Investigate Targeted Business Practices for Air Cargo
There are several business practices that can be considered when developing and managing air cargo in order to be competitive in maintaining and pursuing additional air cargo service. The ACI-NA Air Cargo Guide provides guidance on air cargo best practices and a few are summarized briefly here.
Air Cargo Development and Leasing
An air cargo marketing plan typically identifies the facilities and services that should be provided in order to attract additional air cargo carrier service. However, getting the needed facilities and managing these facilities is not a simple task. There are several documents that provide detailed information on airport development strategies and best practices that can be used to develop and lease air cargo facilities. They include ACI-NA’s Air Cargo Guide, Chapter 2, Developing an Air Cargo Market and Chapter 5, Financial and Management Strategies.
An airport’s goals and objectives should drive the overall air cargo development strategy and the decision about which operating and management model fits best. Chapter 5 of the ACI-NA Air Cargo Guide identifies and describes four main business models used by airports for operating and developing cargo facilities: 1) airport development, 2) tenant development, 3) third-party development, and 4) joint venture. A matrix for choosing the best air cargo development model for your airport is found under the tools.
Competitive Costs and Fees
In order to understand the cost competitiveness of an airport from the perspective of potential air cargo tenants, an analysis of cargo terminal costs for an airport and its competitors can be conducted with information from commercial real estate companies and other firms regarding on-airport and off-airport warehouse space. The Finance section of this toolkit outlines additional information that can be gathered to determine appropriate and competitive rates and charges.
Foreign Trade Zones
The Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) program is a federal trade incentive program that helps companies based in the U.S. “level the playing field” in the global economy by reducing logistical costs and improving supply chain management. The FTZ program allows U.S. based companies to defer, reduce or even eliminate Customs duties on products admitted to the zone. FTZs offer companies the ability to more efficiently move their goods and operate their manufacturing process in, through and around U.S. Customs obligations. For more information, access the U.S. CBP website.