Stunning news from Amerijet: Last week, the carrier announced the exit of its helmsman Tim Strauss, only to retract the information a few days later. Reasons for this surprising U-turn
were not delivered, puzzling staff and customers alike.
Meanwhile, the Florida-based freight airline has appointed Exp-Air Cargo as its General Sales & Service Agent in Canada.

As with the initial notification of Mr. Strauss’ exit, no reasons were given by the airline as to why this personnel decision has been revoked. Nor have the forwarding agents, the carrier’s main
clients, been given any explanation or background on what led the management and the supervisors to first let the CEO go, only to welcome him back again just days after his resignation.
“There were many factors that led to my decision to stay, but the most important were the great team that is presently at the company, and our tremendous growth prospects,” Mr. Strauss
stated, after being back in office. “I look forward to continuing to support our employees and customers during this exciting period for Amerijet.”

Unequivocal signal
Interestingly, he does not mention the top management of the airline, notably Executive Chairman Vic Karjian, who had already been appointed to succeed Strauss as interim CEO. A meaningful
reticence, indicating a serious controversy at the carrier’s top level, regarding the further strategy and network development. Whether responsibilities are now more clearly defined, and
Karjian’s role is limited to that of a supervisor rather than a secondary CEO, remains to be seen. With his resignation, which struck the carrier like a bombshell, Strauss has, in any case, sent
a strong signal that he is not willing to share competencies.

New Canadian GSA
All this back and forth comes at a time when Amerijet is in a demanding period of transition. The fleet, which currently totals 9 B767 and B757 freighters, is to grow by a further 18 units by the
end of 2022. This also triggers the expansion of the GSA network, demonstrated by the appointment of Canadian sales agent, Exp-Air Cargo, announced last week. From now on, 2 weekly road feeder
connections will be offered the market, linking Toronto with Miami.
Shipments originating in YYC, YEG, YVR, etc. will be sent to YYZ first, and consolidated with the scheduled trucks YYZ-MIA. “However, more urgent shipments, or shipments of larger volumes
which might be able to justify their own trucks, can be sent directly, if needed by the customer,” Amerijet told CargoForwarder Global.

Milan is not (yet) on the itinerary
Asked about the monthly volumes expected on the north and southbound routes, the carrier’s press department stated, vaguely: “We have a long history of service to our customers in Canada, and
to some extent the volumes are seasonal. The RFS trucks are flexible and scheduled to take those fluctuations into consideration so that the best possible service with the shortest transit time
can be enjoyed.”
Addressing market rumors that the airline will soon fly to Milan-Malpensa, a clear denial comes from Miami: “At this time, we are not planning on operating to Italy.”

Heiner Siegmund

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