BFS Cargo E-Newsletter

Vol. 2/2017 Handling with CARE…Customer ∙ Attentive ∙ Responsive ∙ Efficient

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the February edition of the BFS Cargo “Our investment E-Newsletter. plans for 2017 have now been Our Industry is hugely resistant to change and a very approved.” clear example of this for me is the continued resistance to provide and use Electronic Data. The Shippers and Consignees have been telling us they want it and yet still this is not widely provided as it should be. Why is that? David Ambridge The data is readily available, it costs virtually nothing to General Manager - Cargo send, and it is very valuable in terms of transparency, quality, and especially Security. If the Regulators came along and mandated this we would achieve this very quickly and yet when it is not regulated very few people comply. This is an area of great frustration, and some puzzlement, for me as the huge benefits this could bring are so obvious I’m still amazed that we have such a long way to go to achieve something as simple as this.

Our investment plans for 2017 have now been approved. We will therefore be going ahead with the procurement and installation of another ASRS. We hope to have this finished in 2017 or early 2018 which is good news for all of us.

I’m sorry but I still cannot enlighten you on our future at Don Mueang as we have not had any clarity from AOT on the situation there. As I have previously mentioned we know that AOT would like to have 6 Cargo GHA’s operating there but with such small Cargo volumes this is really not practical or viable. We would hope to have further news on this fairly soon and this will be shared with you as and when we have something to share.

I hope you enjoy this month’s edition

Regards, David Ambridge General Manager – Bangkok Flight Services Cargo (WFS affiliate)

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The Year of the Fire Rooster has begun on January 28, 2017

Celebrations began on January 27, New Year's Eve, and typically last around two weeks, making this the longest holiday in the Chinese calendar. While the official holiday is roughly 5 working days, plus two weekends, most workers remain in their home provinces for an extra week or two. It’s known as the world’s greatest annual migration of people. Huge numbers in China travel John Yep home each year to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, a mass Director – Cargo Service movement of people known in Chinese as chunyun. The authorities Delivery in China expect the highest number of trips ever to be made during this year’s festive season; predicting that 2.98 billion trips will be made from January 13 to February 20

This year the festivities are set to officially end on February 2. Roughly a sixth of the world celebrates Chinese New Year. In China, Chinese New Year is celebrated nationwide meaning all businesses around the country will close, including all factories. During this time all workers will travel across the country to return to their families and celebrate the New Year, with all manufacturing stopped for the duration. China has about 277.5 million migrant workers who account for 36 per cent of the nation’s workforce, according to figures released last year by the National Bureau of Statistics. About 78 million migrant workers travel long distances to find work and live, rather than stay in their home province. The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday of the year in Chinese culture. It is also the only chance each year for many migrant workers to travel from cities back to their rural hometowns to see their families as the Lunar New Year is the sole, statutory long holiday period under China’s labor laws.

Chinese New Year takes place on a different date every year, because it is based on the lunar calendar. In this calendar a month is two days shorter than in the solar calendar so to make up for it an extra month is added every few years.

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The lunar calendar means the celebration always falls on a different date - unlike the January 1 New Year we are used to, based on the Gregorian calendar. But Chinese New Year always falls between the end of January and mid-February.

Each year is denoted by a different symbol from the Chinese 12 year animal zodiac, with this year being matched to the tenth sign. Last year was the Year of the Goat

Roosters are the tenth sign in the zodiac and are seen as confident, honest and hardworking. They also enjoy being around people but can be seen as attention seekers.

In China New Year's Eve is seen as an important date, with families gathering together for a reunion dinner. Firecrackers are then let off to signal the end of last year and the beginning of next year.

Before the New Year's Day, families gather, clean their houses and sweep away bad-fortune. Red envelopes stuffed with "lucky money" are given to children, along with written wishes for their kids to grow up healthy.

How does this affect BFS Cargo you may ask; lower Export/Import cargo volumes, reduced/cancelled Freighters and many local Chinese businesses will shut down.

In addition to our normal daily housecleaning, we’ll take advantage of this slow period and do a “deep clean” of the cargo terminal; repaint & touch up specific areas and any other facility areas that normally would not be accomplished due to interference with our cargo operation.

The most common Chinese ways of saying Happy Lunar New Year are Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin) and Gong Hey Fat Choy (Cantonese). ... Fa Cai (發財) is to become rich or to make money. Thus, Gong Xi Fa Cai means wishing you to be prosperous in the coming year.

Gong Hey Fat Choy John Yep Director Cargo Service Delivery Bangkok Flight Services- Cargo BFS Cargo E-Newsletter Vol. 2/2017 www.BangkokFlightServices.com BFS Cargo E-Newsletter