longing in their eyes:
     “What’s up?” they always want to know.
     Lulu, our faithful companion (pictured here), could not be described as a wonder dog, that’s for sure.
     No heroics on tap for July 4th either.

Here  just for Thanksgiving in America 2020, we step back a bit and widen our scope revisiting one of most famous "airport happenings" in New York City history. The date was February 7, 1964 and the great international airport for New York City John. F. Kennedy International Airport  (JFK) said hello  to the Beatles musical group and the city went wild. Actually the story of that flight has been well documented during the past 55 years in all aspects but one. What about the people that handled the flights and the ground support for that epoch trip? Here we include personal recollections of cabin crew and ground people alike in a romp that also relives the golden days of Pan American World Airways during a time when Pan Am was America's Airline To The World. Thanks to Michael Webber who created this piece , despite the lockdown and COVID-19, we all get a "Ticket To Ride".

Stanley Lim Pioneering Singapore-based freight forwarder and Member of the Extended FIATA Board says:

 “A lot is happening in FIATA:  the reset idea is very good, but there are issues. FIATA has gone through a complete overhaul within a few months, in one of the most complex times of our lives due to the pandemic. I am fully committed to assist and my impression is that the new management would have an advantage to count on experienced members who recognize the demanding tasks of the association.”

Knocking Around The Zoo

By now our regular listeners have known Jim Larsen who served the pioneering all cargo U.S. carrier Seaboard World Airlines, and later as cargo marketing manger at The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

Jim, as we have learned as we approach the 20th Anniversary of that terrible day, was a genuine hero of 911 as he rescued fellow workers from One World Trade Center.. That inspiring story will appear here on New Year's Day 2021.

Here Jim shares a lighter hearted story of an adventure, knocking around the Calcutta Zoo in 1971.

In less than two weeks the curtain will ring down on a career that has endured at an airline, nearly 46 years or since Gerald Ford was USA President and Helmut Schmidt served as Chancellor of The Federal Republic of Germany.

In Frankfurt, when Heide Enfield packs it in and retires on November 30 and says her last farewell, she will also bring to close a family affiliation in the airline business that dates back almost as far as the creation and development of post 1950s modern commercial aviation in Germany.

These days more often than not we hear some new language  driven by the COVID-19 global pandemic

“We are OK, safe inside of our bubble.”

I have often wondered how secure some of these perceived ‘bubbles” are.

Also think of our Son’ Geoffrey 11 about 20 years ago the day he left Queens New York and headed out to Hollywood where he starred as Flipper Boy in his first big production movie titled Bubble Boy.

Today I guess we all live in some kind of bubble and like the Bubble Boy in Guffy’s movie, we all have to learn how live breathe and think and move around for some time longer inside it.

Webber Weaves A Tale S/H

Mike Webber has contributed a diverse array of articles to Flying Typers over the years. From data-rich state-of-the-industry overviews to features about the Beatles’ arrivals at JFK and LAX that were shared in music (and Pan Am) forums where Flying Typers doesn’t typically land.

An Autumn Serenade For 2020

“Our look into the future must be guided by intelligence, experience, and common sense. 

I have said this before:

“The virus is neither political nor religious; it’s biological purpose is to spread, and we humans are the hosts.

“We can reduce the risks."

Jo Frigger 

Chairman

EMO Trans Global Logistics

CNS Departures Mean  Industry Will Suffer

"Now we are witnessing some of the best leadership in our industry departing 

when this is the time they are needed the most,",former CNS President Warren Jones

told Flying Talkers. 

"With the recent post of Mike White leaving CNS 

and some other great individuals at

IATA like Gordon Wright, our industry, while resilient, will suffer."

Kicking The Cans

By now unless you have been living on the moon or accidentally got locked up the a cool box somewhere since 1985, Envirotainer the pioneering cool box company from Sweden says it can deliver all the vaccines needed anywhere in the world with no excuses or let up, and its system is the go-to way to move pharmaceuticals, worldwide on short notice.

Freeze Dry Vaccines? (Revisited)

Now the world awaits a  COVID-19 vaccine, reportedly a two- shot sequence, delivery to 8 billion people alongside other therapeutics, that might add another two step that would see that dreaded one-way trip to the hospital turn into a roundtrip. Meantime waiting in the wings is the technique of freeze drying vaccines in a process mostly under wraps for now at Pfizer and others, While this method will not play a large role meeting the immediate need, freeze drying promises  big changes ahead for  delivery of global medicines.

