Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Group, is urging university graduates, college students and school leavers to explore a career in air logistics, calling it “an outstanding industry that needs well educated executives and entrepreneurs who will be tomorrow’s leaders and innovators.”
In a written introduction to the new Air Logistics Handbook, aimed at promoting the industry to young people and the educational sector, he states: “Air travel has transformed all of our lives and helps us experience different cultures and make new friends all over the world. However, airlines are not only about passengers. To make them work successfully, you also need to build a growing and award-winning cargo service and at Virgin we’ve done that too.
“Air logistics is a phenomenal industry and has become even more important not only to the success of airlines but also to every consumer and business leader around the world. Before aircraft, products moving between countries spent weeks at sea. Today, it takes just hours to move imports and exports from one side of the world to another, putting air logistics at the very heart of world trade. Without the flow of goods and passengers around the world, our way of life and the development of poorer countries’ economies wouldn’t exist. I encourage you to explore the many career opportunities this outstanding industry offers.”
Today, nearly 35% of world trade by value is carried by the international air cargo industry, worth over $5 trillion a year.