Talking with a single voice
Michael Steen is a man of many talents. As well as being executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Atlas Air, he has a prominent role in both TIACA and GACAG and is spearheading their efforts to drive the air freight industry forward as one. He talks here about priorities for the coming months
T
hese are busy times for US charter services provider and ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) lessor Atlas Air. Executive vice president and chief com- mercial officer Michael Steen notes that the freighter operator’s recently released first-quarter results were
“better than expected”, with strong March figures compensating for a somewhat slow first couple of months to the year. Demand for freight capacity out of China has picked up, ben-
efiting its ACMI and commercial charter business, he revealed, while the South American market has also proved fruitful so far in 2012. His belief remains that there are better things to come, with a general market recovery of some degree to be expected in the latter part of this year. What is more, with low inventory levels across much of the world’s manufacturing sector, any relatively minor increase in
consumer demand could result in a significant spike in demand for cargo capacity, Steen pointed out. Atlas will be well prepared for any increase in demand. It
already has three of the all-new B747-8 freighters in operation for IAG Cargo and two more will be operated for Panalpina after they arrive in May and July. Another two are expected to be deliv- ered later in the year and two more in the first half of 2013. Atlas also has options on another 14 B747-8 freighters. These aircraft provide support to an impressive fleet of B747s
in CMI and ACMI service, the latest customer being Etihad employing an Atlas B747-400 freighter. The new B747-8F is living up to expectations, Steen reas-
sured, delighted with the extra volume and improved fuel efficiency that the model offers over its predecessors. “We have the scale of fleet to be flexible and to react quickly
to any changes in demand,” Steen observed. In hard times, airlines with pressure on their balance sheet looking for a lean operation can turn to an ACMI provider such as Atlas as an alternative to expensive fixed assets. But, in better times, the
ACMI provider also offers the opportunity for a carrier to swiftly expand capacity. “It’s a perfect option for all sorts of different economic models,” Steen enthused. Furthermore, Atlas is trying
to diversify its offerings, adding to charter services and ACMI with an expanded CMI offering – DHL is an important cus- tomer in this regard – and an expanding passenger aircraft fleet.
Steen: “we’re going to hold ourselves accountable”
POINTING THE WAY
Steen has many different responsibilities. As well as his senior role with Atlas, he serves as the chairman of TIACA, The Interna- tional Air Cargo Association, and as chairman of GACAG, the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group. In this latter capacity, he is particularly keen to promote the
value of GACAG as the latest addition to the freight industry’s efforts to act in concert – part of the general move to improve efficiencies in the industry and to speak with one voice against such regulatory bugbears as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The objectives of GACAG are closely harmonised with
TIACA, one of its four founding fathers – the others are the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF). Much progress has been made by GACAG on four core issues,
Steen reported. There has been movement on e-freight, he said, on trade facilitation, sustainability and security. e-freight has not advanced as might have been hoped in times past, but Steen believes the time is now right to forge ahead strongly on this. On trade facilitation, he said working with US Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) and the World Customs Organization is reaping dividends, and Steen held up nations such as Singapore and South Korea as models of what can be achieved when the industry and government agencies such as Customs work hand in hand. With regard to sustainability, he reiterated the point made
many times before that the ETS is not the answer to the issue of the air freight industry’s contribution to a cleaner environment. “We’re not giving up on this,” he promised, calling for the removal of a scheme based wholly in Europe that has met oppo- sition from the global industry and from numerous non-European nations.
GLOBAL ANSWER
Steen called for a global answer to be reached under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), simul- taneously observing that what the Continent’s politicians could and should do is create a Single European Sky. Taken together with the issue of security that forms another
core issue for GACAG, he said that the organisation can bring all the industry stakeholders together and allow them to ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’. “GACAG won’t solve everything,” he said, but it can be an
extremely useful facilitator for the industry to address common issues that all elements of the air freight supply chain face. What is more: “We’re going to hold ourselves accountable for
the tangible deliverables that we set ourselves,” Steen added. Other issues facing the industry right now – perhaps slightly
out of the core remit of GACAG and similar trade bodies – include the air cargo business’s public image, he continued. “The industry is absolutely vital to world trade. We need to sell the value that we bring,” he commented. Another concern is attracting the right sort of talent into
the air freight business, which he regards as “one of the most fascinating, multi-faceted industries in the world”.
Page 10 28 May 2012
✈
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12