STAT Publishing Podcasts

by STAT Publishing Group

Season 4

Tom Owen, Director, Cathay Cargo, on post-pandemic recovery and building capacity

Cathay is one of the very few major airlines in the world that was hit by the pandemic the longest and the deepest. But the Hong-Kong headquartered carrier has labored so mightily to recover from it. In this episode of Cargo Masterminds, presented by cargo.one, Reji John, Editor of STAT Media Group, invites Tom Owen, Director, Cathay Cargo, to talk about Cathay Cargo’s fight to emerge from the long shadow of Covid and what the last quarter of 2023 and the year ahead (2024) looks like. Tom Owen has been with Cathay since 1995 and in September 2020, right in the midst of the pandemic, he was appointed as the director of Cathay Cargo. He leads all aspects of Cathay Pacific Group’s Cargo strategy and performance, including the Cathay Pacific Cargo dedicated freighter and passenger belly fleet operations, Air Hong Kong, Global Logistics Systems and Cathay Pacific Services Limited, Cathay’s dedicated Cargo Terminal Operator.

S4 · E17

Nov 20, 2023

17:23

Wolfgang Meier, President & CEO, Silk Way West Airlines

Silk Way West Airlines was founded in 2012 in Baku, the capital and commercial hub of Azerbaijan, and at the heart of the Silk Road. The ambition movers, as they call themselves, is the largest cargo airline in the Caspian region operating a fleet of 13 freighters that include 747-400s, 747-8s and a brand new B777 freighter that arrived earlier this month. The fleet expansion is intended to open up opportunities for Silk Way West Airlines to boost the volume of flights and extend its reach to additional strategic destinations, reflecting the growing importance of its home base of Baku as a regional and global transportation hub. Reji John, Editor, STAT Media Group, talks to Wolfgang Meier, President & CEO, Silk Way West Airlines, in this episode of Cargo Masterminds, presented by cargo.one. Meier is a cargo leader with over 30 years of experience having worked with global transportation companies in freight forwarding and aviation. He joined SilkWay group in 2016 and in 2018 he was appointed as the President and CEO of SilkWay West Airlines.

S4 · E16

Oct 23, 2023

22:28

"My lack of experience is probably why I'm here," says Pete Chareonwongsak, CEO, Teleport

In this episode of Cargo Masterminds, Pete Chareonwongsak, chief executive officer of Teleport, joins Reji John, Editor of STAT Media Group and host of Cargo Masterminds, presented by cargo.one. Pete talks about how he and his team at Teleport is on a task to transform the logistics business of Air Asia and eventually change the mindset of the air cargo industry to make everyone better off by greater utilisation of their assets through sharing of network. Pete expects to have 40% of growth in the next 24 months driven by third party airlines. From 2012 to 2016, Pete was AirAsia's Group Head of Business Development. During that time, he worked to set up airlines in India and Japan as well as joint ventures in Training, Ground Handling and Leasing. He also handled mergers & acquisitions for the Group covering Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and India. In 2018, at the age of 29, Pete became CEO of AirAsia’s cargo and logistics arm, Teleport. Pete is also a board member of Teleport, Freightchain Technologies, AirAsia India and EasyParcel.

S4 · E15

Oct 16, 2023

38:54

Greg Schwendinger, President, American Airlines Cargo

In this episode of Cargo Masterminds, presented by Cargo.one, Reji John, Editor, STAT Media Group and the host of the show, interviews Greg Schwendinger, President, American Airlines Cargo. Schwendinger reflects on the completion of his first year in the current role; current industry and market trends and their impact on American Airlines’ cargo operations; investments into cargo products and infrastructure; digital transformation of cargo operations through iCargo solutions by IBS Software to make cargo booking and delivery experience more enhanced and efficient; investments into sustainability projects and acceleration of efforts to achieve NetZero by 2050.

S4 · E14

Sep 26, 2023

32:15

Marie Owens Thomsen, SVP & Chief Economist, International Air Transport Association or (IATA)

In 2021, International Air Transport Association (IATA) member airlines approved a resolution to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Additionally, ICAO has recently adopted a Long Term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) for international aviation of net zero carbon emissions 2050. In this episode of Cargo Masterminds, presented by cargo.one, we turn to aviation industry and make an attempt to understand the global aviation and air cargo industry’s initiatives to address the topic of sustainability and how they are important in contributing to achieving global sustainability goals and thus making the world a better place for everyone. Reji John, Editor, STAT Media Group, sits down with Marie Owens Thomsen, Senior Vice President Sustainability & Chief Economist, International Air Transport Association (IATA), and understands the strategic roadmap by the airline industry association to achieve the NetZero goal by 2050 and how realistic is the industry outlook to achieve such an ambitious goal.