“CNS will focus on its core mission on ensuring that the CASS continues to meet the needs of the U.S cargo industry,” came the terse announcement from IATA confirming that our exclusive story of Mike White an icon of change advancing the airline forwarder partnership, departing as Cargo Network Services President at year’s end, is sadly all too true.

After finishing 40 years in the airlines and retiring sixteen years ago, Kari Tikkanen is not only still watching but involved with the industry.

“I began as Finnair Cargo Manager in Helsinki on May 15, 1969 when we launched a Douglas DC-8 Combi jet aircraft to New York with the pallets loaded forward.

“The Finnair first class cabin was located behind the wing on that aircraft,” Kari smiled . . . 

When it comes to air cargo, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) seems to be adapting a bunker mentality in 2020 as top management and other key personnel connected to air cargo are retiring in droves.

Glyn Hughes, IATA Head of Cargo departs IATA in January, and Mike White, President of IATA Cargo Network Services (CNS) will depart by year’s end.

Add to that the diminishing number of support staff at IATA in Geneva, including maybe all the team at CNS in Miami. Some in air cargo may feel like those “Six Characters Looking for an Author” a la Luigi Pirandello; a family of industry people left incomplete by an author who can’t finish the work for which we were conceived.

This June just past – at the height of the pandemic lockdown in India – there was a quiet celebration in the Chennai-based Blue Dart Aviation family (which is part of DHL eCommerce Solutions) celebrating its 24th anniversary on June 17.

Blue Dart Managing Director Tulsi Nowlakha Mirchandaney crossed a huge milestone.

Heard on the radio that soon travelers  could be tested for COVID-19 before boarding a flight and then after landing whilst travelling between New York City and London.

The idea is to avoid that mandatory two-week confinement might encourage short stay business and pleasure travel. Florida’s airports are doing rapid tests and the prospect of continued innovative thinking will certainly be better than the punch in the nose our industry has taken from the ongoing pandemic.

Michael R. White, the well-liked and much respected President of Cargo Network Services (CNS) is retiring December 31, to pursue other interests.

Mr. White joins a parade of recent IATA top cargo management retirements...

Dr. Jan Hoffmann is Chief, Trade Logistics Branch in the Division on Technology and Logistics at UNCTAD (http://UNCTAD.org). In different capacities through our careers, I have been able to meet with Jan Hoffmann several times. Becoming acquainted with Jan has been both a privilege and a discovery for me (http://JanHoffmann.live).

Gusto In Forschung 

However, Dr Hoffmann was not born a civil servant, his gusto in “Forschung” (in English: Research) is probably the engine behind his choices, which brought him from his family tramp shipping business Hoffmann Shipping, based in Horneburg, Germany, to many other contiguous interests: import-export agent, seafarer, translator, consultant and assistant professor, before joining the United Nations.

Sky Bar Is Back!

Blast from our past . . . There is some good news this October as Halloween approaches. Sky Bar  a great candy bar inspired by aviation in 1938 and thought dead a couple of years ago, is back, and better than ever, being produced in Sudbury, Mass.

Here is a treat from another time  that celebrates the excitement and promise of air speed, that also brought a discipline for all time, along for the ride.

We have been thinking about IATA as air cargo becomes more famous in the mainstream media in regards to COVID-19 PPE flight performance.

In the face of all the attention, IATA has shuttered all its cargo expertise in Geneva and Montreal.

Glyn Hughes, Head of Cargo, and others in both locations have taken packages and are out.

Is Cargo Network Services (CNS) next? 

Do we stand to lose the expertise of Mike White and his team?

A 2020 reality check is in order, with China having unleashed COVID-19 earlier this year and now ending One Country Two Systems in Hong Kong, and also apparently up to a lot of other less than glamorous things.

As the pharmaceutical industry dedicates its resources to the creation of an effective vaccine, one of the greatest challenges will be the design and implementation of an efficient distribution system that will address the demanding logistical requirements. Airports and their partners will be critical elements in the planning and operations.

“We actually make a difference in people’s lives, albeit indirectly - and it is this thought that makes me love my work and inspires me to work harder,” Chaitaly Mehta separates the signal from the noise with an insightful, direct view to best practices moving forward.

Okay put down those margaritas for a moment, and read what was said at a great air cargo gathering last week in Cancun, Mexico.

Look for the entire transcript of these comments in FlyingTypers  at www.aircargones.com.

