ABA CHAIRMAN SAYS MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS INEVITABLE

ABA CHAIRMAN SAYS MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS INEVITABLE    Air cargo industry mergers and acquisitions will be a sign of the times — for better or worse — and the industry needs to be flexible during these turbulent economic times, said Mac Warner, chairman and founder of the Airline Business Alliance
   Companies will be forced to merge to safeguard their futures, and governments need to reconsider regulatory barriers that stand in the way of these necessary actions, Warner told industry executives at the recent Air Cargo Americas conference in Miami.
   “Since Sept. 11, for many companies this has become the difference between survival and bankruptcy,” said Warner, who is managing director of Pace Airline Management. “Businesses are already starting to disappear, while the identities and ownership of others will change.”
   The air cargo industry serves as a “barometer of world trade,” and is often the first industry to go into a recession during unstable economic climates, Warner said. “We work at the heart of world trade — and when it suffers, we suffer.”
   The ability to develop alliances opens possibilities for a broader scale, which can lead to a stronger global alliance, he said. “The first alliance that is strong enough to make this giant leap in terms of commitment will leave the rest standing.”
   “The ultimate challenge for any alliance, merger, or acquisition is to deliver change that produces a real, measurable benefit for the customer,” he said.