Now more than ever supplying the right service at the right time is key to survival. With this philosophy in mind MK Freight Systems has contracted an HS 748 to serve the market from Accra to various destinations. The service is operated in conjunction with MK Airlines and a third party and is in response to customer demand, says MK Freight Systems owner and founder Cacho Cabral. The company’s service philosophy has been based on strategic hubs, like Entebbe, providing a springboard into East Africa, a formula that has worked well in the past couple of years. But Cabral is under no illusions about the severity of the financial crisis facing the world economy – and the airfreight industry in particular. He believes the fall-out was necessary to stop the rot – and he’s convinced we haven’t seen the worst yet. “Rates are under huge pressure and they are more often than not uneconomical,” says Cabral. Illustrating the severity of the difficulties that airlines face, he recalls that in 1975 rates from Amsterdam to Johannesburg were seven gilders, the equivalent of $3.75 per kilo. 34 years later they’re less than half. “We can only survive if we start thinking in a different way – and adapting to a changed set of circumstances.” MK Airlines, which has entered into a voluntary arrangement with creditors, has a new investor and will soon be back on its feet, says Cabral. It has reduced its fleet to five B747 freighters and generally flies the same schedule as previously, serving Europe, West, East and Southern Africa, all of which have been less dramatically affected than east-west routes. The outlook for the year ahead depends very much on the world economy, says Cabral. “We do a lot for the telecommunications and mining sector, and we see some serious contraction in these industries. For us it’s a question of gaining a bigger slice of a diminishing pie.” But he’s confident that they’re up for the challenge.
