At the beginning of April Pavlos Poutos, CEO and managing director of Marinair Cargo Services, was proud to announce that the Greek company that he established in 2007 is now an official Iata agent. The ITJ was on the scene.
Congratulations, Mr Poutos! What can you add to this great news that we’ve just received?
Thank you very much, we’re very proud. We’re now officially a member of Iata – we couldn’t be happier! To be awarded this status by the most respected institution in the aviation industry ensures a special standing for a for- warder. We’ve been preparing for this over the years – now expanding our vision and new opportunities are just around the corner. Ten years ago we set up four Indian stations in Mumbai, Chennai, Tiruppur and Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin); we also run offices in Hong Kong and the Netherlands.
What practical steps did you have to undertake to attain this status?
For an enterprise to become an Iata agent its employees have to attend the complete range of Iata’s courses and seminars, to internalise Iata’s standards and follow the rules and relevant regulations.
What concrete impact do you expect this to have on your business?
If we manage to open up the relevant communication and cooperation opportunities, which we’d like to build up with the carriers directly, then we’ll be able to serve and handle more traffic in our network. We’ll simultaneously be able to improve our ability to compete as well as our service levels.
What are the next steps for Marinair?
Our aim is to establish cooperation directly with carriers, also through other main hubs in Europe and the Far East. We’ve already focused on this, and are also aware that it’s important to continue to be a neutral air services provider for the best-known brands in the global transport industry.
Original Interview published on International Transport Journal 19-20 2021