S4 · E13

Sep 4, 2023

32:54

Niall van de Wouw, Chief Airfreight Officer, Xeneta

Data is a powerful tool for anyone creating a successful air shipment strategy or who is working in air cargo procurement. By leveraging historical air cargo market data and establishing appropriate benchmarks, businesses can achieve significant cost savings and optimize their shipping efficiency. Xaneta, founded in 2012, is enabling smarter decisions based on facts and real data. Changing the way freight is bought and sold is the vision of Xeneta. They strongly believe that “if you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it”. With international experience from the logistics industry, Xeneta has built a highly specialized team of experts who have deep insights into the challenges related to high volatility and lack of transparency in the ocean and air freight market. They help shippers, forwarders and carrier to make right decisions based on data. Reji John, Editor, STAT Media Group, interviews Niall van de Wouw, Chief Airfreight Officer, Xeneta, in this episode of Cargo Masterminds, presented by cargo.one, and discovers the increasingly important data driver decision making in in global air freight industry.

S4 · E12

Aug 28, 2023

28:55

Prof Yossi Sheffi, Director, MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT CTL)

Professor Yossi Sheffi is well known. Besides being the Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics and Director and Founder of the Master of Engineering in Logistics Programme, he is a faculty member of the MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, as well as the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. He is a global expert in systems optimization, risk analysis and supply chain management. He is a teacher, a prolific writer and an influencer. He has consulted with numerous governments and leading manufacturing, retail and transportation enterprises all over the world. He has also founded or co-founded five successful companies. Since the pandemic Professor Sheffi has written four books. His latest book, published earlier this year, is called The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, AI, & the Future of Work. In this episode of Cargo Masterminds, presented by cargo.one, STAT Media Group editor Reji John interviews Prof Sheffi and asks him about the current changes and new trends in global supply chains in the wake of the pandemic and on account of rapid automation caused by artificial intelligence and robotics.

S4 · E11

Aug 14, 2023

42:40

Wally Devereaux, Vice President Cargo and Charters, Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines is one of the world's most admired airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and service at 121 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline. 1973 marked the informal beginning of Southwest Cargo, with shipments of small packages via passenger request over the ticket counter. Then, in May 1990, Southwest Airlines management allowed the cargo unit to function as an independent department. Since then, Southwest Cargo has committed to provide specialized air cargo products to its customers, what the airlines calls, a relentlessly reliable airport-to-airport service. In this episode of Cargo Masterminds, Reji John, Editor, STAT Media Group, speaks to Wally Devereaux, who has been with Southwest Airlines for 31 years. Devereaux has been in the cargo department of Southwest for the last 16 years. He is now the Vice President of Cargo and Charters at Southwest Airlines. He talks about the the significance of cargo business for the word's biggest low-cost carrier that has a fleet of 800 narrow-body aircraft and operates 4000 flights a day.

S4 · E10

Aug 9, 2023

22:23

GertJan Roelands, Senior Vice President Commercial at Air France KLM Martinair Cargo

Dual hub air cargo operator Air France KLM Martinair Cargo carried one million tonnes of cargo in 2022 to 223 worldwide destinations using 6 freighters and the bellies of the three-airline group’s fleet of 417 passenger aircraft. A member of the SkyTeam Cargo alliance, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, starting this year, has a new partnership with CMA CGM Air Cargo, the new cargo airline launched in 2021 by the French shipping giant CMA CGM Group.The long term partnership allows Air France KLM Martinair Cargo to offer a much more adaptable, comprehensive array of services and solutions to meet market needs and customer expectations creating smooth connections across the world. In this episode of Cargo Masterminds, presented by cargo.one, GertJan Roelands, Senior Vice President Commercial at Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, speaks to Reji John, Editor of STAT Media Group.

S4 · E9

Jul 10, 2023

30:37

Without M&As we can’t grow as fast as we would like to, says Eric Erbacher, CEO, Chapman Freeborn

When Chris Chapman and Mike Freeborn established Chapman Freeborn in 1973 it all began with a shared passion for aviation and a unique business opportunity to market Alaska International Air’s fleet of Hercules freighter aircraft.50 years later, the aircraft charter specialist is bigger, more global and very well diversified. In 2019 Chapman Freeborn was acquired by Avia Solutions Group, a global aviation holding company with subsidiaries engaged in aircraft maintenance, pilot training, ground handling and fuelling, aviation IT solutions and business aviation. Today’s cargo mastermind is Eric Erbacher, the CEO of Chapman Freeborn. Eric took charge of the company right in the midst of a global pandemic and at a very interesting time in the history of Chapman Freeborn. More than two years into his current job, Erbacher joins Reji John, Editor, STAT Media Group, to discuss Chapman Freeborn, the growth plans under the new ownership, current market conditions and the trends that influence charter demand.

S4 · E8

Jun 19, 2023

22:09

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