“I have a soft spot for Pan Am. I took my first international flight on this airline in 1972, from Houston to Hong Kong via Honolulu and Tokyo.  It took forever, including an overnight stop in Honolulu because back then, the aircraft could not span the Pacific Ocean non stop.  I was a poor student, riding in the very back of the plane, but I recall the grandeur of the front and the general romance of the experience.  What a great idea for Anthony Toth to recreate it in a very unique restaurant atmosphere near Los Angeles.  I’m so there!”

While most express carriers utilize containers on the maindeck of widebody freighters, the use of containers on smaller, turboprop aircraft, and in the bellyhold of narrowbody aircraft was a popular topic at Cargo Facts Asia.

In my remarks delivered to the Airport Council International Cargo Conference last week, I mentioned that airport cargo facilities would have to prepare for an "Uberization" experience; meaning that both the number of shipments and the velocity of transit of those shipments through airports would be increasing dramatically. This DHL white paper explains part of the reason why: cross border (i.e. "international") commerce, which has been set up as good, old-fashioned business-to-business(B2B) transactions, will begin to look more like business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. Just like airport passenger pick up locations were not designed, and did not accomodate the massive increase in consumer use of Uber/Lyft , airport cargo facilities are not prepared for a similiar shift in the way product flows through them, out to the world, and to we , the consumer.

I would like to say that I have always been a fan of shoeshine stands. Having grown up in Houston, they were, and still are practically institutions. It seems that airports are the last vestige, so I am glad they are thriving. If you want a great shoe shine, there is no place like these stands.

Anyone who has driven between SFO and Silicon Valley has seen this ginormous hangar. What goes on in there? Well now we know! I think the jury is still out on massive dirigibles, but the fact that we are still having this discussion 80 years after the Hindenburg, is kinda cool.

The latest Lynxs project is a massive aircraft maintenance hangar at CVG, the Cincinatti Northern Kentucky International Airport. This hangar, to be operated by Miami-based FEAM Aircraft Maintenance, will accommodate the largest air freighters, including the Boeing 747-8, and multiple 767-300 aircraft, the new workhorse of the industry. What drives the need for such a hangar ? While DHL has operated a very large and active air cargo hub at CVG for years, there is a new player in town. Who? Why Amazon, of course. The face of eCommerce global logistics is evolving right before our eyes.