IAG Cargo rolls out new e-booking system

IAG Cargo customers in Spain will benefit from the carrier’s new e-booking system that can take less than three minutes to complete.The system has enhanced features such as self-service registration, template bookings and auto-rating that make the advanced service the easiest and fastest way yet for freight forwarders to book with IAG Cargo.“The air cargo industry is going through a period of rapid digitisation driven by the need to make operations more efficient and customer friendly,” said Angel Cabeza Rivas, head of IT at IAG Cargo. Spain marks the first stage of a global rollout of the system, which underpins IAG Cargo’s total commitment to IATA’s e-freight goal of removing paper from the air cargo industry.The service, accessed via www.iagcargo.com, is available for general freight and premium products. Customers can make multiple bookings at each visit and use the site to manage all of their bookings, even those completed over the phone. Additional features are planned for launch over the course of the year.“The enhanced, feature-rich e-booking service we have launched in Spain means we are at the forefront of this change. Importantly, the service will not only make us more effective as a business but will make it easier than ever for customers to do business with us.”In the first few weeks following launch, 15 percent of all bookings in Spain were made through the new system. IATA’s e-freight programme aims to take the paper out of air cargo and to replace it with the exchange of electronic data and messages. It was launched by IATA in 2006 as part of the StB program and has become an industry-wide initiative involving carriers, freight forwarders, ground handlers, shippers and customs authorities.