{"id":177509,"date":"2024-08-14T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T07:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aviationbusinessnews.com\/?p=177509"},"modified":"2024-08-21T10:06:12","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T09:06:12","slug":"cargo-airlines-senior-executive-interview-series-greg-schwendinger-american-airlines-cargo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aviationbusinessnews.com\/in-depth\/big-interviews\/cargo-airlines-senior-executive-interview-series-greg-schwendinger-american-airlines-cargo\/","title":{"rendered":"Cargo Airlines – Senior Executive Interview Series: Greg Schwendinger, American Airlines Cargo"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first instalment of our senior executive interview series, Greg Schwendinger, president of American Airlines Cargo, shares insights into how the cargo carrier is leveraging the e-commerce surge and investing in digital innovation to boost operational efficiency and elevate the customer experience.<\/em><\/h4>\n

How are global economic conditions affecting the air cargo industry, and what implications does this have for American Airlines Cargo?<\/h4>\n

Economically, we are seeing signs of more positive trends, including inflation slowing and a likely relaxation of monetary policy in key markets with the hope that this will further stimulate consumer demand.<\/p>\n

E-commerce has been a welcome boost to air cargo volumes this year and there are no signs of that changing.<\/p>\n

We are participating directly in the e-commerce boom particularly out of Asia, but also into and out of Europe and Deep South America.<\/p>\n

Overall, I am encouraged by the positive direction our global economy seems to be moving.<\/p>\n

In a highly competitive market, what differentiates American Airlines Cargo from other major players in the industry?<\/h4>\n

We\u2019ve had a positive first half of 2024 and remain optimistic for the remainder of the year.<\/p>\n

The environment remains competitive; however, we are encouraged by the increase in volumes that we\u2019ve been seeing.<\/p>\n

Despite strong competition, we feel confident in what we offer our customers \u2013 in particular, exceptional operational performance and service coupled with specialised products and solutions that match the verticals where we are seeing growth, such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, and perishables.<\/p>\n

We continue to invest in digital transformation, including the development of more user-friendly tools for booking as well as tracking of shipments on our aacargo.com<\/a> platform. We believe these investments, coupled with the breadth of our global network reach, provide us with a strong advantage in a competitive market.<\/p>\n

\"American<\/a><\/figure>\n

What major trends do you foresee impacting the air cargo industry in the next five to 10 years?<\/h4>\n

We see several impacts on the horizon for the industry over the next 5-10 years. The continued rise of e-commerce will drive demand for faster and more reliable air cargo services, as well as airport infrastructure investment to handle the increases in volumes.<\/p>\n

Additionally, shippers and forwarders will have higher technology-driven expectations across the shipment journey with enhancements to services such as real-time tracking, booking processes and payment modernisation.<\/p>\n

Broader digitalisation<\/a> efforts and automation, like AI, for process optimisation, and automated facilities will become more prevalent.<\/p>\n

And finally, changes in global trade policies and regulations will impact the industry. Compliance with new security measures, customs regulations, and sustainability requirements will be crucial.<\/p>\n

How is American Airlines Cargo leveraging advancements in digitalisation to optimise operations and drive efficiency?<\/h4>\n

We\u2019ve made several advancements in the last few years, which have increased our digital capabilities and end-user benefits to our customers and team members.<\/p>\n

One example of this includes greater promotional pricing capabilities. Recent enhancements to our cargo technology platform coupled with API connections that we\u2019ve built have allowed for greater pricing flexibility and the ability to offer customers discounted rates in various lanes and times via our eBooking channels.<\/p>\n

This increased pricing flexibility provides us with greater agility in reacting to market changes (for example, over holiday weekends) and gives our customers the ability to ship with better rates.<\/p>\n

A second example is by optimising our trucking operation. Our teams are in the final testing phases or have recently rolled out several enhancements aimed at better managing the 200+ trucks we run daily. This allows us to expand our network reach and increase the number of direct pick-ups and deliveries at our customer\u2019s facilities.<\/p>\n

