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CHAMP CEO Chris McDermott joined a panel of fellow air cargo experts to share insights about the future of the industry.
Air cargo professionals from around the world recently travelled to Miami, USA for The International Air Cargo Association’s (TIACA) Air Cargo Forum
During the event, CHAMP CEO Chris McDermott was invited to join industry leaders on a panel discussion, which included Peter Penseel from Delta Cargo, Wilson Kwong from Hong Kong Airport Cargo Terminals Ltd, Stefan Krikken from DSV and Mathias Nicolas Lepeut from Qatar Cargo Airways.
Moderated by Edward Hardy, Editor of industry publication Air Cargo Week and Glyn Hughes, Director General at TIACA, the panel examined several influences on the future trajectory and expansion of air cargo.
Key insights from the industry leaders roundtable
Throughout the discussion, panelists shared their unique perspective on the future of air cargo and the factors they foresee as opportunities or challenges facing our industry.
Chris provided specialized insight into key innovations that are crucial to the future success of air cargo and explored how we can drive necessary change and evolution for our community.
Facilitating ONE Record adoption
IATA’s ONE Record data-sharing standard is a highly relevant topic in the air cargo industry, with a deadline for industry-wide adoption by January 1st, 2026. Moderator, Glyn Hughes used the opportunity to ask about the pace and scale of adoption.
Chris highlighted that change is already happening across the air cargo industry, and that numerous businesses are already implementing ONE Record and making strides towards adoption well ahead of the 2026 deadline.
He explained that CHAMP currently processes hundreds of millions of API calls and EDI messages, which illustrates the transition away from legacy applications and growing demand for digital processes. This highlights the increased interconnectivity of air cargo, which will be driven by ONE Record.
Chris also asserted his firm belief that innovation will continue to accelerate with the availability of ONE Record technology, and that it will create a distinctive shift that will usher in a new era of air cargo.
He drew an analogy to the banking industry, which used to transfer money on an overnight basis and can now facilitate instantaneous money transfer. ONE Record is expected to create a similar parallel in our industry, where processes can be made more reliable, instantaneous, and digitalized.
CHAMP is actively equipping air cargo businesses for the successful implementation of ONE Record through the recent launch of 1Neo-Connect. Designed to streamline the transition to ONE Record, 1Neo-Connect's Super-Node offers effortless ONE Record access through a streamlined API.
This is an important milestone in facilitating ONE Record adoption and making the technology more accessible for all.
Promoting air cargo sustainability
Moderator Edward Hardy asked the panelists about sustainability, which is an important priority in shaping the future of air cargo.
CHAMP has made significant investments and commitments to sustainability, including sponsoring the Air Cargo Sustainability awards that were hosted during the Air Cargo Forum.
CHAMP has sponsored the awards for five years now, to recognize outstanding businesses and industry initiatives seeking to make air cargo more sustainable. This brings much-needed innovation to the industry and encourages businesses to explore solutions that create a cleaner air cargo future.
CHAMP was also recently BlueSky certified, which is an IATA industry-specific ESG initiative that awards and measures sustainability efforts in air cargo.
It is an important tool designed to track sustainability progress, benchmark against peers, and accelerate the air cargo industry's transformation.
Overall, the panel was a fantastic opportunity to delve into the opportunities, challenges, and forces that shape the future of air cargo.
Many thanks to all panelists involved, the moderators, and to TIACA for organizing another great Air Cargo Forum.
