ExpressServicesReport Online purchasing to remain key driver


According to James Woodrow, general manager cargo sales and marketing at Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, the airline’s express business is growing, fed by demand from integrators, forwarders and smaller express or courier companies. “This segment of the market


is likely to continue to develop as online purchasing in particu- lar continues


to flourish


globally – and Cathay Pacific as a high quality, reliable partner should benefit from this growth,” Woodrow remarked. He went on: “Cathay Pacific has a very high focus, on both


our passenger bellies and freighters, on OTP (on time perfor- mance). This is a key requirement for this segment of the market. A well-managed, efficient and reliable ground handling operation network-wide is also key.” With its express customers giving committed latest pick-up and delivery times to their customers, often with money back


British Airways World Cargo’s Prioritise express service is an extremely important part of its product offering, says Adam Carson, head of premium products at the carrier. “In fact, premium products account for around 30 percent


of our total turnover and our express products account for approximately half of that. What is really encouraging is that express is our fastest-growing service, alongside our pharma- ceutical product, Constant Climate,” he revealed. Carson believes that both carriers and integrators play an


important role in the industry, offering a complementary schedule. He considered: “The integrators are our global partners and


guarantees, it is absolutely criti- cal that Cathay Pacific delivers according to their customer promise. “We therefore work hard on


achieving the latest possible cut- off times and quickest possible cargo recovery times in each and every port.” Woodrow believes that cer-


tain carriers will continue to provide dedicated services to the integrators. But he feels that Cathay Pacific fits into a “high


quality cargo carrier” category that can deliver both the speed and the high quality of service needed by time-sensitive industries such as pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, high-tech and luxury goods. Finally, he said: “Hong Kong is a very efficient hub for express


air freight services and there is therefore demand coming in and out of Hong Kong and transiting through, to and from multiple destinations.”


Growth in demand for premium services is ‘encouraging’, BA considers


we have longstanding relationships with them. In addition to these relationships, we also offer the express product to the wider market to further provide our customers with the flexi- bility they require.” Furthermore: “We have no doubt that demand for express


will continue to grow,” Carson continued. “Meeting this demand is fundamental to the long-term success of our company and through the integration of Iberia within IAG Cargo, which gives our customers access to a much- increased network – a further 60 destinations worldwide – we are confident of remaining at the forefront of the express market.”


AA Cargo focuses on reliability


Tom Grubb, manager of cold chain strategy at American Airlines, outlines: “Our Expedite product is an express service built on a culture of reliable han- dling established for this express product. “The Expedite TC ser-


vice is built on the backbone of that product, and also provides processes which support the unique requirements of tempera- ture-controlled shipping. “We have made signifi-


cant investments in our express service over the years, because it is extremely important to our programme overall. While, of course, it doesn’t represent the lion’s share of revenue, com- modities such as pharma and perishables make it an important part of the mix,” he added. Grubb is confident that despite competition from the


Grubb: temperature-sensitive commodities make express “an important part of the mix”


large integrators, forwarders can benefit from cost savings by working with passenger airline partners who have daily scheduled services to many markets worldwide. As part of the carrier’s ongoing development of its


express services, he pointed to AA Cargo’s newly launched cold chain solution that uses passive packaging (ACW, 26 September, p12). This is being “embraced by the market- place”, he said. In addition, Grubb confirmed: “We are involved in pilot


programmes which are testing new technologies which support tracking and reliability. “We are serious about providing a service our cus- tomers can rely on,” he concluded.


Page 14


3 October 2011


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