Air Mail Puts Its Stamp on WCS 3
If you think that airmail is a distant subject to leave to others or overlook—then think again.
Airmail has accounted for not only drawing the maps of cities served by carriers around the globe in the first place, but also has provided airlines a steady predictable, even vital revenue stream.
Here as Day Three of World Cargo Symposium unfolds once again in Bangkok, a city of great international airline pioneering heritage, what goes around comes around with new ideas for airmail in the 21st century.
Last WCS in Rome a presentation by Christophe Eggers, Head of International Network & Transport at La Poste was just fascinating.
Titled The Post Air Waybill Pilot Test Air France and KLM conducted a trial with “export” La Poste mail consignments from Paris on an AF flight to Montreal.
“The test utilized the regular channels of doing business,” Mr. Eggers said, with “PAWB labeling at the ULD level,” and the system worked great with smooth delivery from France to Canada Post-Postes Canada.
“No doubt the door is open to new ideas and when they work everybody carrying mails can benefit,” Mr. Eggers added.
Well for 2009 Air Mail gets its airing at WCS as Mrs. Porntip Niamhom, Executive Vice President, Thailand Post opens a session that includes discussion as high, wide and handsome as the subject itself.
“The Vision for Airmail” includes Ross Hinds, Director Operations & Technology, International Post Corporation (Brussels) and David Brooks, President, American Airlines Cargo. Both will draw word and PowerPoint pictures of what is occurring right now and what is sure to come.
Later the aforementioned Mr. Eggers is back with “Standards for Air Mail Should be Irresistible.”
Here we discover what Universal Postal Union (UPU) standards are critical to airmail transport and which posts and airlines have adopted the UPU standards and why.
That panel includes Silvia Stopp, Head of Logistics & Environment, CDA IT Systems GmbH.
Also on the agenda is the subject of IATA e-freight application for air mail and whether air mail would even work in an efreight environment in a discussion led by Andre Mulder, vice-president Variation, Mail & Aerospace, Air France KLM Cargo.
Mr. Mulder, it should be mentioned was the airline guy who partnered with Mr. Eggers during the 2007 experiment mentioned at the top here.
The point is with people such as Brooks and Mulder, Eggers and Hinds and the others who will grace the panels here on Day Three of WCS, air mail that gave commercial airlines wings back when aviation was born gets an unusually bright and literate group of dreamers and doers out to take the subject as far as it has ever flown.
Not to be missed!
Geoffrey
