Airfreight yields down as competition bites

ALAN PEAT IN ITS international activities, airfreight specialists Express Air Services’ holding company Bidvest is a part of the consortium contracted to modernise and manage Mumbai International Airport, according to MD, Francois Wolmarans. Express Air Services (and the BidAir Division of which it forms part) will be instrumental in assisting the consortium in respect of ground handling activities at Mumbai airport. A further development on the international front is EAS acting as general cargo handling and general sales and service agent for the Middle East airline, Qatar – which moved significant volumes of cargo in its first year of operation in SA, according to Wolmarans. Looking at the aviation scene in general, Wolmarans noted two things. That international passenger travel has increased by 6%, but export cargo has decreased by 3%. “Also,” he told FTW, “yields are down – with a base rate that is virtually equivalent to the fuel surcharge and an increased capacity putting pressure on price”. “With SA’s fishing quotas only just granted, the uplift of fish and lobsters has also been affected over the past while.” Regionally, EAS has been appointed GSSA and GHA for Zambian Air, and since March, five flights a week have been operating between Lusaka and Johannesburg. “Looking ahead,” said domestic director, Roy Solomons, “our plan is to extend the reach into Zambia.” In its domestic activities, EAS has improved service delivery to a 99.85% level, and is achieving hand-out times of 20-40-minutes. “The recently implemented track and trace system is 100% operational,” said Solomons, “and provides readily available, real-time information – which our customers are able to access directly.”