b'20American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(ADRIFTcontinued from page 6)AIR CARGO QUARTERLY to repeal the law. And while the Jones Act and shipping costs in general are frequently at the top of complaints by American farmers trying to transport their crops to market, there is rarely a discussion about what would take its placeits doubtful whether a blank sailing would be acceptable practice. And the Cato Institute and others rarely consider the complex nature of the Act and how it interacts with other facets of the economy.There have been better grounded proposals to tweak the system such as Hawaii Congressman Ed Cases 2021 Noncontiguous Shipping Reasonable Rate Act which would define a reasonable rate for the noncontiguous domestic ocean trade as no more than ten percent above the rate set by a comparable international rate.And while US shipbuilding and the Jones Act may have missed a golden opportunity to revitalize the mari-time industry with offshore wind projects, there are other opportunities in the works, such as nuclear-powered con-tainerships and other innovations on the horizon.For all the flaws in the Jones Act, the legislation has held together fairly well. And while a more comprehen-sive understanding of how the Act can be modified to The Anchorage Mountains are seen in the background at NAC Cargos Alaska facility.function better within the framework of the modern US supply chain may be desired, repeal is not a solution.Flying freight in Alaska is different (OPTIONcontinued from page 10)In rugged, rural, remote Alaska, nine cargo airlines fight it out for freightcan be gathered in real time, and should any problems arise,problemscanbeidentifiedandresolvedbefore in a state bigger than California, Texas and Montana combined, with aexcursions occur, she said.coastline longer than Maine to Miami. But rivals can also be partners whenS oLution Foru npLugged oro penc ontainerSit comes to delivering time-critical freight to the Alaskan wilderness. Cervettosaidnewpassivethermalproductsare designed to solve this specific customer challenge, allow-By Chris Barnett, AJOT ing containers to be unplugged or opened without com-promising payload.In rugged, rural, remote Alaska, nine cargo airlines They include the aforementioned Ryan Air, NorthernOur customer had moved away from thermal covers, fight it out for freight in a state bigger than California,Air Maintenance Services (NAMS), NAS Aircraft Leas- as traditional options were unable to offer adequate protec-Texas and Montana combined, with a coastline longering Services, Saltchuk Aviation Shared Services, ALOHAtion for temperature sensitive products during unplug times than Maine to Miami. But when there is trouble getting aTech Ops and Aloha Air Cargo, a 737 freighter-operatoror in the event of power failure. But reliance on active con-time-critical oversized load to a snow-buried village, rivalconnecting the Hawaiian Islands. But Northern Air Cargotainers was proving expensive. With the associated weight carriers pitch in to help a competitor make the delivery. is the jewel of Saltchuk Aviation and the grandaddy ofimpacting freight costs, the customer needed a solution In mid-October, in response to violent storms andpure cargo carriers in Alaska. It was launched in 1956 bywhich would extend protection across long durations and flooding that devastated communities along the statesAlaskans Robert Bobby Sholton and Maurice Carlsonprovide a lighter and easier to operate solution. Utilizing western coast, Northern Air Cargo (NAC), Alaska Airwho operated Sholton and Carlson as a charter freightadvanced phase change material (PCM), the Enshield is Cargo (a subsidiary of Seattle -based Alaska Airlines),airline using two prop-powered Fairchild C-82 Packets.reusable, rechargeable and self-reconditioning, she said. Everts Air Cargo, Grant Aviation, Lynden Air Cargo andThere was no scheduled service; the planes took offThe Enshield recharges itself in transit, by using the con-Ryan Air all teamed up to fly donated supplies betweenwhen they were filled with freight. (Rival Alaska linestainers 5C set point, and deploys its thermal protection Anchorage and Bethel where local disaster relief organi- began earlier, in 1932, as McGee Airways, but started as aautomatically. It can withstand thermal variances in ambi-zations distributed goods to stranded Alaskans. three-seat passenger airline, not an exclusive freight hauler. ent temperatures during transit, and once the container is Thesefreightersareonlypartoftheall-air cargoHistory aside, 2025 was a newsworthy year for Northernplugged, the Enshield will start recharging automatically, fleets operating