Jeff Daniels looks at some of the innovative new ideas that a UAE airline is using to fuel rapid growth in business.
What do you do if you are an Arab prince whose most precious possession is a priceless racehorse scheduled to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp? On the other hand, what if you are the logistics manager for Save the Children and you need to airlift vital supplies to somewhere in Africa? In either case, it’s a good chance that you’ll both be on the phone to the same people.
Since its inception in 2005, Maximus Air Cargo has become the carrier of choice for Middle Eastern royalty and high on the list of contractors serving NGOs in the humanitarian relief business.
As part of Abu Dhabi Aviation Group, Maximus is the largest all-cargo airline operator in the UAE. Over and above the usual mix of cargo, Maximus has gained expertise in oversized objects, with some enormous whales being taken into the bellies of its fleet of purpose-built cargo planes.
From its headquarters in Abu Dhabi and European office at Stansted in the UK, Maximus Air Cargo operates a fully-owned fleet of eight freighter aircraft, comprising the Antonov An-124- 100, the Airbus A300-600RF, the Ilyushin IL-76TD and the Lockheed L-382G Hercules. These planes can carry loads of up to 120 tons and volumes of up to 1,000 cubic metres. With these aircraft, Maximus is not only well placed to satisfy heavy lift or oversized cargo, but it is also suited to the specialised needs of moving livestock—usually horses but in reality anything that lives and breathes.
Maximus operates in accordance with the UAE’s strigent Civil Aviation Authority standards (comparable to EU OPS-1) and has earned its credentials by being granted an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) and a civilian Certificate of Airworthiness in accordance with CAR-OPS. In an industry where seat-of-the-pants operations are not unknown, the management team at Maximus are also champions of maintaining the highest safety standards, and actively sponsor events that promote this.
Not surprisingly, the airline has rapidly become a key player in the region, and in two of its six years of operation it was voted Air Cargo Operator of the Year in leading industry awards. On top of that, Maximus has confirmed its reliability as a logistics partner by winning its third Supply Chain and Transport Award in four years as judged by an independent panel of specialists.
Since 2007, growth in volumes carried has been supersonic. From a modest 136,000 freight tonne-kilometres that year, it has escalated to 47.5 million freight tonne-kilometres. Over the same period sales have increased from $47 million to $118 million.
Maximus Air Cargo has a highly skilled workforce of over 200 employees whose primary focus is on providing superior customer care to all clients, managing air transport requirements and logistics solutions—whether they be for royalty, governments, multinationals or humanitarian and relief organisations.
As well as direct charter commissions with official and private clients, a key element of the work Maximus does is a form of lease that goes under the heading of ACMI—aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance. It’s often the case that airlines run out of aircraft capacity for one reason or another and ACMI provides a useful solution. In this capacity Maximus represents such global names as Air France, Iberia, Qatar, UPS and the World Food Programme, flying around the world on medium and long term contracts in its own aircraft and with its own experienced crews.
Over and above what is commonly recognised in the industry as ACMI, Maximus is rolling out the next version, which it refers to as ACMI Select. The idea is to provide a range of premium services which clients can order as their requirements dictate. These services are particularly targeted at start-up airlines that have yet to achieve an Air Operator's Certificate. Alternatively, ACMI Select would suit brokers needing a one-stop-shop and established airlines looking for solutions beyond today’s ACMI standard.
ACMI Select aims to include services across the board from administration activities such as market studies, scheduled planning, documentation and third party payments to operational matters such as ground handling, over flight permits and contract fuel provisions.
Similarly, Maximus wants to expand the normal expectations of what services are covered under charter arrangements by introducing Charter Select. Already, Maximus goes one step further than most by having a flight coordinator travel on every trip to ensure a smooth and seamless, end-to-end operation. Charter Select can be as all-encompassing as the single point of contact with total responsibility for all cargo matters; or it can supplement its normal activities with one or more additional items—for example, load inspection, building and breaking pallets, ground transportation—chosen by the client from a drop-down menu.
A social conscience has long been part of what constitutes Maximus. Back in 2007, when the business was in the early stages of development, it undertook 60 flights in less than two months for the African Union mission in Sudan, delivering more than 900 tons of invaluable supplies.
With the versatility to carry aid, equipment and even helicopters, Maximus continues to provide support to the humanitarian effort and disaster relief that leading aid organisations provide. The aircraft are suited for landing in isolated areas, on grass or dirt strips and can self-load and unload without the need for ground equipment. As such, Maximus has been selected as the exclusive air relief support partner for the Red Crescent, spearheading UAE-generated relief missions.
Care by Air is another UAE initiative of which Maximus is a founding member. The objective is to deliver humanitarian relief by improving the use of logistical resources. The innovative model behind Care by Air is the ‘at cost’ principle. By donating empty space on flights at cost, discounting fuel prices and waiving handling, landing or parking fees, great steps can be made. By working in this way, rather than a one-off charitable gesture, Maximus is able to provide a sustainable service which in the long term is considered a much more beneficial way of lending a helping hand. www.maximus.aero
