Air cargo supervisor TCE has noted ongoing demand from leisure airlines for Total Cargo Management (TCM) services since the Covid pandemic.
Speaking to Air Cargo News, TCE’s managing director Sarah Scheibe said that before the outbreak of Covid, the focus for the typical leisure airline was only on their passenger business and cargo was seen more as a “nice side product and additional revenue”.
“This changed drastically during and after the Corona pandemic, as all of a sudden cargo became much more relevant and since then the focus has been growing,” said Scheibe.
“Those airlines still, of course, focus mainly on their passenger business as being the core business, but cargo and therefore the TCM model becomes a higher value.”
TCM setups vary from a typical sales agent service in that the majority of the cargo setup is outsourced, rather than just sales and marketing.
“With this professional TCM set up, the airline keeps the lean organisation and benefits from strong reports and market-based data analysis for the cargo sector and therefore it even becomes interesting for airlines not typically in the leisure sector only,” she explains.
TCE recently signed a TCM agreement with Ukrainian low-cost carrier SkyUp Airlines, selecting sister companies ECS and Global GSA to provide sales services, while it looks after the safety, security and quality side of the contract.
The deal marks a return to cargo for SkyUp Airlines. Chișinău (RMO) in Moldova will serve as the central hub for cargo activities with services covering Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, France, Poland, Montenegro, Albania and Moldova.
Scheibe said that cost and profit pressures on airlines are increasing, which has driven a requirement for greater insights.
“The natural result is to look into outsourcing and at the same time gaining more cargo expertise, access to digital tools and Business Intelligence/market data and also a global existing set up.”
She adds: “With a TCM model, airlines get more than just sales representation. They get support with cargo strategy, operations, customs reporting and revenue management, almost like having an external cargo department with a global network and Interline options as well to even reach more markets.”
