Florida (USA), May 04: The ongoing Cargo 2000 initiative, e-bookings via cargo portals that are on the rise, the massive industry losses stemming from fuel price increases and the continuing struggle between airlines and freight forwarders to find common operating standards were foremost in discussions at the CNS (Cargo Network Services) Partnership Conference 2005 held from May 1-3 at the Omni Orlando Resort, ChampionsGate, Florida.
The focus of the conference was “Simplifying Business”. Also discussed at length was the IATA mandate for a paperless cargo environment by 2010. The new head of IATA, Mr. Giovanni Bisignani spoke about air cargo being the current “saviour of the business”, with some carriers reporting 12-15% of revenues derived from cargo, while LAN Airlines reporting an astonishing 40% of revenue from cargo. A number of cargo carriers expressed keen interest in the new-generation air cargo solution that IBS promoted at the conference.
Among the major cargo carriers that participated in the conference for which IBS was a silver level event sponsor were American, UPS, Continental, Emirates SkyCargo, Air New Zealand, British Airways World Cargo and DHL. Peter Krebs (Chief Operating Officer, IBS Americas), David Rothwell (VP - Sales, IBS Americas) and Andy Burrows (Avient Solutions) represented IBS at the event.
CNS, a subsidiary of IATA, founded to serve the needs of the air cargo industry in the United States, provides a range of products and services to promote productivity, profitability, credibility, co-operation and quality of service among air carriers and cargo agents. In a constantly changing landscape, CNS is committed to understanding industry dynamics so it can anticipate the future needs of the airline-cargo agent partnership.