Here is Kale Logistics Solutions  self-generated initiative, branded Clear View Americas.

 Our view is that Clear View is fresh, while other industry events these days seem tired.

First Session: Collaborative Growth in the Air Cargo Industry – The Vital Role of Partnerships and Airport Leadership.  Speaker: Michael Webber, CEO Webber Air Cargo Inc.

“In terms of total air cargo business HKG exceeded 4 M tons. MEM, PVG, & ANC exceeded 3 M.

MIA holds 82% of the air cargo market share from U.S. to Latin America

Cultivating Partnerships:

Americas top four international gateways: MIA, LAX, ORD, JFK.

While ATL ranks far up the line for passenger, ATL ranks far down the line in air cargo due to the reduced amount of cargo carriers that land/take off from ATL.

Today in a world where information is king, a major challenge is lack of communication; airports must communicate with the full logistics supply chain – airlines, cargo handlers, regulators, forwarders/brokers, truckers, material vendors, etc.

“The action must be a partnership to be successful," Mike Webber decalred.

If you count up the years Wally Devereaux, Southwest Airlines Managing Director Cargo and Charters, and a 28-year veteran of the carrier has been a force in air cargo for 14. But to look at him you might think he is a new kid on the block. Wally is a youthful and energetic "Mohair Sam" which is language from the 1940s that was often used to describe someone who is smart, easy going and always comfortable in his clothes. Here the Texas born and bred native talks about Southwest Cargo at full strength the way it ought to be, and he speaks with some spirit and elan telling us the way it is right now.

Harold Hagens died September 10 in Atlanta. A great patron and spirit of the air cargo business is gone, but he shall not be forgotten for all the good he did.

Sorry, this move toward laptop webinars with six people on a screen has gotten old in a hurry.

I think that split screen face to face from a distance with family and loved ones works with Uncle Claude, young Obishek, Nilu and Zahir.

But for business, while going thumbnail face-to-face did serve to open up our COVID-19 closeted world a bit, today that contact at times feels like  what used to be said about sitting in an audience watching a burlesque show.

You've seen one, you've seen them all.

Maybe it's time now to get street smart , and go face- to-face by trying something different.

Also here two industry veterans, Nils Haupt and Isaac Nijankin share a view of the future having served air cargo successfully in the past.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo opens new cargo flights to Italy and Pakistan connecting UK & U.S. shippers.

Cargo Human Care seeks help powering up a new dispensary  to help the people of Kenya.

Labor Day 2020 and unofficial end of Summer in the USA: we step back a bit to the black and white world of 1942 and spend some moments recalling the outstanding cargo movement of WW II by sharing with you dear reader the exact time period when our industry as we know it today, (albeit the modern version) was born.

The China India Burma Hump flights that moved cargo from Assam, India to Kunming, China above the Himalayan Mountains paved the way for air cargo to come to the rescue of Berlin post-war.

From both those movements, air cargo was born via hundreds of surplus DC3 and C46 aircraft, some that were purchased for as little as a dinner for two tab at Sardis here in New York.

Something I learned early on in our early effort 45 years ago to create a publication quite unlike any other for the air cargo industry:

In order to have a clearer vision of what lies ahead be sure and gather as much information as possible that deals with what has already happened.

So, the first order of business at Flying Typers has always been to cast a clear line to the history of air cargo.

Now with COVID-19 touching every part of the world with every person that you ever met part of a common experience we thought to write to some people who have spent the best years of their lives building the industry but now in retirement might be nudged into venturing forth with some ideas and opinions to share with the folks who in 2020 are actively day to day doing the heavy lifting in our business today.

Thankfully we have something to report for that effort that begins today with Jacques Ancher who created the wildly successful modern air cargo structure at KLM Cargo ,

Ram Menen the man who began on the ramp when Emirates Airline had only couple leased in planes from Pakistan and then for the next three decades was most responsible for Sky Cargo emerging as a world power.

Also, today Dave Brooks who served as President Cargo for American Airlines from year to year shares some thoughts.

American Airlines in 2020 is the biggest airline in the world but the carrier’s cargo enterprise great as a great giant unleashed in many directions all over the world during the Brooks years.

We find it reassuring that although both of these gentlemen put down their sword quite some time ago like many of us the care and passion for our industry has not faded.

As we often have said and it is especially true here, for Jacques Ram & Dave the song may have ended but the melody lingers on.

