Critical volume supports hubbing concept

CLIVE EMDON
HUBBING IS all a question of scale. You need critical volume to feed into hubs, says Safcor Panalpina’s marketing and sales director, Bruce Thoresson. The company uses Boeing 747s for air freighting cargo out of Europe into Johannesburg. “They are the only dedicated charter flights large enough,” says Thoresson, with sufficient volumes to support five scheduled flights a week.” Panalpina uses Luxembourg as its main hub in Europe for international consolidation with connecting charters from the USA and the Far East. Luxembourg is supported by Paris and Frankfurt airports in Europe. Controlled flights from various worldwide origins feed into the Luxembourg hub, while road feeders are used from commercial centres in Europe. This freighter network supplements capacity on commercial carriers, which are also used on all scheduled routes. From an export point of view, the company regards Johannesburg as a sub-hub for cargo to Maseru, Maputo and Harare in particular. In terms of sea freight, Durban is its main consolidation point, but the company also uses other South African ports. Johannesburg is the main consumption point within South Africa says Thoresson. “Panalpina uses every major port in Europe, Asia and the Far East for hubbing purposes. In addition to this footprint and the Panalpina global network, we work with best-in-class alliances and shipping partners,” said Thoresson.