May 2017

20 APAC / May 2017 , ASB17018 Best Air Freight Transport Business 2017 Air France KLMMartinair Cargo is the specialized air cargo business of the Air France KLMGroup, one of the leading legacy carriers in Europe. We recently spoke with Stephane Lemaire, Vice President Asia &Middle East, to tell us more. Please give us a brief overview of your company, your clients and the services you offer? We are able to offer a wide range of services and solutions to the market, providing seamless connections across the world from our two hubs, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. We are committed to quality and dedication to match our customer’s shipping requirements. How does it feel to have won your award? What do you believe are the reasons behind your success? Being awarded the Best Air Freight Transport Business 2017 has an important significance for Air France KLM Martinair Cargo. Asia’s air cargo markets are leading the industry and staying ahead in this cutting-edge business community requires dedication and commitment to being the best. We appreciate the recognition and we offer our sincerest gratitude to our customers without whom this award would have not been possible. Thank you for choosing Air France KLM Martinair Cargo as your preferred carrier. Tell me about your firm’s mission and the steps your firm takes to achieve this. Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is a key player in the air cargo industry. We have one of the largest networks in the air cargo industry through the combined fleet of our three airlines and our partnerships. Our two hubs, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, are ideally located to allow for network flexibility. We consider digitization as a major pillar of our strategy, providing our customers the ease of business, time efficiency and transparency. What differentiates your firm from your competitors and marks you out as the best possible option for your clients? The global network of Air France, KLM and Martinair are linked by a common reservation tool to optimize capacity to 457 destinations. Beyond our own network, we have a partnership working with the 4 best of the world cargo players offering access to additional destinations. We are working with China Southern Airlines to connect 20 Asian destinations and Kenya Airways access to remote destinations within the African continent. Our North American Joint Venture with Delta Airlines operates more than 250 daily Trans-Atlantic flights. Connecting over 120 network points between Europe and the United States, Canada and Mexico, transporting 450K tons of freight per year. But of course, network is not the only factor. We would like to believe that the continuous effort to offer reliable services for our customers is the key factor to our recognition. Please tell me about the trends you are seeing in your industry currently. Are there any key developments specific to Singapore and how has your firm adapted around these? The freight market is picking up from a long stagnation but we observe a modal shift towards freight and railroad transportation. The primary factor of growth in the logistics industry is global sourcing of businesses and global consumption but industrial location patterns are changing. As a socio-economic factor, we predict the current “near-shoring” of production lines and innovation in the production process with 3D-printing technology will change the current flow of goods. Another challenge is the competition