The view from below

In past editions of Hactlink, we have spoken to airlines which are largely, or exclusively operators of freighters. But around half of Hactl’s customers are actually passenger airlines, carrying cargo in their bellies. And, with modern aircraft such as the B777-300 and B787 now offering almost as much space as old workhorses like the B707 and DC-8 freighters of the 70s and 80s, we felt it was time to take a look at cargo from the perspective of a passenger airline. So we called up Tim Wong, Director, Cargo Sales & Service, Asia & Pacific for Air Canada...

The airline’s cargo arm, Air Canada Cargo, provides direct services to over 150 destinations in Canada, the USA and the rest of the world. It extends its global reach to over 300 destinations through membership of the Star Alliance, interline agreements with other air carriers, and RFS services.

Life after freighters...

Back in the heady days of the 70s and 80s, Air Canada – like many larger carriers at the time – was also an operator of freighters. But the changing face of air cargo and the ever-tougher economics of profitable freighter operations led it to abandon maindeck capacity in favour of better utilisation of its passenger bellies. Says Tim: “We have no immediate plans to return to maindeck capacity in our fleet. We are focusing on filling our bellies, and on striking up partnerships with other carriers to create synergies and provide capacity where it’s needed.”

Today’s fleet comprises 25 B777s, 29 B789s, 8 B788s (the last of which is being delivered this year) and 25 767-300s; the latter are being progressively retired. It also operates 12 A330-300s, with another five entering service between now and 2020. Then, there’s a shorthaul narrowbody fleet of around 145 aircraft which is mostly deployed on the airline’s extensive domestic network.

Air Canada’s major cargo hub is Toronto, with Montreal and Vancouver as secondary gateways. Canada is a big country, which is why most of the airline’s destinations in Asia In past editions of Hactlink, we have spoken to airlines which are largely, or exclusively operators of freighters. But around half of Hactl’s customers are actually passenger airlines, carrying cargo in their bellies. And, with modern aircraft such as the B777-300 and B787 now offering almost as much space as old workhorses like the B707 and DC-8 freighters of the 70s and 80s, we felt it was time to take a look at cargo from the perspective of a passenger airline. So we called up Tim Wong, Director, Cargo Sales & Service, Asia & Pacific for Air Canada...The airline’s cargo arm, Air Canada Cargo, provides direct services to over 150 destinations in Canada, the USA and the rest of the world. It extends its global reach to over 300 destinations throughare served by flights from both Toronto and Vancouver (around 4400km apart).Approximately 60% of Air Canada’s cargo business is not for, or from, its home market. This transshipment cargo mostly transits the airline’s Toronto hub, departing for its destination, or arriving from its origin, on narrowbody flights and trucks. This means the airline’s hub operation has to be well-equipped and highly-efficient.

And so it is: with 30,000sq m under cover, an ETV system with 500 ULD positions and 3 transfer vehicles, and facilities for DGR, high security goods, live animals etc. Its annual capacity is an impressive 350,000 tonnes, and the airline’s strong performance in recent years sees it fast approaching that figure.

The airline has added a separate facility (which it calls AC2) to accommodate mail and e-commerce development. And it’s investing in state-of-the-art materials handling and warehouse management systems to support future growth. A local partnership with handler dnata adds extensive capabilities for temperature-controlled commodities such as pharma and perishables.

Second time around

Tim Wong is certainly an air cargo all-rounder. His current post at Air Canada, which he has held since 2016, marked his return to the airline after a 13 year break. But his career has also seen him spending time working with forwarders, all-cargo operators and a GSSA – based in Asia, Canada and the USA – providing him with a valuable customer’s eye perspective, and enlightening exposure to a variety of cultures.

It all began in 1990, when he joined a (now defunct) freighter operator in the USA, fresh out of university. In the years that followed, he rose from Contract Analyst to Operations Manager, China, based in Shanghai. After that, he undertook his first stint at Air Canada – starting as a Cargo Sales & Support Assistant in Vancouver, and ending as Business Development Manager, Asia Pacific.

Next career stop was with another cargo airline, which he left as Country Manager, China, having set up its operation in Shanghai. After that, he decided to round out his air cargo education with senior posts at two major forwarders. Finally, the lure of Air Canada proved too much, and he returned.

Today, Tim is responsible for a large territory spanning 11 online stations: Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Incheon, Narita, Haneda, Osaka, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. He also controls offline operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and is pursuing additional growth across the whole region. Says Tim: “We will be looking at Cambodia this year, bringing the presence of Air Canada to an even wider area."

Tim is very complimentary about the strength and experience of his team, which successfully reduces the amount of time he might otherwise have to spend on planes. That said, he is a regular visitor to all his stations, and slips effortlessly from English to Mandarin to Japanese as he moves from country to country.

Challenges and opportunities

Tim continues: “We have been seeing very good growth year on year, and even with current challenges we are outperforming the industry. But we are looking at a trade war between China and the US that will certainly impact cargo demand, and everyone is predicting a slowing economic picture.” With that in mind, he hesitates to predict how 2019 will shape up as a whole.

Looking forward, “The company will continue to put emphasis on all its three regions (Asia, Europe and Americas) in terms of growth,” says Tim. “But the biggest potential is in the Americas. That’s why we are putting more capacity into South America, for example.”

E-commerce is a market sector that is very much on Air Canada’s radar. “We work closely with all the freight forwarders and I am sure that many of the goods we carry are already e-commerce-related,” he declares. Tim describes the active collaboration of Hacis (Hactl’s added-value logistics subsidiary) with postal authorities, in a proactive drive to channel mail containing e-commerce packages through Hong Kong, as “a very good step for them.”

He continues: “But we need to define where we want to be in the e-commerce supply chain, and this is still under discussion. We don’t want to be just an airline moving e-commerce goods from airport to airport; what we are looking at is how we can also provide the last mile delivery. I would love to see something happen within our company to take advantage of the e-commerce activities out of East Asia to the USA, South America and Europe.”