Etihad Airways signs contract with Cargo Community Network

Starting in July 2006, the agreement promotes the paperless exchange of cargo related communication alongside Etihad's supply chain in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China.

The secured carrier-neutral service portal is designed to facilitate the air cargo shipment process by ensuring a smooth interface of all functions crucial for the time-critical air cargo business, thus connecting freight forwarders not only to the system of the airline, but also to those of ground-handling agents, government agencies and banks through EDI (electronic data interchange) communication.

"Etihad Crystal Cargo's decision to enhance its services by linking its computer system CRISTAL to CCN is another milestone in the airline's strategy to bring total information transparency along the supply chain. Logistics companies in India and Asia are now enabled to interact directly and paperless with Etihad Crystal Cargo,"

said Ingo Roessler, V.P. Cargo, Etihad Crystal Cargo.

CCN provides a range of services which include e-Booking, e-Status Enquiry (FSR/FSA) and e-Status Update (FSU) services, informing forwarders proactively and systematically about the status of shipments and enabling them to automate their operational processes and offer a better service to their own customers.

"We are pleased that Etihad Crystal Cargo has decided to join CCN's network and look forward to supporting them in their commitment to quality and efficiency by providing them services to meet the technical and communication demands the industry is facing," said Mr. Teow Boon Ling, General Manager, CCN.

Over the next weeks, Etihad Crystal Cargo's General Sales and Services Agents (GSSAs) in Jakarta, Colombo, Bangkok, New Delhi and Mumbai will be updated with the key features of CCN.

At the beginning of the year, Etihad Crystal Cargo has signed a similar agreement with TRAXON, providing electronic communications within Germany as well as key forwarders world-wide.

In April 2006, Etihad Crystal Cargo became the first Middle East-based airline to join the Cargo 2000 quality initiative with the target to improve the efficiency of air cargo, enhance customer service levels and reduce operational costs.

"Joining communication platforms - such as CCN and Traxon - and quality initiatives - such as Cargo 2000 - are the best means to bring efficiency to all partners along the supply chain," concluded Roessler.

Etihad Crystal Cargo has also recently enhanced the communication flow at its hub Abu Dhabi International Airport, with its ground handling partner Abu Dhabi Airport Services (ADAS) changing its Cargo System to "Cargospot", the same Swiss-made IT platform "Cargospot" Etihad Crystal Cargo has been using since two years.