As the world awaits a  COVID-19 vaccine, reportedly a two- shot sequence, delivery to 8 billion people alongside other therapeutics that might add another two step that would see that dreaded one-way trip to the hospital turn into a roundtrip.Meantime waiting in the wings is the technique of freeze drying vaccines in a process mostly under wraps for now at Pfizer and others promising  big changes are ahead in global medicine,

Covid-19 has no immediate of going away. But across India amidst lifting of lockdowns and restrictions, the air cargo industry has battled on.

Forwarders survey across India  underscores  that  this group is strenuously adapting to keep themselves and their businesses going.

Summertime  Means Fun...Here we continue the saga of Speed Gibson last heard here on May 31. Slow down a bit.Here radio contact is messages by Morse Code and Short-Wave Radio.In 1938 Speed Gibson, boy hero was always ready to climb aboard a Pan Am Clipper flying boat on the way to another journey to adventure!

Workers in the fields of life sciences and transportation are laboring diligently to discover a COVID-19 vaccine and researching the means of moving that vaccine to restore the balance of normal life all over the world.

Voices Behind a Mask

The word from our pharma sources is that “deadlines to save lives is uppermost as companies have committed vast resources to develop not only serums but also to secure the vials to carry the precious liquids to people everywhere.”

So, in terms of getting ready to carry relief to billions in an extremely high-charged moment in time, the path to that long-awaited shot in the arm comes into sharper focus.

The consensus is that it will require quite a bit of work and broad cooperation from everybody in all disciplines moving ahead.

Pete Hamill Prince of the City

In New York the reporter who  covered everything from boxing to politics for a half century Pete Hammil once wrote, “I don't ask for the meaning of the song of a bird or the rising of the sun on a misty morning.” In 2020 the City that he loved as much as he could weeps at his loss.

American Airlines Cargo is opened wide & declaring it is “ready to deliver”vaccine and therapies to combat the demon global pandemic.
“While the production of a COVID-19 vaccine remains unclear, we are inspired that experts and scientists around the world are working together to beat COVID-19,” Jessica Tyler President of American Cargo told Flying Talkers in an exclusive interview.

Forwarder Confident Jo Frigger EMO Trans Chairman told Flying Talkers:

“Much will depend on which manufacturer will get the approval for their vaccine. There will be a mad rush and the logistics may be under control of the shipper or importer. It is very difficult to predict where the vaccine will be coming from and who will be the initial consignee. The vaccine could come from Europe, Asia, Russia or North America."

India China Dustup

In the beginning of July, when FedEx and DHL stopped picking up cargo from China for India, it was not surprising. If the Corona Virus pandemic made transportation difficult, ever since the bloody conflict in the Galwan Valley (bordering the Indian state of Ladakh and China) on June 15, 2020 that saw the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers, India’s relations with China have been tanking.The announcement of the move to stop picking up cargo from China came due to “recent delays in customs clearance of shipments into India” from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

FedEx also pointed out that it was “currently facing backlogs beyond our control, leading to congestion at our facilities”.

While DHL and FedEx have explained the reason for the delays, there is another very important reason.

Flying Monkeys Delivers Hope For COVID-19 

In most parts of the world where research is being conducted to defeat COVID-19 and we hear that test vaccines are in Stage Two or Three, the research animal being tested closest to a human being is the Rhesus monkey.

Recall it was the Rhesus that accelerated  Dr. Jonas Salk’s search in developing and then perfecting a vaccine for Polio in the 1950s.

Zaha Could Hit The Curve

With some time perhaps for summertime reading, Zaha Hidid comes alive  in a new book out next month as a revolutionary and transformational  architect whose legacy is seen in buildings she designed from A sports palace in Doha to The Broad Arts Museum in East Lansing Michigan, to The Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi, and of course her breath taking  design of that new airport in Beijing.

There is no question that when purpose is attached to power, magic can happen.

Right now, Doha-based Qatar Airways Cargo is the largest carrier in the region, having surpassed the likes of Emirates and others in the Middle East who by comparison seem as if they are moving in the slow lane.

In Fact right now Qatar Airways Cargo is the number one cargo airline in the world.

Last week we  expressed our opinion that TIACA Air Cargo Forum slated for Miami this November should be cancelled. Here we address another issue

wondering if management of that org is really looking out for its membership?

We receive lots of mail. Here we share a couple letters...

