While carrying passengers is an important element of any airline’s business, people are not the only precious cargo to take to the skies. Every year, airlines transport billions of dollars’ worth of valuable, fragile and sometimes even dangerous freight. From exotic foods and lifesaving medical equipment to priceless artwork and live animals, it all happens behind the scenes as cargo is loaded into the bellies of planes every day, all day, around the world.

Shipshape Shipping

When it came time for happy-go-lucky bachelors Patrick and Harley to settle down and start a family, the Taipei Zoo in Taiwan called on EVA Airways to transport the endangered koalas’ betrotheds from the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Queens-land, Australia. After months of planning and preparation, EVA transformed one of its Boeing 747-400s into a koala-friendly carrier for marsupial brides-to-be Ligi, Eva and Action. Prior to travel, the animals were quarantined for 60 days in isolated, insect- and pest-proof enclosures, and given complete physical examinations. During the flight, each koala was housed in a separate metal cage that was covered with a special black sheet to filter the air and minimize the stress of the voyage. Inside the plane, the temperature, humidity and brightness were adjusted to mimic the koala’s natural environment.

The same level of care and attention also goes into planning for shipments of far less cute and cuddly cargo. Saudi Arabian Airlines, which has cargo stations in Houston and Los Angeles, specializes in shipping such commodities as oil-well and refinery equipment, agriculture machinery, petrochemical plastics, construction materials, hazardous materials, vehicles, medical supplies and perishable and nonperishable food products. These items are shipped directly to Saudi Arabia, with connections to many cities in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Yardley, Pa.-based Cargo Express Inc. handles enormous sealed containerized cargo shipped between the United States and China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan. The company transports 30,000 40-foot containers of cargo annually for U.S. importers.

Without a Hitch

During her 35-year tenure in the industry, Mary G. Lopez, senior sales executive for Saudi Arabian Airlines, has learned exactly how much work goes into successfully shipping cargo to its intended destination. In fact, she is a cargo legend of sorts: She was the first woman named International Sales Person of the Year by her worldwide company.

“In my years in the industry, I learned to always be a good listener, respond quickly and give customer satisfaction,” Lopez said. “A satisfied customer will support your service, and that is a great achievement in the marketplace.”

Another remarkable achievement is delivering large quantities of goods, week after week, with a clean track record, a feat a number of carriers accomplish. A long list of preparations and checkpoints — including reservations, proper packing, detailed documentation, computerized tracking, receiving, palletizing, loading and offloading — orchestrated by a dedicated and diligent staff, ensures that cargo is delivered accurately and on time.

Innovations in technology have streamlined the cargo shipping business.

“Cargo is monitored throughout the process and each milestone is recorded along the way so that any delay or schedule variance is communicated to all concerned,” said Joe Pfender, president of Cargo Express. “Our electronic links to these milestone events give us full visibility of the supply chain.”

At EVA, an Automated Manifest System was implemented to expedite the completion of paperwork for customs clearance. New u.s. Customs regulations enacted this year require clearance information for Taiwan cargo service be submitted electronically to the agency four hours before the shipment’s arrival at the first port of entry into the United States. EVA’s system, which was field-tested for a year before the regulations went into effect, enables this work to be processed in two hours, so that shipments can be released before the aircraft lands.

“As long as the data provided is correct, U.S. Customs will release the shipment online before the aircraft lands,” relates K.W. Nieh, senior vice president, Public Relations Division, eva Airways Corp. “This makes it possible for companies to schedule a truck to pick up their shipment as soon as the flight arrives.”

Overcoming Challenges

A New Jersey Home Depot employee unloading artificial Christmas trees from a large shipping container in September found something unexpected, and unpleasant, under the trees: an Asian man’s decomposing body. According to reports, the container had been shipped out of Yantian, China, one month earlier. It’s surmised the unfortunate stowaway was hoping to ship himself to the United States.

In case it’s not obvious, shipping live human beings is illegal — and potentially lethal. The list of internationally prohibited cargo also includes radioactive materials, explosives, flammable and toxic gases, combustible substances and infectious substances, such as infected animals — dead or alive — and medical and clinical waste. For a complete overview of cargo shipping regulations, visit the Inter-national Air Transport Association at www.iata.org. Lopez, Pfender and Nieh agree that working with a reputable shipping company will ensure all of the rules and regulations for cargo transport are being followed.

“Global Traveler readers are encouraged to be as selective of the cargo lines they choose as they are about the airline they fly,” adds Nieh. The IATA Web site is a good source for guidelines.

When faced with difficult or unusual cargo requests, these three companies take the challenge in stride and work to find alternative shipping solutions. When Saudi Arabian Airlines, for instance, was asked to transport 20-foot ocean containers, each holding 34,000 pounds of catalyst, the company employed a system of special cranes and lifts to offload the containers and load them onto airline pallets and into the aircraft. Lopez’s staff was even able to accommodate a shipping request for a 40-foot ocean container — which would have been too large for the plane — by unloading the cargo from the container and packing it directly onto airline pallets.

EVA Air pulled off a similarly challenging cargo-shipping feat when it transported an entire wafer plant to Shanghai, which required 500 metric tons of high-tech manufacturing equipment with a volume weight of approximately 570 metric tons, marking the first time an entire wafer plant has been moved across the Taiwan Strait by air. The move took 10 successive trips.

Speaking of Cargo

EVA Airways Corp.

Dr. Chang Yung-Fa, chairman and founder of container-shipping leader Evergreen Marine Corp., formed EVA Air in March 1989, quickly building a fleet of 26 aircraft from Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. Thirteen years after its July 1, 1991, maiden voyage, EVA now flies passengers and cargo to more than 40 destinations on four continents, including Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, and its fleet now includes 12 Airbus A330-200s and 15 Boeing B777s. EVA strives to provide equally exceptional passenger and cargo services, with a traffic ratio close to 50-50. The company has been awarded the Gold Wing by Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration, and has also been ranked one of the world’s top 10 safest carriers by Aero International Magazine in Germany.

Saudi Arabian Airlines

In 1945, Saudi Arabian Airlines took off with the gift of a single twin-engine DC-3 Dakota given to King Abdul Aziz by then-U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt; today it has 126 aircraft in operation. With the recent addition of 61 Boeing 747-400s, 777-200s, MD-11s and MD-90s, the airline’s fleet is now among the youngest in the world. In 1971, the first nonstop, all-cargo service started between Saudi Arabia and Europe. By 1986, the airline had added a cargo hub in Brussels, Belgium, followed by another in 1988 in Taipei, Taiwan. Two years later, an all-cargo route opened up to Tokyo, as an extension of the Taipei service. Over the years, Saudi Arabian Airlines has received dozens of awards in multiple categories, including the 2004 Silver MENA Travel award for outstanding service and the 2002 Quality Cube Award from Lufthansa for outstanding services in South Asia and Africa.

Cargo Express Inc.

Joe Pfender and his brother, Bob, cofounded Cargo Express in 1996, after serving in separate divisions of the cargo industry for many years. The former cargo executive and broker teamed up to provide ocean and ground transportation to small and medium-sized companies. Specializing in the import and export business, Cargo Express contracts with 15 different shipping lines and operates in 21 countries on six continents: Asia, Europe, South America, Australia, Africa and North America. In the United States, Cargo Express has established a presence in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, Seattle and Dallas. The Pfender brothers’ company is bonded and licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department as a customs broker, has an active tariff on file with the Federal Maritime Commission and is licensed by the FMC as an Ocean Transportation Intermediary.