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| Statement of Hwang Teng Aun, The President of Singapore Airlines Cargo |
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| 1. Mr. Kaneko, President of JAL, Ladies and Gentlemen, 2. Speculation has been going on for many months about the next airline to join the WOW alliance. Throughout, we in WOW have never made a secret of the criteria for partnership. 3. We were seeking another partner with a focus and dedication to air cargo; an airline with a strong and complementary network; an airline with a suite of air cargo products similar to our own. 4. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege and honour today, on behalf of WOW, to welcome Japan Airlines Cargo into WOW, as JAL Cargo will bring much strength and add considerable value to the alliance. 5. But first, some of you may be wondering what the WOW alliance is all about. 6. The seeds of our WOW alliance were sown in April 2000, when we formed the New Global Cargo alliance. Earlier this year, to coincide with the launch of our second joint product, for general cargo, we launched the WOW brand you see before you today. 7. Our aim was to bring together a small group of air cargo carriers with common goals; adding value for our customers through a significantly enhanced network and harmonised products, creating "the leading airfreight logistics system". 8. We are creating a system where, for example, a JAL Cargo shipment can be booked and carried on Lufthansa Cargo, SAS Cargo, or Singapore Airlines Cargo as easily and efficiently as it can on JAL Cargo. Similarly, a Lufthansa Cargo, SAS Cargo or Singapore Airlines Cargo shipment will be able to be booked and carried on JAL Cargo as easily as it would on the originating carrier. 9. The driving force at the heart of this alliance is the team of staff from the three partners, which will soon include our new colleagues from Japan Airlines Cargo. Under the leadership of Gabriela Kroll, four Business Integration Teams coordinate our strategy, in the areas of Product, Sales, Handling and IT. 10. Since forming our alliance, we have launched two joint products; firstly, SAS Cargo's "SAS Priority", Lufthansa Cargo's "td.Flash" and Singapore Airlines Cargo's "Swiftrider" were harmonized into a joint express product. Secondly, Lufthansa Cargo's "td.Pro", Singapore Airlines "General Cargo", and SAS Cargo's "General Cargo" were harmonized under our joint general cargo product. 11. Together, these achievements represent eighty percent of our combined business. 12. Since each of those products was launched, I can tell you the results have been very pleasing for us. In terms of the both the added value to our customers, and our ability to consistently deliver our service guarantees. 13. We can now offer a standard capacity guarantee, a uniform performance guarantee, and perhaps most importantly, seamless transfer of shipments from one carrier to another through the hubs of our combined network. 14. It is important to realise that seamless transfer for cargo is a far more complicated process that it is for a passenger airline. 15. The cargo cannot walk from one gate to another as a passenger would. If the cargo is misplaced, it does not even know that it is lost! 16. This is why it is so challenging, but essential, for us to harmonise all our processes. 17. And, why did we choose the name WOW for our alliance brand? What do these letters, W.O.W. stand for? Not anything specific! But as a word, WOW conjures images of strength, strong emotion, enthusiasm, commitment and innovation. 18. For us, WOW is an exciting expression for what our business is, and where it is going. 19. And now focus on our new partner, the reason we are here today. Japan Airlines Cargo is based in Asia's biggest economy, the second largest in the world. JAL Cargo is particularly strong within North Asia, and from there, both across the Pacific, and into Europe. 20. The Japan Airlines group operates the largest fleet of 747 aircraft in the world; 10 are dedicated freighters, able to target the key trade markets, and supplement the enormous bellyhold widebodied capacity of the JAL passenger fleet. 21. This means our WOW alliance now boasts a combined fleet of 41 dedicated freighters, and the bellyhold capacity of more than 740 passenger aircraft. 22. JAL Cargo has been a separate unit dedicated to mail and airfreight within the JAL Group since June 2000. The clear concentration on airfreight that JAL Cargo has developed is shared by the three of us, Japan Airlines Cargo's new partners in WOW. 23. Lufthansa Cargo has been an independent company since 1994, SAS Cargo since June 2001, and we at Singapore Airlines Cargo became an airline in its own right almost exactly a year ago, on July 1, 2001. 24. We, the four WOW partners, firmly believe that this focus on airfreight as our core business gives us a marked advantage over our competitors. 25. I would like you to concentrate your attention for a moment on what JAL Cargo means for the WOW alliance. Let's look at what the alliance network was like before today. Here are the routes served by Singapore Airlines Cargo. Now, we add the network of our colleagues at SAS Cargo, and then the network of our Lufthansa Cargo. 26. You can see a combined network that is very strong between Europe and Scandinavia, Europe and North America, and Europe and Asia. However, as we look to the east, there is less density between North Asia and both Europe and North America, and within North Asia. 27. Now let me add the routes of our new partner. As you can see, we now have a route network that covers the major trading routes across most of the world's major trade centers - a truly global network. 28. And it is critical that we understand this point. Airfreight is a business based on global supply chains. It is not enough to simply be strong in a few markets. To succeed in this business, we must be well represented in all markets where are customers are, or wish to be. 29. Just as we have taken the time to integrate our operations and procedures through our Business Integration Teams over the last two years, so we will make all the effort necessary to integrate Japan Airlines Cargo into the seamless processes that we know are so important to our customers. 30. We firmly believe that this is the best way to ensure speedy and efficient delivery of shipments for our customers. Since we first formed this alliance two years ago, we have stressed the importance of giving our customers a single point of contact. In the back office, that means ensuring that our IT systems can communicate effectively with one another. 31. It means harmonizing our sales activities, identifying and exploiting synergies, and ensuring our handling processes conform to common standards. 32. So what does all this mean for our customers? A fruit exporter in Beirut who deals with Lufthansa Cargo will be able to ship his produce through JAL Cargo's network via Tokyo to Hawaii as though he was only dealing with Lufthansa. 33. An electronics firm in Sapporo can open up new markets in South Africa, seamlessly sending their shipments through Singapore Airlines Cargo via Singapore to Cape Town. And the fishing village in Norway can send its salmon catch straight to the restaurants of Okinawa. 34. And that is why we say WOW. 35. We have seen now what will change within WOW following the introduction of JAL Cargo. What will not change, however, is our guarantee of "seamless, safety and control." 36. These three terms symbolize our desire to offer the highest quality and reliability in the logistics sector, and they continue to be the cornerstone of our joint offering. 37. I would now like to invite my colleague Dr. Andreas Otto to share his thoughts with us. 38. Thank you. |
