Royal Jordanian honors its cargo agents in Jordan

The airline invited its cargo agents to thank them for their partnership and work with RJ.

President/CEO Samer Majali, several vice presidents, heads of departments and RJ cargo management also participated in the event.

Majali said that the airline is pleased to honor the cargo agents and thanked them for cooperating with RJ in order to offer better freighter services to and from Jordan. He pointed out the big role that the cargo sector plays in supporting exports and imports, international trade and boosting the national economy.

He said that the company saw significant improvements in the air cargo performance when it reported a 53% growth in the uplifted cargo in April this year, compared to April 2007. The uplifted cargo increased by 24% in the first four months, compared to the same period last year.

Majali added that 2007 was a pivotal year for the airline, witnessing an alliance with big international airlines through oneworld, and privatization, the first Arab airline to be transferred to the private sector without a need for a strategic partner.

These strides opened new horizons for RJ's passenger and cargo sectors, made it improve its services, increase flight frequencies, destinations and the aircraft fleet, said Majali.

'In the field of freighting, we are investing in RJ's warehouse, increasing its storage capacity, improving the racking and shelving systems and, above all, the IT systems,' he said. Additionally, the development in the security and customs systems will provide better amenities to RJ customers.

Despite all this, Majali said, the biggest challenge RJ is facing: the steep increase in fuel prices at a time the fuel bill constitutes a big portion of the airline's total expenses, around 42-45%.

The CEO extended his appreciation to the cargo agents for partnering with RJ to give better services to the customers.

In his speech to the agents, Vice President Cargo Ingo Roessler highlighted RJ's cargo achievements, forecasting a 'hot summer' of activities in all areas affecting service quality and security, including the introduction of new semi-automated shelving as of July this year, state-of-the-art surveillance in all operational areas of the cargo terminal, as well as comprehensive access control in August and the introduction of system-wide roll-out of the new Cargo IT platform Cargospot by September 2008.

Cargospot

Roessler added that Cargospot will enable RJ to offer e-business for the cargo agents worldwide; RJ will be able to feature and introduce all major industry initiatives, e.g., Cargo 2000, IATA e-freight, IATA CASS, EDI.FACT as the new cargo system supports interfaces with most standardized protocols in the industry.

'The new cargo IT systems will lead to a quantum leap for RJ Cargo, enabling the company to reach new levels of customer service, market penetration and profitability for cargo services on the RJ flights, as well as for its third-party handling services offered at Queen Alia International Airport,' said Roessler.

Majali and Roessler awarded the Jordanian cargo agents with bronze, silver and gold awards, in recognition of their support and of the sales volumes during last year, and for create a team spirit with key clients who are the cornerstone of successful Jordanian exports and imports.