In this issue we are very pleased to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Payload Asia. There hasn’t really been much to cheer about in the industry these days, other than the fact the crisis appears to have bottomed out and a slow gradual improvement appears to be gestating.
But if 25 years of reporting on the air cargo industry is anything to go by, Payload Asia has seen its fair share of industry ups and downs and the one consistent result is an air cargo industry that has time-again shown its mettle in coming out the other side, perhaps a bit battered and bruised, but intact never-the-less.
We specifically chose this particular issue to celebrate our silver anniversary as it coincides with the Air Freight Asia (AFA) conference and exhibition in Hong Kong this month. The link between Payload Asia and AFA has been a historically crucial one since AFA’s first appearance in the early ‘90s, with each supporting the other as they grew into their own right.
In honour of reaching this milestone we’ve put together a special supplement that will take you on a trip down memory lane. Our UK correspondent Peter Conway has written a well researched retrospective that looks at how the industry has developed over the years by talking to industry stalwarts about what the air cargo scene looked like back in the 1980s.
And in acknowledgement of being the first company featured on the inaugural cover of Payload, we invited the president and CEO of Cargolux, Ulrich Ogiermann to write a guest editorial. And of course, the special supplement would not be complete without hearing from the co-founder of the magazine himself, Nolvan Fenema.
We’ve also included a reproduction of one of the main articles from the first edition, which on its yellowing paper contains an interesting article about how Singapore Airlines was mulling over the possibility of getting serious about cargo through the purchase of its first dedicated freighter. And just for a laugh we’ve resurrected a few historical Belly Aches.
I would be terribly remiss if I were to conclude without saying a very big thank you to all of the loyal readers and advertisers who have believed in and supported Payload Asia throughout the years, for if it was not for them, there would be no 25th Anniversaryedition. Thank you and enjoy!
