Battle for airfreight capacity intensifies

The battle for airfreight
capacity is intensifying
as airlines move away
from dedicated freighter
aircraft to bellyhold cargo
transport in passenger
aircraft. And with 80%
of an airline’s revenue
driven by its human cargo
(passengers), the airfreight
industry’s ‘secondary’
needs are a cause for
concern.
Even more challenging
was the increase in low
cost carriers (LCCs) in
favour of traditional
carriers as airlines looked
for more affordable, and
therefore more profitable,
means of transporting
passengers, CEO of the
South African Express
Cargo Association and
managing director of
BidAir Cargo, Garry
Marshall, told FTW.
“Low cost carriers
have very streamlined
operations which include
short turnaround times
as they want to land,
discharge and load up
passengers
in as short
a time as
possible –
an average
of 20 to 25
minutes.
This leaves
very little
time to
load cargo,”
Marshall
pointed
out.
But
BidAir
Cargo has
found a way
to use LCCs to transport
up to two tonnes of cargo
per day for its express
freight deliveries during
the day. According to
Marshall, effective use
of LCCs for airfreight
hinges on several factors
– infrastructure, systems
and processes, and
technology.
“Since we
own and
operate
our own
aircraft, we
have access
to airport
space which
puts us
closer to
the LCC
aircraft. We
also have
the right
technology
and
systems
to be able to control the
efficient and fast delivery
of cargo to the aircraft,” he
commented.
INSERT & CAPTION
With 80% of an airline’s
revenue driven by
passengers, the
airfreight industry’s
‘secondary’ needs are
a cause for concern.
– Garry Marshall