TIACA Air Cargo Forum apparently is still planning its Miami, Florida debut with Messe München organizing the event, and a couple of industry publication partners handling sales, for November 10-11, undaunted by the global COVID-19 pandemic that once again is sweeping across Florida.

In early July looking over the event website, at the booked booths reveals (minus a small army of publications) maybe 30 exhibitors, but less than a half dozen airlines.

Our view is TIACA/Messe München should be postponed until 2021

That brace of powerful USA aircraft carriers on maneuvers in the South China Sea (SCS) last week sends a powerful message to Communist China that the USA and others will not be driven off those waters that the CCP has been treating recently as its own private lake.

The implications for trade are underscored as SCS drives USD$7 trillion in trade annually.

But in broader thinking about these these things, push has finally come to shove.

If we exclude any type of armed conflict, which for two countries the size and technical sophistication of the United States and China would truly be catastrophic, the objectives and field of conflict become rather clear.

What is going on in this Covid-19 world of 2020 is  an economic and world view conflict between closed authoritarian states and open liberal democratic systems of governance.

Great interview with Andreas Obermeyer about employing and retaining the right person in transport and logistics.

Mr. Obermeyer is an expert who has a wide horizon on the global labor market in logistics; a first-class consultant who works with la crème of logistics in Europe. Born and grown in Basel, he completed his apprenticeship in freight forwarding after his “Matura”, i.e. the college certificate valid in Switzerland.

After positions in Schenker and Danzas, world famous in those years, Andreas started to work in consulting in 1997, since 2001 in HR executive search and personnel consultancy.

Conversation with Marco Sorgetti read by Geoffrey Arend is 20 minutes of power & interest.

EMO Trans Stands Against Racism

“With the current events concerning racism and its effect on our daily lives it is time to clearly state which side we are on,” declares Joachim Frigger EMO Trans Chairman.

Read All About It

"How To Be An Antiracist" Published in 2019, the book "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi is a necessary read as 2020 moves full steam ahead.

Christmas In June  . . . Spinning the numbers—things may be looking up?

Why Baseball Matters

Today July 4th, The New York Yankees hold their full team workout in three months. Now the real countdown begins so that blessed baseball can come back and The Boys of Summer will move through the remains of the year until Fall with that particular poetic grace of a game that will lift millions of cooped up, stressed out Americans.

"I'm so pumped," youngest daughter Emily Parker enthuses. This one is for Emily . . . 

Air India has been operating charter flights  between USA and India to repatriate its citizens who have been held up getting back home by travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has also been selling tickets to the public.

USA Department of Transportation (DOT) says the Indian government and regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have not allowed US airlines to operate same kind of  flights to India, creating what DOT termed “a competitive disadvantage for US carriers”.

Right now when it comes to ULDs the modern day boxcars, we stay in touch with Bob Rogers a person that has thought about these things for most of his life examining all possibilities as the spirit and guiding force of ULD Cares.

As he speaks you can imagine if Bob had his way, he might even live in a can and listen to the patter of rain on the tin roof as he thinks his next big thoughts.

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) recognized Jill Maschmeier who serves as the National Carriers, Inc. Director of Safety/Compliance, with the  “TCA Safety Professional of the Year 2020 Clare C. Casey Award “.

Italy was sitting in the middle of the biggest pandemic in 100 years, when we spoke to Antonella Straulino , Francesco Parisi, Massimo Roccasecca and Jean-Claude Delen about the events happening around us on 11th of March. It was just before the “Ides of March” 2020 and COVID19 was already ravaging the country and the continent, but the shocking numbers that were gradually becoming apparent had not reached the levels that scared us later on. Italy had just entered the harshest lockdown in its recent history and the rest of Europe was about to follow suit. We shall not dwell too long on the concept: we believe all countries are aware of the consequences by now, the escalating numbers having obliged to open up even the most skeptical eyes.. But things in Italy are opening up now, as the story continues in this  exclusive report from Turin .

While most of the conversation lately has centered on what the world of airlines,forwarders and other players in air cargo will look like moving ahead here  are some thoughts from Dan Muscatello an expert in airport  Cargo and Logistics strategy and planning. Dan brings an impressive portfolio of more than 40 years of experience, in both the public and private sectors. He has been a development strategist for both the business and physical facility planning of air cargo complexes, and the integration of ancillary and supporting logistics services that make them operationally and financially feasible.

