Page 68 - Inbound Logistics | April 2017 | Digital Issue

Workers unload a salmon delivery from Alaska, transported by Alaska Air Cargo.

Anchorage and/or Fairbanks. The con- and the fourth busiest in the world. the airport visually, rather than rely on
tainers moving via COFC and TOFC “We’re a significant node in the instruments,” he explains. Ted Stevens
typically house retail items, as well as global air cargo supply chain,” Parrott Airport also can accomodate Aircraft
products and equipment for the oil/gas says. It’s one the airport is well posi- Design Group VI. This means the larg-
and mining industries, he adds. tioned to handle. Since opening in est aircraft in the world can land there.
the 1970s, the airport has never closed
Center of the Air Cargo World for snow. “We get a lot of snow, but we Getting in the Zone
While many logistics providers focus take it personally,” Parrott says. “No Airport management can designate
on moving goods to, from, and within one wants that first closure to happen any area of the airport a free trade zone.
Alaska, the Ted Stevens Anchorage on their watch.” Employees go extra Again, that boosts efficiency for the
International Airport helps cargo move lengths to make sure the snow doesn’t companies using Ted Stevens to move
around the globe. Anchorage is both hinder the planes’ ability to take off and cargo. The airport also offers 24/7 cus-
the largest city in Alaska and within 9.5 land as scheduled, and to keep the air- toms services onsite, Parrott says.
hours flying time to much of the indus- port open and operating 24/7. Expanded air cargo transfer rights
trial world, including Tokyo, Chicago, To further aid operations, the air- allow companies to move goods between
and Moscow, notes John Parrott, port boasts a Category III B instrument aircrafts quickly and efficiently. Parrott
manager of Ted Stevens Anchorage landing system that uses radio beams provides an example: Two airlines fly
International Airport. “We’re the cen- to provide pilots with vertical and hor- from Asia into Alaska on the same day.
ter of the air cargo world,” he says. izontal guidance during their landing They move on to Chicago and Atlanta,
About 80 percent of cargo traveling approaches, helping them land planes but not on the same day. By transferring
on freighter aircraft between Asia and when weather hinders visibility to the cargo from one airline to another, both
North America comes through the air- runways. For qualified pilots and planes, airlines can offer customers daily over-
port. Each day, 70 widebody cargo the airport has the navigation aids to night service to Chicago and Atlanta.
planes land at the airport. “We’re the gas help them land in all kinds of weather. Alaska’s nickname is “The Last
station,” Parrott says, noting that the air- That said, Parrott notes that the Frontier” and many of its citizens
port is halfway between Shanghai and airport can regularly—and favorably— embrace a pioneering spirit. The com-
Chicago, and that North America, Asia compare its weather to other northern panies that provide logistics services to,
and the EMEA region all are within cities. Pilots can rely on visual mete- from, and within the state take pride in
4,000 miles. The airport is the second- orological conditions more than 90 their ability to help Alaskan residents
busiest cargo airport in North America, percent of the time. “They can fly into and companies conquer this frontier. n

66 Inbound Logistics • April 2017