FlyingTalkers By Geoffrey Arend Geoffrey Arend

We can never forget that irresistible determined picture of some comely, nice- looking people masked up out on the ramp and inside Virgin Atlantic aircraft bringing life to otherwise empty passenger cabins .When you think about it, very early in the pandemic Virgin Atlantic Cargo made it clear that the red coats were going to take the bull by the horns and damn the pandemic they stepped out brilliantly with an aggressive, well thought out strategy to move cargo upstairs on aircraft seats, before anybody else.

Oh! By Golly Here Comes Kale...Amar More CEO Kales Logistics: “You never know what you can do until you are pushed in the corner.” If two years back someone would have told me that you can still create world class software with all ! your employees working from home, you can implement systems in as far as North America, South America, Europe, Middle-east, Africa; sitting in India; I would have laughed my heart out. If someone would have said, people can move cargo in and out of large air cargo hubs based on QR codes (and none or limited paper); people would have thought it to be a sci-fi imagination for our industry."


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Twenty five years ago on July 17, 1996 230 people were lost, when Trans World Airlines Flight 800 bound for Paris from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City exploded above East Moriches, Long Island and fell into the Atlantic OceanI This past weekend more than 200 people gathered in Smith Point County Park near the crash site that contains a  black tablet wall inscribed with the names of all those aboard the doomed aircraft.

Will The Real Hong Kong Stand Up Please?

For some time now quite a rather large cross section of the world’s media has bemoaned loss of freedoms in Hong Kong in what is often described today as a Mainland China-controlled city.
So with Hong Kong as the air cargo driver that it is in the world today, with the busiest air cargo enterprise anywhere, we thought it might be good to talk to someone on the ground who is also a well-known and respected air cargo specialist, someone who lives and work there.

The Best GSSA In The World

You cannot mask that, during these lockdown times, Ingo Zimmer, CEO, ATC GSSA and his global team are holding the relationships developed over the years across an expanding roster of service partners "even closer," as Ingo puts it.


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Member of the FIATA Board of Directors, Turgut Erkeskin is a seasoned, yet youthful, energetic and quietly confident presence.

But make no mistake about it, he is all there, albeit just below the radar, a most interesting transportation executive from Istanbul.

Turgut doesn’t shout for attention.

In fact, a major force in Turkish cargo as a long time shaker and mover of UTIKAD, the high energy forwarder association of Turkey, Turgut is best known for his advanced thinking and respected as a reasoned consensus guy.

Perhaps the key quality about Turgut, when you talk to him is that he actually listens, and is able to pivot and broaden his thinking to move things forward.

Turket Erkeskin, as the pandemic finally begins to subside in 2021, emerges as an enlightened force for good in transportation and increasingly FIATA’s man for all seasons.

Sullivan's Travels

Hot Summertime Backroom  Buzz

Brendan Sullivan confirmed as new IATA Head of Cargo.

His Linked-in page states that Brendan delivers “20 years of experience in air transport, primarily in air cargo in a variety of operational and leadership roles.

“He is a positive and engaging leader with extensive network across the complete air cargo industry.”

Stay Tuned.

Greatest Aviation Historian of The All

Here we recall the life and times of REG Davies the most important aviation historian in the history of the world. Ron, who died 10 years ago this month, did it all, including create the most important and easily most accurate history of the world's airlines. 


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Meet Jason Berry Vice President Cargo at Air Canada. Exciting news last week that Air Canada Cargo is adding freighters to its fleet is some very positive news of the impact and impression  of air cargo to the world in 2021.So now with its first freighter due to arrive sometime early in Q4 of 2021, we thought the man carrying the responsibility to make the future Air Canada Cargo plan work might share some insights and industry views as his mighty all -cargo fleet is building.

Summer Rewind ....The Latin words " Speas Ultima Dea " translate in  English saying  "Hope is the last Goddess".

Marco Sorgetti served as Secretary General for FIATA during a period from 2011 until 2017 serving the 92-year old Swiss-based organization representing the largest group of global freight forwarders. During that time FIATA emerged from what can be described as a self-imposed veil of secrecy, gaining wider attention and acceptance in many transportation  circles as a vital force..

In truth FIATA has always been there and actually much longer than many other transportation fraternities..

It was during the aforementioned time-frame  that IATA and FIATA inked their historic cooperation that apparently IATA has sandbagged for now.

Now happily retired, sheltered in place at home in Turin, Italy, Marco speaks from a vantage point that includes his experiences as a freight forwarder and his time as the top communicator and a sensitive, always brilliant top executive at FIATA.


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During the last year, the industry has seen quite a change in individuals at key organizations that represent the airline industry. Many senior people have left the associations for other positions. What is worse, we have not seen anyone filling these positions that right now are more important than ever, for an industry that is in a state of dramatic growth.

As if the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) having a lot of people chasing their tails including Importers, Exporters, Carriers, and Freight Forwarders out front of that International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) security edict that takes effect June 30th for 100% screening of all international all-cargo flights was not enough, well look again.


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Will CNS Finally Disappear?

The backroom whispers have always been there, even as legendary Tony Calabrese founded Cargo Network Services (CNS) thirty years ago as a landmark U.S. organization with the mission to create a middle ground between airlines and forwarders and shelter the partnership from anti-trust legislation in the U.S.

“IATA doesn’t really like CNS.”

Well, what goes around comes around in 2021, as the industry learned Thursday that Cargo Network Services (CNS) financial roadmap to tomorrow took an unexpected detour as new management at CNS dusted out PayCargo in a slash and cut job just days after a web-based CNS Advisory Board meeting made no recorded mention to that assemblage that the impending action was anticipated.

In other words, IATA fired PayCargo without consulting the CNS Advisory Board, which apparently was given notice of the action after the fact.


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