High 15!

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.