Air cargo student
03-07-2007, 02:51 PM
#1
On a beach with no ocean
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Position: Unmanned
Posts: 166
Air cargo student
So im taking this Management of Air Cargo class and one of my assignments is to contact a represenative of any air cargo facility in my area and have 3 questions answered
1. What are your two most critical problems/challenges?
2. How do you personally view the future of your organization?
3. What comments or suggestions do you have for members of an air cargo management class?
Ive been on the phone for past two days getting run around like a show dog just tyring to find someone to help me. So you gentlemen are my last hope!!
If you, or anyone you know can pass these questions along to anyone that deals with managing air cargo, or if you want to answer these question, please feel free, and THANK YOU!!!
Sean
1. What are your two most critical problems/challenges?
2. How do you personally view the future of your organization?
3. What comments or suggestions do you have for members of an air cargo management class?
Ive been on the phone for past two days getting run around like a show dog just tyring to find someone to help me. So you gentlemen are my last hope!!
If you, or anyone you know can pass these questions along to anyone that deals with managing air cargo, or if you want to answer these question, please feel free, and THANK YOU!!!
Sean
03-07-2007, 05:10 PM
#3
On Reserve
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Posts: 24
Air Cargo Management Question
Are you taking this class at ERAU? There are several helpful free publications, one being Air Cargo World(.com) Great magazine that was helpful for several classes. Security, future threats,labor costs, pilot fatigue,fuel costs etc. would be just a few concerns of all operators. Hope this helps. I am a recent grad of ERAU myself trying to make it into FedEx or UPS. Take care and good luck. P.S. someone from this magazine might be able to help. Steve Prince is the publisher and his number is 770 642 9170.
Last edited by Fed-Up; 03-07-2007 at 05:14 PM. Reason: Additional info
03-08-2007, 07:28 AM
#4
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: A Big One
Posts: 283
1. Fatigue/Learning what works best for you in the way of sleep patterns for different types of shifts.
a. AM OUT AND BACKS - 0245L show, off around 0900L. The day before I go to work, I set the alarm to intentionally wake up around 0300L. This tires me out by 1800L on the eve of my shift. Thus I'm able to sleep from 1800-0100 and get to work with good rest prior to my shift. This requires very little caffeine.
b. PM OUT AND BACKS and PM HUB TURNS - varies 1000L-1300L show, off around 1700L to 2300L. NO WORRIES - normal sleep. Nicknamed CINDERELLA LINES. Piece of cake.
c. NIGHT HUB TURNS - 2000L show, fly one or two legs into the HUB, 1.5 to 2.5 hour sit, chat or nap as cargo is sorted, fly out one or two legs back to the outstation. Duty off around 0700L. Sleep usually isn't solid in one big chunk. One usually sleeps a bit upon arrival...works out...eats...naps around 1700-1900 and then gets up to start it all over again. Sleep usually is 4.0 hours in the morning, two hour nap in the late afternoon, 30 minute to 1.5 hour nap while sitting the sort. You get the required amount of sleep and you hope you can do it in large enough chunks to enable your REM sleep to takeover for a while.
2. I feel fairly secure in my job but as a friend of mine said, cargo carriers aren't bullet proof - we're just the last to lined up on the wall and shot. Anything can happen! To think our jobs are secure is pretty naive in my opinion. Unlike passenger carriers, no one can just buy three 737's and compete with a large cargo carrier in their hometown. However, a foreign government could change the rules and that could have a tremendous impact on your future expansion. At that point, US Cargo growth could be stunned as we looked for new and emerging markets. If that were to occur, then you're stuck growing at the same rate as the GDP until the other markets are thoroughly researched and a battle plan developed. There are world health concerns that can affect cargo into and out of a specific country or region. All of those are pretty minute reasons for concern but they are still there.
