For Air Logistics Group (ALG), South East Asia remains a good place to do business.
The GSSA has been enjoying bullish growth in the region, explains ALG CEO Stephen Dawkins. He says: “Our performance in South East Asia so far in 2018 has continued to show consistent year-on-year improvements against 2017 which was an exceptional year. We think that trend will continue for the mid-term.”
The UK-based operation keeps a weather eye on global events and personalities that may affect airfreight in the region.
Dawkins says: “There seems to be dark clouds on the horizon with the US-China trade war so we will continue to monitor the market closely. The numbers indicate a slowdown in the summer which may just be seasonal, so we will monitor closely how the trends look. We draw comfort from the fact that retail and purchase trends in South East Asia still seem positive.”
ALG believes that capacity growth will continue to outpace demand even though there is a new wave of global expansion taking place. This is mainly driven by exponential passenger growth.
Dawkins says: “We expect to see a continued expansion of the requirements from airline partners to provide additional services be it fiscal, sales, or operational from professional GSSA companies. Air Logistics’ innovative approach allows its airline partners to take advantage of a variety of solutions, from turn-key Total Cargo Management to local sales in niche markets.”
According to Dawkins, Air Logistics Group has moved with the times and has invested significantly in IT and back office functions, and will continue to do so as the demand from airline partners is to have revenues and yields as quickly after flight departure as possible.
As e-commerce continues to boom, airlines and their suppliers will need to continue to evolve to deliver on the demands of the large e-commerce companies that bring huge influence into the airline cargo industry. The airlines that have invested into e-commerce will be the ones that are the market leaders for the next 10 years.
The market challenges will continue to drive a data-focused professional approach to the business and bring more transparency in these markets.
“There are numerous challenges for airlines and GSSAs as their partners – but these are also opportunities. How can we optimise their networks, how can we manage cargo demand on passenger routes, and how can we innovate to digitise the business. These are all opportunities to be seized upon and we are investing in these innovations,” Dawkins says.
“Adding value is key; through IT development, business intelligence, compliance and employee advancement via training and targets. These are Air Logistics Group’s core pillars, ensuring our teams are able to deliver and meet our principal’s demands today and in the future.”
