Cargo is loaded into the belly hold of an SAA airliner at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport
In some good news for national flag carrier South African Airways (SAA), the company’s air freight division, SAA Cargo, has been voted the Best Cargo Airline – Africa at the 2017 Air Cargo Airline of the Year Awards. The voting was done by readers of Air Cargo News.
“We are very proud to have won the award,” affirmed SAA Cargo GM Tleli Makhetha. “It is more so because it is a vote of confidence from the air cargo industry.”
“We are very happy with this recent achievement as it comes at the back of the ‘Air Cargo Brand of the Year in Africa’ Award we bagged in February this year,” he added. “We are inspired to work harder to ensure that our customers’ needs are prioritised.”
SAA Cargo uses both dedicated air freight aircraft and the cargo holds in the bellies of SAA’s airliners and operates both domestically and internationally. The freight it handles includes general cargo, livestock, mail, perishables, valuables, and vulnerable cargo.
The awards take place every year. The votes are cast by more than 18 000 people in the supply chain. Shippers, the beneficial owners of the goods and logistics professionals voted on the journal’s website over a period of two months. There are 14 categories in the awards. These include the best overall customer experience, and the best service provider in each region.
The awards ceremony was attended by more than 300 professionals from the air freight sector worldwide and was held at the Lancaster Hotel in London. “It … brought together so many industry friends who work together in partnership to make air cargo the key enabler of economic growth worldwide,” stated Air Cargo News editor Roger Hailey. “Congratulations to all those who have won an award. You are a credit to the industry.”