General sales agent Airline Cargo Resources marks its 15th anniversary milestone this month with the announcement of a new offline carrier – Starlight Airlines. Launched on July 20, the airline operates freighters into Afghanistan and Iraq, carrying aid and military cargo. Established in 1994 by managing director Bryn Woolley, ACR has grown from a one-man operation representing Ethiopian Airlines to a 7-carrier GSA with a staff of 14 at its Johannesburg head office. At the moment, the market is purely rates-driven, says ACR general manager Stuart Tonkin. “Whoever gives the best rates gets the business. There are some agents who value service above rates, but they’re very few and far between –basically it’s down to price,” says Tonkin. “Rates have come down drastically since the same time last year – there were specials but nothing like the current climate. If you’re not offering a special rate you can forget about carrying the business.” And because of the limited available cargo, airlines are pushing for load factors – they want to see cargo on board and revenue is clearly suffering. There are some regions that hold a higher rate, but Europe isn’t one of them. In fact, says Tonkin, it’s probably one of the lowest-yielding regions – and one of the major transhipment markets for Etihad Airways, one of ACR’s premier agencies. The airline markets mainly transhipment cargo to Europe and the Middle East transiting through Abu Dhabi. Providing a key African link is Ethiopian Airlines which operates a daily service using B737s, with a B757 or MD11 freighter on Sundays. “It’s a very busy route with generally good load factors,” says Tonkin. A charter option is available into the region using the same aircraft. ‘Our focus is on selling its excellent network in Africa.” While Air Madagascar business has experienced a quiet period recently due to the political unrest, Tonkin says business has started to move back to normal levels, comprising mainly cargo from Johannesburg into Antananarivo for the hotel and construction industries. Air Austral’s 737 flies twice a week while Air Namibia’s double daily B737 service moves high volumes of courier materials, much of it transiting Johannesburg. Air Jamaica completes the 7-airline portfolio. While the depressed airfreight market is unlikely to see the introduction of new carriers in the near future, expansion is always a focus, says Tonkin. “We’re looking at offline carriers to see where we can tie in with other carriers to serve markets that aren’t supported from South Africa,” he said.
