Wholesale By Vels launches booking platform for non-IATA freight agents

Amsterdam-based Wholesale By Vels (WBV) has launched a new trade-only wholesale airfreight booking platform for non-IATA freight agents that it said offers users more choice of rates at speed, while reducing financial risk.

WBV said the CargoPilot booking platform differs from other online booking portals in two ways. Firstly “it is squarely targeted at non-IATA freight agents, using WBV’s own IATA licence and CASS membership”.

The cargo wholesale company explained: “This means CargoPilot users have direct access to attractive airline rates which are not normally available to them, while carriers are relieved of any financial risk as WBV settles all billing on behalf of the booker.”

WBV added: “Secondly, CargoPilot produces live, dynamically-priced quotes on a choice of carriers, just as if the agent were IATA-registered and booking direct. The rates are for next available flights – not deferred, block space agreements – so that agents can move their customers’ shipments more quickly, while also taking full advantage of the (often) lower rates offered for short-notice bookings.”

Booking through CargoPilot means that all shipments being tendered for carriage have been vetted by WBV, and therefore fully comply with all aspects of the IATA European Air Cargo Programme (EACP), said WBV.

CargoPilot offers a choice of airport-to-airport, airport-to-door, door-to-airport and door-to-door services available for the next seven days. 26 carriers’ rates covering global destinations are already available through the booking platform and more are due to be added.

Once a booking is made through CargoPilot, the user has 24/7 online access to real-time tracking information. 

100 airfreight executives attended the CargoPilot official launch at Schiphol Airport, and were given the opportunity to trial the live system for themselves.

CargoPilot co-founder Rinaldo Vels, who launched Wholesale by Vels in 2020, said: “We believe CargoPilot is truly different to anything available in the market today. It combines a powerful airline cargo rates quotation tool with a unique value-add quoting and booking facility. It makes dynamic prices on IATA carriers available to agents who do not have IATA recognition. That means their cargo moves faster and often more economically than it would using traditional wholesalers.”

WBV is about to open further offices in Germany and Italy, which will also offer the CargoPilot product. To extend CargoPilot’s reach to further markets, WBV is also creating the CargoPilot Alliance, which will recruit exclusive members to offer its services in their own territories.