CNS Partnership Stands Supreme

Here is a simple fact. All of the air cargo industry conferences are toast for 2020. And despite the noble effort of TIACA  and others including their new and mighty German partners to try and salvage Air Cargo Forum slated for Miami later this year, it looks like the next best chance to gather to meet, greet, network and do some serious business will be CNS Partnership Conference slated for April 20-21 2021 in Miami at The Marriott Turnbury.

Qatar Beats The Bullies

Anybody that remembers the children’s book, “The Little Engine That Could” might recall a rhythmic verse in that lovely tome as the “little engine” at work pulled an overpowering load of toys up and over a hill and puffing out a chant,

“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!”

Word June 4, that Qatar Airways from Doha, Qatar has stepped up and now is the largest carrier of passengers and air cargo flying anywhere in the world, raises the question, is there any challenge that this inventive, determined airline cannot overcome, or at least figure out a way to pilot itself through?

With all of the difficulties people are facing in our industry these days , here is some great and hopeful news.

Jessica Tyler, will assume the role as President of American Airlines Cargo.

The announcement expected in a few days will see Rick Elieson current AA Cargo President capping a three- year tour of dramatic change for cargo at the carrier moving on to work his magic for AAs frequent flier program.

Jessica Tyler it should be mentioned will be the first woman President in the 76-year history of AA Cargo, and also FT learned she will additionally have expanded responsibilities over American's passenger operations.

A great & inspiring story!

Pay Me My Money Down “COVID-19 has undoubtedly changed our lives for the foreseeable future, with those who are fortunate to still be employed now having to adjust to changes such as working from home, managing teams and completing daily activities remotely,” said Lionel van der Walt CEO of Pay Cargo. “In an industry that until now has still been dominated by many manual paper-based processes, this is no mean feat. Count the Money      “One very important issue that COVID-19 has brought to the forefront is that of finance.      “Freight forwarders will need to exercise extreme caution in how they finance their customers going ahead in these unpredictable times where shipments are lying uncleared for weeks on end, orders are cancelled, shipments are abandoned as ancillary charges have mounted, and so on.      “The cost of doing business is no doubt going to increase and forwarders might need to realign their charges.      “Customer segregation for credit lines could be a way ahead.      “This is an individual call each forwarder will have to take for themselves,” Keshav Tanna said. India Drones On Domestic flight operations in India have started. And, it will take a while to get back to Pre-COVID-19 conditions. Meanwhile, India’s Civil Aviation Ministry has moved ahead to look at drone operations seriously.

How about we extend a quarantine forever on the slew of meaningless air cargo award events?

We have been thinking  about awards as the air cargo award party bonanza threatens to begin anew post pandemic after this global COVID-19 lockup ends.

Face it, the day for those under value bow-tie dinners that basically fill the coffers of sponsoring publications and organizations is over.

As the world celebrates air cargo, moving all manner of PPE and other consignments aboard otherwise grounded passenger aircraft we share some recollections from the person that covered the first great air cargo movement in history and turned the world on to the possibilities of "Flying Boxcars" as an alternative way to ship freight. Here from our files is the late Richard Malkin at 105 years of age recalling his coverage of the 1948 Berlin Airlift.

Who sends messages by Morse Code and speaks to contacts overseas by Short-Wave Radio?  In 1938, no one but Speed Gibson, boy hero who is always ready to climb aboard a Pan Am Clipper flying boat on the way to another journey to adventure!

“The COVID-19 Pandemic has challenged us at this point on a sustained level as no time in history, but in our line of work we have remained flexible and kept our team on point to be both inventive and to be in close touch with our airline partners.

“The best surprise is no surprise so our top priority is transparency every step of the way before, during and after the lockdown.

“I am very impressed with the flexibility of our team to work remotely and also the support of our service partners in seeking alternative methods to keep the supply chains open.

“Now as we move forward we redouble our effort to be there for our partners every step of the way.”

ATC Aviation President Ingo Zimmer could barely have imagined (as could any of us) the uproar to business and our very lives during this global pandemic of 2020.

Here for the COVID-19 world during Mid May 2020 , we offer the opinion of where we are as an air cargo industry and where we are likely to land from some people who are thankfully involved in one way or another and still have it going on as thought leaders.

While everybody is masking up to go outside, elsewhere others are attempting to unmask just what our transportation world might look like in the future. One determined freight forwarder, EMO Trans Chairman Joachim “Jo” Frigger, insists that “keeping it simple is how logistics works best.”

