Aero Cargo deals with Cargo B collapse

THE fallout from Cargo B collapse is directly affecting a number of general sales agents throughout Europe, namely both Netherlands-based players Kales and the Global GSA Group, together with French and German Aero Cargo.

Nouri Tiedke, general manager at Frankfurt-based Aero Cargo, said: “Their ceasing of operations surely hurts us but doesn’t break our neck.” It is not primarily the financial consequences that cause him and his management sleepless nights but the wasted effort and loss of reputation the company’s failure brings to them.

“We invested a lot of effort into convincing agents to have their shipments carried by Cargo B, setting up a reliable road-feeder service and offering the market a quality product,” which all seems to go to ashes now with Cargo B’s vanishing.

Aero Cargo was appointed the German GSA by the Belgian carrier on 1 April. During operations, Nouri says, the number of German-generated shipments brought to Brussels by truck to be flown either to Latin America or Johannesburg grew.

As far as Sao Paulo, Lima, Bogotá, Caracas or Quito are concerned the manager confirms that the three weekly line-haul flights the Belgian carrier was conducting were most of the time pretty jammed. “I don’t have any precise information about the tonnage the Jumbo Boeings brought back from there to the European markets,” but he suggests that there was a possible problem of unbalanced loads on a number of routes.

When Tiedke was informed about Cargo B’s halt of operations he immediately ordered all trucks running to Brussels to make a u-turn and drive back to where they originated. “We missed only one vehicle but we managed to return the shipments from handling agent Aviapartner at Brussels Zaventem airport to Frankfurt immediately.”

Now Aero Cargo has to use other capacity to get these shipments urgently out of Germany.