IATA had told us it would be stormy before the sun came out, and there has been a bit of good news amid the barrage of somewhat disheartening stories, such as American Airlines’ bankruptcy, another month of low numbers for Cathay Pacific and Asian carriers, and on and on. President Barack Obama recently signed a new bill for the Federal Aviation Administration into law, which will keep the agency moving into 2015. That’s good news not just for the U.S., but for the entire air cargo landscape.
The U.S. and the EU also last month finally agreed on a standard for organic foods, and this will improve the flow of goods between the two countries. The Aiforwarders Associations’ Brandon Fried said the rule will “enable more efficient import clearances to get organic products off flights and into stores faster” — and that’s certainly a welcome development.
But it’s hard to be completely discouraged about the state of air cargo, when Air Cargo World has such wonderful readers. Last month, I sent out a simple call to our subscribers: Take a few minutes out of your busy schedules to tell me what the magazine means to you. The response was overwhelming, and I’m still receiving emails every so often. I had intended to hold onto the feedback until a special section in our June anniversary issue, but I’ll let you read a couple right now.
“Our industry has changed big time over the last four decades. I appreciate the way Air Cargo World keeps me updated regarding the latest trends in airfreight.” — Phillip De Sarno, Jr., Air France-KLM Cargo
“I read the magazine because of the special features. These give greater insight into the issues rather than just ‘news.’ Perspectives from peers in the industry is more interesting than mere stories.” — Alan Wright, Swissport
Reader feedback is very important to us, and I’ve enjoyed combing through all these responses. Look for the two-page spread in June. If you haven’t sent in your thoughts and would like to share your opinion about the magazine and the stories we cover, please send an email to [email protected]. As always, you can tweet @acwmagazine on Twitter or visit our Facebook page.
— Jon Ross is the editor of Air Cargo World