Spot Pricing will dominate cargo bookings as digitization drives market shift

Due to the sheer adoption of digitalization, fundamental change in the air cargo booking process expedited by COVID is here to stay, Vitaly Smilianets, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Awery told delegates at the CNS Partnership Conference 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

"A side effect of the COVID pandemic was a fundamental shift away from long term contracted rates over to spot booking as capacity shrunk and demand increased," said Smilianets. At the same time, the uptake of digitization by airlines introduced huge efficiencies making pricing quicker and more responsive. Because of this, we anticipate that even as air cargo capacity increases, either through increased passenger flights or investment in freighters, the airlines won't return to fixed rates."

CargoBooking, part of Awery's range of services, simplifies booking procedures and delivers immediate quotations.

It converts inbound email quotation requests into immediate quotations, and its Quotation Management System provides published rates, contract rates and allocations, as well as spot or promotional prices.

"The change began because of COVID, but the change is here to stay because of tech," said Smilianets. The airlines have done a fantastic job in adapting to new processes, embracing digitization to adapt to the changing business landscape. By adopting digitization, the industry is building business resilience and future proofing against the next challenge."

Smilianets was speaking at the CNS Partnership Conference 2022, attended by a record-breaking 750 delegates from across the globe.