PrimeAir expands with Emirates at BOG

It’s always good to hear when a General Sales and Service Agent lands an agreement with an international cargo carrier – especially in today’s highly competitive environment.

But when a GSSA like PrimeAir gets to announce it is significantly expanding its South American operation due to a new agreement with Emirates SkyCargo, it’s a shout heard around the world.

“This is really big news,” says Roger Paredes, CEO of Miami-based Prime Group, under which PrimeAir operates. “Not just because it is a long and arduous process to be appointed as a GSSA, but because Emirates is so highly respected around the world.”

Emirates is consistently voted one of the world’s best airlines, and its SkyCargo division is ranked the largest cargo airline worldwide, just behind FedEx. Starting in August, the carrier will provide service (via Avianca) between Bogota and both Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando where cargo will connect with an Emirates B777 to Dubai International Airport and beyond. This new service complements Emirates’ existing schedule from neighboring Quito to Amsterdam and beyond.

“They are very selective who they work,” he added. “So when Emirates expanded into Bogota, naturally they went with PrimeAir, one of the best-known names in the Colombian freight-forwarding community.”

Actually, Sky Cargo was already quite familiar with the high caliber service PrimeAir provides. They were appointed as the carrier’s GSSA the day they began flying into Ecuador in 2013. Now, the time-tested relationship with Emirates is expanding here in Colombia.

“Emirates is obviously very pleased with how we’ve been performing,” Paredes continued. As a GSSA, PrimeAir will provide in-country sales, marketing, and accounting for SkyCargo, in addition to airport services such as warehouse supervision, and ULD control.

As a result of the new agreement, PrimeAir now has an opportunity to expand its own overall operation – and presence – at the Bogota station, where they have been serving as Atlas Air’s GSSA for more than two years.

“The airlines clearly see the top quality work we do for them – in fact, a very good job from the cargo sales side, filling up the planes,” noted Paredes. The cargo coming out of Colombia is 99 percent perishables, the majority of which is flowers – which continues to be the primary commodity for PrimeAir in Latin America since its founding in Quito in 2001.

“Being involved in this business for so many years, we have a name. When someone wants a GSSA in Ecuador, they think PrimeAir. And in Colombia, it is a similar story,” says Paredes. “Everyone always thinks of us here.”

But at the end of the day, it is a big feather in the cap of the entire PrimeAir team, to be able to say they represent an international carrier as prestigious as Emirates.

“Emirates is respected all around the world for their on-time performance and reputation as a well organized, professional operation. So to be aligned with such a company actually serves as selling point for us among our freight forwarder customers,” Paredes added.

“After all, as the saying goes, ‘you are judged by the company you keep’.”

PrimeAir serves to make cargo sales, operations, handling, and accounting easy and reliable for airlines operating across the globe. Based in Miami, the company benefits from being part of the Prime Group, a network of coordinated logistics and freight specialists with offices and representatives worldwide. For information, call 305-592-2044, email info@primeair.aero, or visit www.primeair.aero