3) It was the perfect chance to catch up with our partners in the Americas
With Cathay Cargo’s significant footprint across the Americas, CNS also provided the Cargo Service Delivery (CSD) team the opportunity to check in with the ground handling agents that represent the brand there. “We met seven GHA partners that service our operations in the US, Canada and Mexico,” says Paul Chung, Cargo Service Level, Value and Contract Manager. These included Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) with whom Cathay Cargo recently signed a new long-term handling contract.
Other meetings included interline partner LATAM Cargo, which also operates the cargo terminal Cathay Cargo uses at Miami, and Northlink Aviation, which is building a new warehouse and exclusive-use aircraft stands at Anchorage to service Cathay Cargo’s transpacific freighters.
Topics under discussion with partners include digitalisation initiatives, operational efficiency, safety promotion and enhancement, business update, and deeper partnership opportunities. “There were fruitful, insightful and constructive dialogues throughout the meetings,” says Chung. “Cathay Cargo will continuously collaborate and steer our GHA partners towards operational excellence through greater system and safety standards.”
4) Women in cargo are set to thrive – and the future is positive and inclusive
For the second year in succession, Cathay Cargo hosted a Women in Air Cargo panel session at CNS, moderated this year by Andress Lam, Head of Cargo Digital. The panel featured from the Cathay side Cargo Global Partnerships Manager Janice Kwan, Cargo Global Partnerships Manager Americas Jessie Orme and Camilo Gallo, Area Cargo Manager – Miami, Latin America, Mexico, along with special guest Samira Benomar, Procurement Manager Americas at Kintetsu World Express.
The session generated an honest discussion on stage and with the audience, around attracting a new and more diverse younger generation to the industry. While some of the talk was around myths about women in the industry and perceived barriers to career advancement, there were also solutions: with Benomar stating that simple things like ensuring executive development programmes were offered equally to men and women would help. There was also an agreement that while air cargo remained male-dominated, the increasing use of data and digitalisation rendered any rationale for gender barriers obsolete.