Lodd Autonomous’ Al Manai joins Cargo Facts Asia 2026

Lodd Autonomous Chief Executive Rashid Al Manai will join Cargo Facts Asia 2026 for the panel discussion “Advanced Air Mobility and the future of freighter fleets” on Wednesday, March 25, at 10:35 (UTC+8).

The 14th annual Cargo Facts Asia conference will take place March 23-25 at the W Shanghai, bringing together decision-makers, global executives and leaders to analyze the latest market trends, air cargo developments and their potential impact in Asia.

View the full event agenda.

Al Manai became CEO of Lodd Autonomous in 2023. He had served as an adviser to defense contractor Edge and has more than fourteen years of aeronautical engineering experience, including as aerodynamics and structural team lead at Lockheed Martin.

Lodd signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates SkyCargo and Astral Aviation at the Dubai Airshow in November 2025 to evaluate the capabilities and performance of its Hili hybrid vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.

Lodd also signed a deal with Etihad Cargo that month to explore use cases and validate the aircraft’s performance in Abu Dhabi, working with the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates to evaluate operational efficiency and compliance.

Al Manai will join two other advanced air mobility executives:

• Patrick Buckles, regional head of sales at BETA Technologies; and
• Yanxiang Kang, chief operating officer and co-founder of AirWhiteWhale.

Discussion topics will include:

• The role of AAM in Asia-Pacific, today and in the future;
• An update on drone regulatory developments; and
• Why Asia-Pacific is right for AAM deployment.

Cargo Facts will present four invaluable events for airfreight professionals in the first half of 2026, starting with Cargo Facts LATAM, on Feb. 10-12. To see the agendas and register for the events, visit CargoFactsEvents.com.