Alaska Air Cargo automates arrival information

Alaska Air Cargo automates arrival information Alaska Air Cargo said it is implementing wireless scanning technology so that customers of Alaska Airlines and Horizon will know sooner that their cargo is ready for pick up.
   The airlines, which transport more than 500,000 pieces of cargo annually, are the first U.S. passenger carriers to implement the service, it said.
   Ramp workers at the final destination use cellular devices equipped with scanners to read bar codes on arriving cargo. The information is wirelessly uploaded to the airlines’ cargo data management system and to alaskair.com, where customers can track the information online. Cargo arrivals previously were tracked manually, delaying information provided to customers.
   The sister airlines have implemented arrival scanning at 80 percent of their cargo service locations and plan full deployment by May.
   The service is enabled by Sprint Nextel phones equipped with AirClic software and scanning devices, and by the cargoSPOT cargo data management system.
   The project is part of Alaska Air Cargo’s $100 million investment to upgrade its cargo fleet and modernize its infrastructure. Alaska Airlines recently retrofitted five Boeing 737-400 aircraft into cargo configurations, increasing the carrier’s overall cargo capacity by 20 percent.
   Alaska Air Cargo transports more than 150 million pounds of cargo annually, including 30 million pounds of fresh seafood from Alaska to the rest of the United States.
   The company also named Joe Samudovsky as director of cargo sales. He previously worked at United Airlines’ cargo division.