thoughtleaders STEVE ALTERMAN
the [2009] stimulus package, airlines got zero money.
Meanwhile, the airports got $1.1 billion. You have to wonder what priority the airlines are for the administration.
QFor decades, you have argued that air freight is a sep- arate and distinct business from air passenger travel
and should be treated as such. Do you still feel the need to
make that argument?
AYes, but we need to press it differently. It used to be that air freight was viewed
as a byproduct of the passenger airline business. No one really talked about us. Now,
air freight has become a major player. The
industry is not ignored as it was when
I first got into it. But it is still a different business from passenger aviation. We both fly aircraft, but in many ways, that’s where
the similarities end.
For example, there has been an ongoing debate over flight
duty time and how many hours pilots can operate. Our
pilots have different work schedules and requirements. We
operate in a totally different manner than the passenger airlines, and the rules may need to be different for our segment of the industry.
It extends into security. There are people who have ques-
tioned why passenger airlines have to perform 100-percent
screening of their freight while all-cargo carriers do not.
What they don’t take into consideration is that we already
screen 100 percent of our packages to protect against the
possibility of stowaways, which is the major threat to our
industry.
QStowaways?
AAbsolutely. The major threat to all-cargo carriers is a 9/11 scenario where someone
takes over a plane and uses it as a weapon of mass
destruction. We’re also sensitive to the threat of
explosives, but to us it’s a secondary threat.
QOther than security, is there one issue that’s front burner for your members?
AFuel costs, and I don’t know what to do about it. The margins for our carriers are not great, and the break-even price for oil is about $70 a barrel. Our model is not
designed to handle oil prices at $170 a barrel.
Beyond the economics, the reason fuel prices are such a
concern is that we can’t do anything about them. The
issues that worry me the most are the ones we don’t have
control over.
