GermanyReport ProAir looks to ‘strategic partners’


“Cargo charter demand is rather low this year compared to 2011,” says Andreas Wald, general manager at German broker ProAir. On the other hand, he


noted that there are now more serious requests for informa- tion, rather than contingency plans being made by potential customers for a cargo charter should regular scheduled sea or freight movements fall through. “We feel that the current


discussions about the future of the euro creates an atmo- sphere of uncertainty. As a result, shippers are possibly no longer willing to accept con- tracts with penalty clauses, leading to charter flights in case of missed deadlines. “This corresponds to the


reduced number of requests for bigger cargo charters,” Wald observed. He continued: “Reduced


demand, along with the increased number of charter brokers that now exists, makes it difficult to maintain profit margins. Still, ProAir has a strong and reliable customer base in niche markets that keeps business alive.” More and more customers are now expecting a one-stop-


Wald: “cargo charter demand is rather low this year”


shop service, Wald pointed out, meaning that ProAir has to organise all the complemen- tary tasks related to a charter operation. He went on: “As a relatively


small company focusing on the Central European market, we are valued by our clients as a flexible broker. The disadvan- tage, however, of a purely European presence is the lack of synergies that can be enjoyed from large numbers of offices around the world. “But with respect to that,


ProAir is currently planning the creation of a network of strate- gic partners,” Wald added.


Frankfurt-Hahn airport gains Shanghai connection


Frankfurt-Hahn International airport gained a new connection to Shanghai at the end of August when an Evergreen Air- lines B747-400 freighter began flights on a Shanghai – New York – Hahn – Chengdu – Shanghai routeing. Navitrans, the Chinese logis-


tics company, manages the operation and, according to Jan Möller, Hahn’s director mar- keting and sales: “Navitrans


likes the logistical benefits here: night-time flying, short dis- tances and fast processing. This all spoke in our favour.” Shanghai-based Navitrans confirmed that the B747-400F is mostly carrying general cargo. The new service was


launched initially on a once a week routeing. As of 24 September, however, the service was boosted to two routeings per week.


QCS continues to invest in quality


Dieter Haltmayer, founder and CEO of Ger- man forwarder QCS Quick Cargo Services, says that doing business even in Germany is difficult at the moment. “We are all struggling a bit right now,” he


admitted, noting that QCS’s revenue this year is down 1.2 percent on 2011 and profit is down by 25 percent. However, Haltmayer was also quick to point out that 2011 was “the best year we’ve ever had”. Fuel surcharges are part of the reason for the


higher costs, he suggested, and the struggling bottom line. Imports into Germany out of China have taken a big hit, although exports into the Far East are still holding up fairly well. The North American market has also been


It also recently opened a new 2,000m2 ware-


house in Frankfurt, as well as a new Berlin office at Tegel airport at the end of last year. Its various offices are in the process of getting


ISO 9000-qualified, Haltmayer observed, while its Qualified Cargo Solutions wholly-owned sub- sidiary continues to do well working in niche areas like pharmaceuticals. Plus, QCS forms a critical part of Iglu Air


Cargo, a joint venture of 24 cargo agents gathered together to boost their collective buying power and allow them to compete with global players like Schenker and Kuehne + Nagel. There are certain to be further challenges ahead,


a little slow for exports, he continued, although the South American sector is performing well. But, despite the challenges, QCS is continuing to invest in its


people and its offering. Already boasting 140 staff in Germany and a total of nine offices across Europe, QCS is adding further sales staff.


Haltmayer: “we are all struggling a bit right now”


however, and he points in particular to the tight- ened security screening regulations that are going to come into force in Germany in March next year. Things could get very chaotic around that time,


Haltmayer considers, and he is looking into the worth of acquir- ing its own x-ray machine in order to ensure that its cargo received the ‘priority’ status that will mean it is not delayed at airports before shipping.


➤


airberlin restructure management The carrier’s chairman,


Announcing what it


described as a move to “strengthen its manage- ment


structure and


streamline the operation of its board”, airberlin unveiled a restructuring of its senior management team late last month (September).


1 October 2012


Hans-Joachim Körber, added that “the board and management team are more committed than ever to maintaining the momen- tum of our ‘Shape and Size’ programme, which is expected to deliver better results in the third quarter”.


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