Page 8 - STAT May 2024 for Magzter

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also reported that airlines require more
and more services from its GSSA providers.
“Carriers are requesting the GSSAs to
step into the human factor for assisting
the digital AI systems environment at little
or no commission levels,” she said.
“The world of air cargo is constantly
changing, but the desire by the carrier
to outsource previously fixed overheads
to commission-based sales and services
remains extremely strong. The advent of
technology may assist this process but is
only a tool, not a service,” she added.
Strike is in the middle of rolling out the
participation of the TRICARGO.aero rate
window which is offering a free-to-use rate-
showing website for the freight community.
“Carriers would like to eliminate the GSSA
component using the different platform
providers on the market but it already gives
hurdles that they have to open up their own
system gateways and therefore weaken the
security standards. Also, they are asking for
customer support for shipments which have
been placed via those platforms but no and documentation,
person is behind to help them so GSSAs are
starting to ask the overall commission for the
services they are providing,” she added.
Ingo Zimmer, chief executive officer,
ATC Aviation points out that airlines are
more than customers and are partners
having the same goals.
“Budget and sales meetings are taking
place regularly and because of the digital
6 | MAY 2024 www.stattimes.com
communication tools, exchange of ideas
and virtual meetings have increased a
lot,” he said.
Having a GSSA working along also
brings several advantages to airlines. For
instance, Zimmer noted that working
with a GSSA keeps the airline's fixed
costs low. “Commission is only paid for
the generated revenue; it's a flexible
cost,” he added.
ATC Aviation recently signed a new
contract for Europe with the Korean carrier
T’ Way Air, starting in June with the service
to Zagreb followed by Rome, Paris, Barce-
lona and Frankfurt this year.
“We as a GSSA are established for 30+
years covering the whole area and can
take over the sales and marketing part
for the cargo products as from tomorrow.
We have the offices, experienced staff
and trucking and handling partnerships
already in place. We have a European
control tower at the HQ coordinating the
space and yield management,” he said.
ATC handles many regional contracts
for airlines including Sichuan Airlines, Air
Astana and Kuwait Airways. However, it
is essential to have the know-how in the
local markets to offer such solutions.
“To offer the airlines the trucking servic-
es wherever needed to connect the offline
with the online station, it is imperative to
have the right talents on board. In ATC
there is a saying “People are our biggest
assets” We have dedicated teams for our
To prepare for airline customers as well as single points
of contact and sometimes even separate
the future, GSSAs offices,” he added.
could invest in One of the important roles of GSSAs is
to sell the capacity offered by airlines and
technology to help them achieve maximum revenue out
of those. However, with the rise of digi-
streamline booking, talisation and the emergence of online air
additional services cargo booking platforms, many doubt if
GSSAs will exist in the future at all.
such as cargo tracking Narayanan pointed out that the notion
of booking platforms replacing GSSAs
raises a valid point about the potential
and strengthening impact of online booking marketplaces
on the traditional role of GSSAs in the air
relationships cargo industry.
In fact, online platforms have been
with airlines and disrupting various industries by providing
customers. more efficient and convenient ways for
customers to access services.
Praveen Narayanan However, he also noted that GSSAs offer
Group Concorde more than just booking services.