The Global Federation of CargoAirlines (GFCA), an organisation alliedto FAGSA, the Federation of GeneralSales Agents, is taking aim at what itsays is IATA’s "discrimination" againstall-cargo airlines.

GFCA board member Carlo TaleiFranzesi, who is also president of FAGSA,charges that IATA ignores the needs offreighter operators and does not includecargo in many of its official statistics."Cargo airlines need a stronger voicethan they are getting in IATA," he says.

The new organisation, which was formedin September and already hassuch members as Airbridge Cargo,Tradewinds, Lufthansa Cargo Charterand Athens Airport, is aiming tochange all that. In addition, it wants tohelp smaller cargo airlines to networkwith each other, and creating buyinggroups for key purchases such as spareparts. It is also considering creating aweb platform where GFCA memberscould publish spare capacity to FAGSAmembers.

"GSAs need charters from time totime, so this would be a good way forthe two parties to communicate witheach other," says Franzesi. "It would help airlines to fill empty legs and give the GSA an extra source of capacity."

Further strategy will be decidedat the organisation’s annual generalmeeting, which will be held at theTIACA AGM in Cologne in midApril.

– Peter Conway