3. Address fatigue, create an open, inclusive environment that is properly staffed with reasonable operational efficiency. Don't treat people poorly. Pay them well and you'd be surprised what you'll get out of someone. You're operational efficiency will rise. If you anger your staff, your staff has potential to cost you additional money and that taps everyone's bottom line. One upset captain can cost the company 100,000's over a year. For instance, not paying someone correctly or failing to address an issue in a timely manner could have that captain flying lower than planned, faster than planned, carrying more fuel than needed and doing slower turns...all of these issues hit the bottom line and are to be avoided by simply doing what is the right thing to do and communicating properly when a mistake is made on behalf of the crew member or the company.
At a regional airline in '96, the pilots had an agreement (Contract) that stated pilot salary would be raised to industry standard if they made a profit. The pilots did there part and the company made a 1,000,000 profit. The CEO took that 1,000,000 as a bonus and called a loss for the year. Do you think that was the right thing to do? Nope! For the next month, every pilot was tankering fuel at the most expensive places, flying as low as one could do so safely and bumping revenue to carry the unecessary high price fuel. In that one month alone, there was well over a million dollars in wasteful spending. It is that type of management that you have to avoid...you'll lose your collective butt!
my .02
a. AM OUT AND BACKS - 0245L show, off around 0900L. The day before I go to work, I set the alarm to intentionally wake up around 0300L. This tires me out by 1800L on the eve of my shift. Thus I'm able to sleep from 1800-0100 and get to work with good rest prior to my shift. This requires very little caffeine.
b. PM OUT AND BACKS and PM HUB TURNS - varies 1000L-1300L show, off around 1700L to 2300L. NO WORRIES - normal sleep. Nicknamed CINDERELLA LINES. Piece of cake.
c. NIGHT HUB TURNS - 2000L show, fly one or two legs into the HUB, 1.5 to 2.5 hour sit, chat or nap as cargo is sorted, fly out one or two legs back to the outstation. Duty off around 0700L. Sleep usually isn't solid in one big chunk. One usually sleeps a bit upon arrival...works out...eats...naps around 1700-1900 and then gets up to start it all over again. Sleep usually is 4.0 hours in the morning, two hour nap in the late afternoon, 30 minute to 1.5 hour nap while sitting the sort. You get the required amount of sleep and you hope you can do it in large enough chunks to enable your REM sleep to takeover for a while.
2. I feel fairly secure in my job but as a friend of mine said, cargo carriers aren't bullet proof - we're just the last to lined up on the wall and shot. Anything can happen! To think our jobs are secure is pretty naive in my opinion. Unlike passenger carriers, no one can just buy three 737's and compete with a large cargo carrier in their hometown. However, a foreign government could change the rules and that could have a tremendous impact on your future expansion. At that point, US Cargo growth could be stunned as we looked for new and emerging markets. If that were to occur, then you're stuck growing at the same rate as the GDP until the other markets are thoroughly researched and a battle plan developed. There are world health concerns that can affect cargo into and out of a specific country or region. All of those are pretty minute reasons for concern but they are still there.
3. Address fatigue, create an open, inclusive environment that is properly staffed with reasonable operational efficiency. Don't treat people poorly. Pay them well and you'd be surprised what you'll get out of someone. You're operational efficiency will rise. If you anger your staff, your staff has potential to cost you additional money and that taps everyone's bottom line. One upset captain can cost the company 100,000's over a year. For instance, not paying someone correctly or failing to address an issue in a timely manner could have that captain flying lower than planned, faster than planned, carrying more fuel than needed and doing slower turns...all of these issues hit the bottom line and are to be avoided by simply doing what is the right thing to do and communicating properly when a mistake is made on behalf of the crew member or the company.
At a regional airline in '96, the pilots had an agreement (Contract) that stated pilot salary would be raised to industry standard if they made a profit. The pilots did there part and the company made a 1,000,000 profit. The CEO took that 1,000,000 as a bonus and called a loss for the year. Do you think that was the right thing to do? Nope! For the next month, every pilot was tankering fuel at the most expensive places, flying as low as one could do so safely and bumping revenue to carry the unecessary high price fuel. In that one month alone, there was well over a million dollars in wasteful spending. It is that type of management that you have to avoid...you'll lose your collective butt!
my .02
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