As this issue of Payload Asia closes the voting in our annual annual Payload Asia Awards has closed, with a record number of votes cast this year. The industry judges too have wrapped up their assessments and both sets of data have been passed to the auditing firm for verification and confirmation that the process was clean and transparent.
We are very excited here at Payload as the annual event never fails to bring some much needed excitement, recognition and pride to the industry. And let’s face it, we all could use a little pick-me-in in this ongoing environment of lackluster volumes and depressed yields. If you haven’t booked your seat at the Awards Gala, or the two-day conference which precedes the Gala, please do so soon! This year’s event is in Hong Kong for the first time and we’re quite excited at the programme we’ve got lined up this year, so do check it out on our website.
This has been an interesting month or so in the industry, three high profile and surprising resignations this month have rippled through the industry. As fate would have it, on the same day that Richard Forson was to take over the reins of Cargolux after CEO Dirk Reich suddenly stepped down, the cargo world was shaken again by the news that AirBridgeCargo executive president Denis Ilin had resigned after three years on the job.
And then another shock with the news that Olivier Bijaoui, CEO of Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) had left the company with Barry Nassberg, chief operating officer, WFS Group assuming the interim leadership responsibilities. This was probably the biggest shock as Bijaoui was clearly instrumental (along with stalwart Barry Nassberg) in building WFS to one of the leading third-party ground handling companies in the world.
While all of the the resignations have the usual fluffy explanations from the corporate PR departments, to be sure there are – as always – subtexts that tell the real story. In the case of Bijaoui there have been a number of murmers making the rounds in recent months since the group was taken over by Platinum Equity in October of last year. The company, that focuses on leveraged buy-outs, said it planned to double WFS in size over the next two years. Part of this growth included the 51 per cent acquisition earlier this year of Consolidated Aviation Services (CAS), the largest cargo-handling company in North America. At this point the reason for Bijaoui’s sudden departure is unknown, but stay tuned to Payload Asia online for more news on that front.
Other interesting developments include the confirmation by AirBridgeCargo of the announcement made some months ago that they would be purchasing 20 more B747-8s from Boeing and further equity investments by Middle East carriers, particularly Qatar Airways which raised its stake in British Airways owner IAG to 20 per cent as it likely took advantage of the currency impact from the Brexit vote. For this and more check out the pages that follow in the print and e-book version, as well as the news section online.
And just before we bid you farewell, a reminder that the upcoming Payload Asia Awards and Conference will be on in Hong Kong 28-29 September. Please do check out our website for more information.