In our transportation business Bill Boesch has done it all as President of Cargo at American Airlines , and before that at Pan Am Clipper Cargo and Seaboard World. 

Ram Menen is the person most responsible for delivering Emirates Sky Cargo as world power before retiring five years ago. All three of our participants here are active today either leading, teaching or advising logistics professionals around the world.

In the case of Jo Frigger ,  the hands on leader of EMO Trans Global Logistics exhibits a solid plan, as that privately held company continues to  weather the pandemic , serving the global market while planning to move ahead briskly as the world reopens. 

Here in a freewheeling delivery of observations and thoughts these doers and dreamers, plus a cameo appearance from the great Issa Baluch, move the marble, but leave the outcome to us.

When you think about it, the Coronavirus has advanced our imagination more in the past few weeks than in several generations since the Berlin Airlift of 1948 first advanced the notion of what air cargo might accomplish.

As example, Airbus said last week that it is looking at a system for removal of passenger seats and loading of cargo directly onto main deck cabin floors.

Given the prospect of a slow return of the passenger business, can cargo and passengers co-inhabiting the same deck be far behind?

Into The Glyn IATA Looks Ahead

Glyn Hughes, IATA Global Head of Cargo for nearly the past six years has stabilized that position by being likeable, knowledgeable and someone you can talk to on a wide variety of subjects and come away impressed that here is someone who is a straight shooter.

That is no small feat as IATA Cargo, with a big diverse and at times divided membership, has gone through several years of change at the top.

Dixie Chicks On Truckers Menu

Today when a random act of kindness and caring can often make the difference, Donna Mullins is leading a brave band of ladies that venture out with face masks, rubber gloves and proper social distancing at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (HIJA) in Atlanta, where they have been delivering food to truckers who had nowhere else to go.

Sentimental journey... We recall the life & times of a great Chilean air cargo pioneer Alex Thiermann.

In Normandie as that big D-Day gathering today June 6 will see return of DC3s above the skies above the coast of France ,we visit friends and family there.

Some years since we journeyed to Bernay in Normandie and relived some WWII memories with our Uncle Claude who recalled D Day through the eyes of a child.

As preamble , it needs to be noted five years ago there were maybe 250 veterans of that day visiting aboard a tour from England and this year there were only maybe 10% of that number on the same tour.

There is another trait that Italy and India have in common: a sort of fatalism in life, mingled with fortitude, pride, hyperbole and endurance. This is the recipe of so many Italian operas, including one that has never been written. Those who read the New York Times may have heard of the royal family of Oudh

Virgin To Tel Aviv/ Qatar Down Under / Pasi to Finnair 

Remembering Jack Zembeck

Jan Krems is President of United Cargo and with inspirational leadership and no small amount of spirit and élan has propelled United Cargo into the top USA combination carrier position in air cargo.

The payoff right now is that the United air cargo program is adding up as the major revenue driver for the entire airline.

Turns out Jan who was born in the Netherlands where shirts are sold with the sleeves already rolled up, lost no time as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, energizing his team to be onto every account securing positions and flights that now add up to more all-cargo movements per week at UA than several other carrier’s cargo efforts combined. 

In just the last 30 days UA has moved more than 500 all-cargo flights worldwide.

Speed Gibson Old Time Aviation Radio Serial from 1939 Returns Speed Gibson during the COVID-19 Pandemic is a regular feature of Flying Talkers. Suspend disbelief and ditch the cell phone and climb on board for flying boats adventure, morse code communication  and shortwave radio!

There is something instantly compelling and so wonderfully appealing in a  widely circulated  picture of Virgin Atlantic people, cabin crew and all, in face masks moving some medical supplies on an all-cargo VS flight from PVG to LHR last Friday April 3.

It’s about the culture of the business we are in and the people that touch us (from a proper social distance) every day.

Forwarders Get No Respect

In USA, FlyingTypers learned that as many as 30 or more small freight forwarding companies have gone out of business since the COVID-19 Pandemic has shut down the nation and many more are teetering on the edge of insolvency.

“The coronavirus scourge has so far adversely impacted countless companies and millions of American workers,” declared Brandon Fried President of the USA Washington-based Airforwarders Association.

Reporter's Notebook

I once asked Mike Chowdry, who invented ACMI, if the artwork on the tails of all his airplanes was inspired by the giant metal sculpture of Atlas at the entrance outside Rockefeller Center in New York City.

The founding father of Atlas Air smiled and I withdrew that dumb question..