On 11th June 2011 Air Logistics America marks 10 years of delivering outstanding air cargo sales and services across the USA. The successful operation reflects on the commitment and hard work of its staff, how they continually strive to add value to their services in the USA and now further expansion into South America.

Ten years ago the rapidly expanding GSSA company, Air Logistics Group, had already undergone significant growth with an established network of offices across Europe. With continued investment and a clear strategy to develop a worldwide network, the company recognised the importance of forging a presence in the USA market.   

Air Logistics Group established their USA operation by launching its first office in Atlanta, Georgia. Ten years on and Air Logistics America boasts  offices in all the major USA airfreight hubs, 36 employees and a state of the art customer service centre located at the corporate head office in Houston, Texas.

According to Juan Carlos Serna, Regional Director Americas Air Logistics Group, there are two key ingredients to the company’s success – employees and their focus on delivering value-added services. “Over the past 10 years Air Logistics Group has made significant investment to develop a comprehensive network of offices throughout the USA.  Most importantly, we have built a world-class team of air cargo professionals focused on providing value-added solutions to all our partner airlines and forwarders,” says Serna.

“We wouldn’t be here without the employee’s hard work, commitment and local expertise especially during the historically challenging years of 2001 and 2009,” he continues.

The company has teams located at key airport-based offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, and amongst the 36 employees there certainly appears to be a strong team spirit. “This is my 8th year with Air Logistics. It has been a challenging and rewarding experience. I enjoy the cooperation and comradeship I have with my colleagues both here in Washington and the rest of Air Logistics Group across the world,” said Vigdis Jolly, Regional Sales Manager.

Mary Riordan, Sales Manager JFK also commented, “During my 6 six years with Air Logistics, the challenge and reward has been to experience the daily dynamics of successfully meeting goals while enjoying the experience of building relationships with industry friends and colleagues. Every day has been different and I rather like it that way.”

Air Logistics’ focus on customer service was highlighted in 2008 following a significant investment to launch a 3000 square foot Customer Service Centre (CSC) in Houston. The CSC plays an important part in the company’s drive to provide cost-effective customer driven products to its airline partners and forwarder clients. The CSC also effectively supports the company’s branch offices across the United States.

In a continued commitment to delivering value-added solutions, Air Logistics Group has recently invested in the roll out of its in-house IT system across the USA. The tailor-made Microsoft-based system is fully integrated with Navision accounting and is successfully helping the US team to further improve the customer experience by achieving greater efficiencies.

As well as providing quicker response times, electronic bookings, tracking solutions and efficient accounting, the state of the art system provides partner airlines with access to crucial information and statistics such as yields, load factors per flight and revenue reports.

Looking ahead, the dynamic company is focusing on the Americas as ‘the bigger picture’ and is exploring opportunities for expansion into new regions of South America. Having successfully launched two offices in Brazil last year, Air Logistics is working hard on building the business from this region and has exciting plans to develop a quality and comprehensive network across the Americas.

“We are very proud of our achievements so far. I would like to thank our entire team for their hard work and dedication as well as our airline partners and forwarding clients for their support,” said Serna. “With continued commitment and investment, we look forward to an exciting future for Air Logistics and its staff in the USA and the emerging Americas’ markets,” he concludes.  

“Ten years in the United States is another milestone in our evolution,” comments Stephen Dawkins Chief Operating Officer Air Logistics Group. “It shows our long term commitment to our airline and forwarder clients in one of the most challenging markets in the world.”