AA looks to niches for higher yielding traffic

IN February the US DoT eventually gave its tentative blessing to anti-trust immunity for American Airlines and British Airways, plus Iberia. In return for giving up four slots at Heathrow, the US authority cleared the way for the carriers’ long coveted ambition to form fully-fl edged alliances both in cargo and on the passenger side. If the authorities on the opposite side of the Atlantic take the same stance, the road is clear for a formidable pairing on the passenger side.

How cooperation will evolve in cargo is still very much up in the air, according to Joe Reedy, vice-president of cargo sales at AA (right). “We’re not doing much business with BA now,” he said. “We need to work on some building blocks in terms of how we can link up our businesses and cooperate.” He added that interlining would probably be the main thrust of early cooperative efforts.

For now his focus is on honing AA Cargo’s revenues from high-yield traffic. Last summer the carrier launched ExpediteTC, an express temperature-controlled service. Offered in close cooperation with Envirotainer, this utilises active temperature control units. In addition to temperature monitoring at several points during transit and specialised handling, the offering features a 100 per cent fl own-as-booked guarantee.

The new business generated by ExpediteTC has been growing steadily, Reedy said. Now he is looking to supplement the service with an offering based on passive temperature control technology.