in the sprawling 49th state. The othersAir Cargo. In October, Saltchuk Aviation shut down NACsreconditioning itself, and becoming ready to protect from include Bering Air and Wright Air Services.leased 767-300F wide-bodied freighter to, it said, stream- the risk of any future excursion.Interestingly,theninecarriersgiveshippers,for- line and focus on the 737s. We found that during a forced unplug event pallets warders and consignees a variety of logistical servicesAlso, last October, Northern Air Cargo began a newwith no thermal protection would exceed -20C in under that range from scheduled and charter flights to groundnon-stop cargo route between Seattle -Tacoma Interna- 2 hours from the -35C set point. A traditional insulating deliveries and in several cases, flights to the Lower 48.tional Airport (SEA) and Ted Stevens Anchorage Inter- pallet was only able to offer an additional hour at below Plus, Alaska Airlines passenger airplanes, separate fromnational Airport(ANC)withthreedeparturesweekly,-20C, but the -23C refrigerant (our blanket) was able to its two Boeing 737-800F freighters and three B-737-700Fprovidingsame-dayfreshnesstorural Alaska.Weremaintain product temperatures below -20C for over 20 freighters, also have belly capacity to and from 120 desti- offering a tool for businesses and communities to partnerhours. This highly substantial extension of product-safe nations beyond Alaska, it says.with an experience Alaskan cargo carrier that puts cus- unplug time was a game changer and secured the success (Shippersandforwarderswithgoodmemoriestomer service first, said Northern Air Cargo presidentof the shipment.rememberwhenAlaskaAirlinesflewitslegendaryDave Karp in the announcement press release. Many combis which were passenger planes by day and, withNAC employes grew up in rural Alaska and we under- L ooKing Fora irF reighta Lternativethe seats removed, were converted to freighters for intrastand the need for same day rural delivery. Cervetto said life science product suppliers are seek-Alaska flights by night). Towns like Nome and Kotzebue, located literally ating alternatives to expensive air freight. the top of the world, can now get freight from Seattle inWere certainly seeing a surge in queries.Given the n ortherna irc argo as quick as 12 hours versus 24 to 36 hours before the newfinancial and carbon use reduction benefits provided by Still, the largest air carrier, by tonnage hauled withindirect route opened.switching from air to sea, its likely that the more data Alaska and likely the most versatile freighter operatorOther remote communities like Utqiagvik, (formerlywe gather around the successful transport of temperature within the state, is an airline little-known in the Lower 48known as Barrow) situated above the Arctic Circle, andsensitive payload via sea freight, the more confident the called Northern Air Cargo (NAC). Based in Anchorage, itBethel, an off-road hub for 56 native villages and the big- market will be, and the more well see of the switch, is owned by low-profile, Seattle headquartered Saltchukgest town in Western Alaska with the states third larg- she said. (There are) cost-effective solutions suitable for Aviation,aprivately-helddiversifiedfamilyofcargoest airport and accessible only by air and river, are nowvalidated and predicted lanes as well as pharma corridors, transportation, leasing and maintenance companies.(DIFFERENTcontinued on page 22) providing the additional protection required during load-ing and unloading times to assure customers than high value shipments can be successfully transported by sea. However, we know that transporting temperature sensi-tive products by sea is still perceived as risky, so we will keep testing and learning in order to provide extensive data and total confidence for customers looking to switch from air to sea.The use of thermal blanket systems by the life sci-ences industry is bound to grow, Cervetto said.We believe (the partnership with Teva and Kuehne + Nagel) could be the catalyst for a major shift from air to sea.It offers a highly attractive solution. The success.proves that sea transportation of critical biopharma prod-ucts can be safe, compliant and deliver cost efficiencies, and that a successful switch from active to passive can provide significant benefits, she said. Its also worth noting that PCM thermal blankets are reusable, and we can run the conditioning and return logistics. The shift towards reusable solutions, which were also seeing in the rising utilisation of our reusable solutions is likely to be a long-term industry shift in-line with sustainability and NAC 737-800 Boeing aircraft waste reduction objectives.'