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EastEuro Link’s inaugural CEE Air Cargo Conference took place in the beautiful city of Budapest on 21st October 2008 Industry experts from all over Europe gathered to exchange experiences and ideas, learn more and network in a friendly and constructive atmosphere. The Air Cargo industry has shown a steady growth in the past few years therefore the EastEuro Link panel of expert speakers examined in detail key market drivers around the CEE region. |
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Keith Purdom, Cargo Manager Central & Southern Europe at Aviapartner who chaired the event excellently throughout the day, introduced the speakers and the topics to be discussed throughout the day.
The first speaker to take the stand was Mr. Robert Galbavy, Executive Director, Central & Eastern Europe, Cargo-partner GmbH, who addressed the most up to date topic about industry responsibility for the environment in a global air cargo market. He concluded that the economic issues could not be the only driver of our doing as we also have a responsibility to a healthy environment.
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Mr. Stewart Cordner, VP Sales & Marketing, BAE Systems then examined the fleet challenges for regional air cargo carriers in CEE region. It was said that fleet upgrades would be necessary to meet the competitive challenge that CEE regional air cargo carriers are facing from operators in Western Europe and CIS.
To conclude the morning session, IT solutions for managing cargo processes were discussed after two presentations given by the CEO of Hermes Logistics Technologies Mr. Amit Ben-Zvi, and the Business development director from Jettainer Mr. Peter Ahnert. It was clear that effective IT solutions and modern information technology are necessary in today’s operations in order to provide excellent customer service and effective connectivity with the supply chain.
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A live discussion among the participants continued at the networking coffee break also bringing opportunity for making new contacts. |
In the session to follow, Cargolux's Head of Marketing - Mr. Sebasitaan Scholte - gave a comprehensive overview of the air cargo business in today’s context of credit crunch, inflation and global sentiment influence trade flows and freight volumes. He said that the capacity was expected to decrease significantly from October onwards, also quoting IATA's forecast of the expected airline industry loss for 2008. Environmental awareness was also examined as one of the major factors influencing the industry. The next speaker to take stand was Mr. Keith Purdom, bringing the most interesting presentation on minimizing costs and maximizing quality. Resuming the current relations among airlines and cargo handlers, he concluded that price and quality satisfaction could be achieved – most often in a long term partnership, where both parties have certainty, where costs are designed down by simplicity and consistency from both parties from tender through delivery. |
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Following the extended networking opportunity during the lunch break, the potential impact of the new EU air cargo security regulations in Emerging EU markets Cargo were examined. Study on a database of regulated agents and known shippers (2005-08) was presented by Mr. Marcus Hallside, CEO, Innovative Compliance Europe Ltd.
The remarkable county specific case studies followed including the overview of the air cargo in the Baltic states, presented by Mr. Lars Gunnar Comen from Euroavia, and a summary of the air cargo market in Czech Republic, presented by Mr. Kamil Slavik from Skyport. Participants from Hungary and Croatia also had opportunity to share their experiences.
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After the refreshing afternoon coffee break: the impact of IATA’s e-freight project on the entire cargo supply chain was presented by Mr. Steve Smith, Project Director e-freight, IATA. To conclude this highly informative day, Mr. Lothar Moehle, Program Director, Cargo 2000, examined quality improvement in the air transport logistics chain – what does quality improvement mean for the stakeholders to succeed in a competitive market environment.
After a busy day the chairman closed conference by summarising the wide range of ideas and discussions that had taken place throughout the day. The delegates were then free to engage in additional networking opportunities at the evening cocktail reception.
EastEuro Link would like to thank all of you who supported the event and contributed to its success. We would also like to thank all of you who took part in the conference, recognising the value we can offer to your business and the prosperity of CEE Air Cargo industry.
We look forward to our future cooperation!
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Information about future events of this kind and enquires concerning purchasing the presentations’ CD are available at london@easteurolink.co.uk or call + 44 (0) 20 72758020. |
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