Spreading its wings – Freighters World Conference

CONFIDENCE in the cargo sector was instilled at the Freighters World Conference 2011 in London with signs pointing to a strong bounce-back.

More freighters are shaking off the sand from the Victorville boneyard and taking to the skies once more. On a world scale there are 1,500 freighters currently in operation, compared to 1,700 in April 2008, but things are looking up, Chris Seymour, head of market analysis at Ascend Worldwide, told the audience. He went on to say that those airlines which parked their cargo aircraft in the Victorville desert were recalling equipment at a rapid rate. In August 2009 11 per cent of the entire 747-400F fleet were parked. Now, six out of the remaining eight are due back in service in the next few months.

It all comes down to the bottom line, Stan Wraight, chief executive officer at SASI, (pictured) said. Airlines need to evaluate whether to conduct certain areas of the business in-house or to outsource. He said that adding links to the chain can be of benefit, but also risky. In one recent case, pharmaceuticals suffered 30-40 per cent spoilage because the outsourced system was not integrated properly, he said.

John Batten, vice president of global cargo at Swissport, said his company has just completed two home-based exercises through in-sourcing, mentioning that Etihad and Delta had just done the same thing.

Clearly, outsourcing can create business, but it can also damage business. “The delay to the 787 Dreamliner was because of over 50 per cent over-outsourcing,” Joseph Reinherz, managing director at M & B Conversions, said. “When you over-outsource, you lose control.”

Learn more about outsourcing at Air Cargo Media’s Outsourcing – Dubai 2011 conference from 5-7 June at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.