SkyPallet adds capacity optimization features as customer base grows

Carriers were swift to reconfigure passenger cabins and storage areas into cargo-friendly spaces amid the COVID-19 capacity crunch, and now they’re looking to further optimize those spaces, according to start-up Wiremind, which in 2017 launched its air cargo revenue-optimization platform, SkyPallet. The software, which already counts a number of major cargo players as its customers including Atlas Air, DB Schenker and Emirates, is in the process of developing an add-on module for SkyPallet that will allow users to define and utilize other storage areas on passenger aircraft as if they were pallet positions for cargo. When the first iteration of the module goes live next month, the software will allow operators of passenger aircraft with seats removed, or reconfigured passenger freighters, to plan cargo allocation in overhead bins and other spaces as if they were a standard Unit Load Device (ULD). Creating a virtual ULD is relatively straightforward, and entails inputting the dimensions of the space, said Nathanael de Tarade, chief commercial officer of Wiremind. The difficulty airlines sometimes face is in gathering the necessary information to define the “commercial, physical, or even legal” restrictions of the space, he said. The software enables users to define other restrictive parameters such as a maximum weight or commodity type, which in turn will flag items that are prohibited to fly in the space, or unsuitable based on dimension when they appear on an Excel packing list. Even pre-crisis, the industry’s recent diversion from an over-reliance on measuring cargo load factors solely by weight — long the standard — has fueled momentum behind capacity optimization. Volume is the other crucial variable, and with lightweight e-commerce shipments on the rise, is increasingly the limiting factor for capacity. In January, CLIVE Data Services began reporting dynamic load factors, which takes both weight and volume into consideration. While dynamic load factors push load factor measurements in the right direction, there’s still unused volume that counts against load factors as unfilled space, yet cannot reasonably be utilized due to the type of commodity being transported, or its shape. “When you cannot add anything, your flight is completely full,” said de Tarade. Yet load factors don’t always reflect these limitations. More accurate load factors would require pallet-by-pallet data after a flight has been loaded. With digitized data, de Tarade envisions a day when it’s possible to provide an even more accurate measure that axes unusable capacity. Understanding such limitations in turn improves pricing. “Capacity optimization and revenue optimization are not really two different things,” said de Tarade. “They should be viewed as two arms of the same process, which is making the best out of what you have, and what you have is space to sell." Looking ahead at the next twelve to eighteen months, SkyPallet is developing a weight-and-balance tool that aggregates pallet-level data to generate full load plans. After developing bespoke integrations for a few of its customers, SkyPallet is also developing standard plug-and-play integrations with existing cargo management systems. “We absolutely think that integration is going to be key,” de Tarade said.

SkyPallet adds capacity optimization features as customer base grows

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