To deliver value, we looked at the trucking process from end-to-end and identified every opportunity to automate repetitive tasks, or leverage real-time data insights, which could help optimise scheduling of trucks in the most efficient way possible. The result is we have better schedules, with better utilisation \u2013 while also being able to give our customers more accurate and timely updates on shipment milestones.<\/p>\n

\"American<\/a><\/figure>\n

What are the main goals of American Airlines Cargo for the remainder of 2024?<\/h4>\n

We are intently focused on delivering digital innovation and operational excellence through the remainder of this year.<\/p>\n

First, we are continuing to invest in digital transformation, which enhances the customer experience and improves operational efficiency. These investments are possible thanks to the recent upgrade of our end-to-end cargo technology platform that was initially implemented in 2019 and marked the beginning of our digital transformation. Having a modernised platform provides us with a foundation to build upon, which is the phase we are in right now.<\/p>\n

That includes the capability to connect directly with customers and handlers, implementing the use of modern tools like automation and machine learning, and expanding self-serve capabilities for our customers on our aacargo.com channel.<\/p>\n

Part of our digital innovation strategy also includes expanding our distribution channels through enabling third-party offerings including CargoAI<\/a>, with whom we recently announced a partnership.<\/p>\n

Second, we are making some enhancements to our London Heathrow (LHR) operation, which is our largest station in terms of tonnage. We are working with our handling partner to expand the size of our warehouse, making capital investments within the expanded warehouse to drive efficiencies and operational performance, and implementing some technology enhancements that will further drive synergy and communication with our handling partner. This focused work at LHR should conclude by year-end and we are excited to support our customers even more with these new enhancements in place.<\/p>\n

What are the key areas of investment for American Airlines Cargo over the next few years?<\/h4>\n

Digitalisation remains crucial for us, and we will prioritise modernisation through digital enhancements in the coming year.<\/p>\n

We are also focused on ensuring that the cargo products we offer customers are effectively meeting evolving customer needs. This can include evaluating how to provide a more tailored solution for specific types of freight and handling requirements.<\/p>\n

We are also investing in our facilities. I mentioned the upgrades we are making at LHR. We are also investing heavily in our Dallas\/Fort Worth facility making several infrastructure enhancements as well as renewing our customer-facing and employee support spaces, together with investments at our facilities in Philadelphia (PHL) and Los Angeles (LAX).<\/p>\n

\"American<\/a><\/figure>\n

With a global surge in e-commerce over recent years, how has American Airlines Cargo adapted its operations to meet the increased demand for fast and reliable shipping?<\/h4>\n

E-commerce continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors within the industry and has fuelled much of the industry growth we have seen in recent years \u2013 due to retail moving online and consumer expectations changing.<\/p>\n

We move a significant amount of e-commerce-related traffic across our network, particularly to and from Europe, from APAC to the US and throughout our domestic US network. Forecasts suggest that this sector will continue to grow in the near future, and we are currently working to evaluate how our service offering will continue to evolve to meet the growing needs of this sector.<\/p>\n

How are customer expectations changing, and what steps is American Airlines Cargo taking to meet and exceed these expectations?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The rise of digital and e-commerce<\/a> continues to be a driver of customer expectations. People are growing used to quick, digital, and self-serve capabilities for conducting business with high levels of visibility across any category.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, we\u2019ve put in the work over the last few years to modernise our end-to-end technology platform and have therefore been able to offer more capabilities for digital booking. This includes specialty bookings and enhanced tracking and self-serve features on our own aacargo.com channel, direct connections to customers for booking on their own internal channels, and integrations with third-party platforms.<\/p>\n

Moving forward, digital innovation remains a priority for us to ensure we are as easy to do business with as possible for all our customers.<\/p>\n

Can you discuss American Airlines Cargo’s efforts towards sustainability and how you are addressing environmental concerns within the industry<\/h4>\n

As an airline, we have set milestones along the way for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, including:<\/p>\n