HONG KONG has retained its global lead in air freight but by a wider margin than before the Covid crisis, according to Seabury Cargo managing director Marco Bloemen.
Speaking to last week's Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference (ALMAC) staged by the hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mr Bloemen said Hong Kong's airport life was returning to normal and would soon get there.
There would be challenges ahead, so while he was confident that Hong Kong would retain its long-held status as the world's premier air freight hub, it would have to cope with new formidable problems.
Mr Bloemen cited the problem of coping with absence of Russian overflights because of the war in the Ukraine, and the lack of anything that looked like a peak season this year.
The fact that costs are so high that fresh fruit and textiles could not afford to fly, so while capacity was rising load factors were falling.
'Expect tough times ahead,' he said.
Fellow panelist Tasos Zavitsanakis, head of sustainable finance for Greater China for the Swiss bank UBS (formerly the Union Bank of Switzerland) went on at length about sustainability.
Asked about the future of UBS in Hong Kong given the political developments in recent years, he said the city still had the largest collection of super rich people to be found anywhere. Where better to do business then, he said, than to do business in Hong Kong.
Fellow panelist, Cathay Pacific cargo chief Tom Owen reviewed the hard times the Covid scare had brought, but reported that they the airline was well on its way to normality.
There would be changes, he said. Because costs were skyrocketing, customers wanted more, and serious efforts to provide instant track and trace information were nearing completion.
This, he said, would include the use of smart containers and smart pallets. 'This way customers can know if their cargo is on the plane or in the terminal,' Mr Owen said.
DHL Express Hong Kong boss Samuel Lee gave a rundown of his company's global reach, and how it weathered the Covid storm serving customers under difficult circumstances.
'That's what we do, we connect people and improve lives,' Mr Lee said.
SeaNews Turkey
Speaking to last week's Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference (ALMAC) staged by the hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mr Bloemen said Hong Kong's airport life was returning to normal and would soon get there.
There would be challenges ahead, so while he was confident that Hong Kong would retain its long-held status as the world's premier air freight hub, it would have to cope with new formidable problems.
Mr Bloemen cited the problem of coping with absence of Russian overflights because of the war in the Ukraine, and the lack of anything that looked like a peak season this year.
The fact that costs are so high that fresh fruit and textiles could not afford to fly, so while capacity was rising load factors were falling.
'Expect tough times ahead,' he said.
Fellow panelist Tasos Zavitsanakis, head of sustainable finance for Greater China for the Swiss bank UBS (formerly the Union Bank of Switzerland) went on at length about sustainability.
Asked about the future of UBS in Hong Kong given the political developments in recent years, he said the city still had the largest collection of super rich people to be found anywhere. Where better to do business then, he said, than to do business in Hong Kong.
Fellow panelist, Cathay Pacific cargo chief Tom Owen reviewed the hard times the Covid scare had brought, but reported that they the airline was well on its way to normality.
There would be changes, he said. Because costs were skyrocketing, customers wanted more, and serious efforts to provide instant track and trace information were nearing completion.
This, he said, would include the use of smart containers and smart pallets. 'This way customers can know if their cargo is on the plane or in the terminal,' Mr Owen said.
DHL Express Hong Kong boss Samuel Lee gave a rundown of his company's global reach, and how it weathered the Covid storm serving customers under difficult circumstances.
'That's what we do, we connect people and improve lives,' Mr Lee said.
SeaNews Turkey