WEEKLY NEWS


AVIAREPS BETS ON SOUTHEAST ASIA’S CARGO ASCENT


BY Anastasiya SIMSEK


TRADE lanes are fragmenting, supply chains are being rethought, and cargo is quietly moving away from once-dominant hubs. For AVIAREPS, this moment isn’t a disruption—it’s a roadmap. Southeast Asia’s growing role in global manufacturing and exports is reshaping airfreight demand, and the global GSA is placing its bets on proximity and local knowledge, not just scale. “Southeast Asia is very fast-developing, especially with its new


airport in Phnom Penh,” said Frederick Overton, AVIAREPS Group’s global head of cargo, speaking from the TLAC Southeast Asia conference. “We’ve just opened our office in Cambodia earlier in the year and we've had lots of really exciting talks with customers about doing air exports and representing them.” The


company’s 02 presence now spans Thailand,


of these Southeast Asian markets as maybe some countries de- risk from Chinese exports,” Overton explained. “Particularly out of countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, where we're seeing a particular surge of cargo exports at the moment.”


Offline carriers and patchwork solutions One of AVIAREPS’ more unusual strengths is its work with offline carriers—airlines with no direct capacity in a given market. This model depends heavily on creative routing, interline partnerships, and cargo that can afford longer lead times. “We do represent some offline carriers,” Overton said. “So it's about


Singapore,


Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia—complemented by coverage in East Asia including Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. That regional footprint isn’t just for show. It’s part of a deliberate strategy to meet demand where it’s shifting. “We’ve seen significant trade volumes increasing out of some


working with interline partnerships as well as GSAs, and setting up that first-leg capacity to then best serve some of the maybe underutilised capacity that might be going from some of our contracted carriers out of maybe slightly less popular cargo airports.” In practical terms, that means tailoring the strategy based on


product type and urgency. “By joining these dots, we can ultimately link the supply chains, especially for some maybe less urgent goods. So like textiles or things that can move under maybe a five- to-seven-day transit instead of under that one-to-two-day transit for maybe... some more high-tech and machinery-type items that


are being exported from the region.” This nuance is often overlooked in a sector focused on express


transit and digital efficiency. But for Overton, the flexibility to match secondary capacity with appropriate demand is key to unlocking value. Overton’s remit is global, and so is AVIAREPS’ expansion


trajectory. “When I started, we were only partnered with, I think, two airlines for cargo,” he said. “But now we're partnered with nine airlines for cargo.” That growth has come in just over a year. “I think my plan for the next year is to double that. I'd like to get to 20 by this time next year,” he added.


Digital platforms as partners, not threats As digital booking tools gain ground, there’s a common narrative that GSAs may become obsolete. Overton strongly disagrees. “It's very important to partner with the key online platforms: WebCargo, cargo.one, CargoAI and CargoBooking,” he said.


“We


need to treat them more as a collaboration and a partnership rather than thinking that they're working against the GSA or something.” That human focus is not just a slogan—it’s a challenge. “It’s


about training and bringing cargo people into some of these offices where maybe we're less developed in cargo,” Overton said. “And that’s key, right? We’re a people’s business.” “You know, each market has its different kinds of potentials,


Did You Know ? IT'S ALL IN A WORD BY Michael SALES


IN 1925, a Pasadena architect, Arthur Heineman, built a Spanish Colonial-style hotel at San Luis Obispo in California, which was designed for the new wave of motorists who were discovering the joys of driving around America. There were plenty of similar establishments at the time called names such as auto court, tourist court, trav-o-tel, but Heineman decided to create a new name, and motor-hotel became motel. The term was instantly adopted by everyone, long before the big hotel


chains were established. Today,


motels flourish in nearly every country in the world. The early days of aviation went through a similar process. Names such as Lufthansa come from the combination of the German word for air, “Luft”, and


“Hansa”, after the Hanseatic ports. KLM is the abbreviated form of Luchtvaart


Koninklijke Maatschappij,


which in Dutch means “Royal Aviation Company”. Delta Air Lines has its origins in the state of Mississippi. Aer Lingus is an anglicisation of the Irish word Aer Loingeas, which means “air


aviation industry, needing a unifying title, chose


airline, derived 1813, meaning the most


but the majority include “airlines”, e.g. Turkish Airlines, American Airlines, China Airlines, etc. Currently, there are between 5,000 and


fleet”. The from “beeline”,


a maritime term that first appeared in


direct,


straight line between two points, where companies operating vessels on a regular, set route were called shipping lines or ocean liners. This, in turn, derived from the prestigious ships of the line in the navy. Many of the older companies retain their original names, such as Air France, British Airways, Air Canada, Korean Air,


5,500 ICAO/IATA-registered airlines in the world; however, only between 770 and 800 commercial airlines operate officially recognised scheduled flights. The number is increasing rapidly, especially in China, with a new airline being started


on


average twice a week. KLM and Lufthansa are the first airlines operating now under their original names.


different strategies, and different dynamics,” he said. “Having our offices locally—all fully owned under the AVIAREPS company— allows us to best deliver for our clients.”


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