29th Annual Quest for Quality Awards: Air carriers have no pain, no gain

As Executive Editor Patrick Burnson reported in last month’s extensive State of Logistics Report, it has certainly been difficult to find a silver lining in the clouds gathering around the air cargo transport sector.

Air freight revenue dipped by 2 percent in 2011, while over capacity led to bad load factors dropping domestic revenue ton-miles more than 3 percent. However, international air freight cargo was bolstered by a record $400 billion dollars in export goods transported by air, illustrating that there was a little break in the clouds.

In the meantime, some of the world’s most successful cargo airlines are reporting that the ongoing economic uncertainly in Europe is holding them back. Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, told Burnson that international airlines are now clearly facing a “perfect storm” from high fuel costs, a slowing global economy, and volatile exchange rates that could see many carriers forced to downsize.

Well, even in these challenging times in the sky, our 2012 Quest for Quality survey tell us that the 14 carriers below have continued to offer world class service in the eyes of LM readers.

As it has in at least the last five years, Southwest Airlines Cargo has posted the top score in the category (52.22) and led the way in On-time Performance (13.59) and Customer Service (10.85). Emirates SkyCargo was right on the tail of Southwest, putting up an impressive 51.56 score. Emirates also scored top marks in Value (11.14) and Information Technology (9.15).

In the hotly contested Air Express category, FedEx Express (51.16) edged UPS (49.94) this year by 1.22 points. As usual, LM readers often make this race too close to call when you break down each attribute category.

2012 Quest for Quality Winners Categories NATIONAL LTL | REGIONAL LTL | TRUCKLOAD | RAIL/INTERMODAL OCEAN CARRIERS | PORTS | 3PL | AIR CARRIERS | FREIGHT FORWARDERS	home page

2012 Quest for Quality Air Carriers Sponsor

Air cargo carriers - Winner