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Abstract
The international door-to-door air freight service is certain to grow, due to the demands of manufacturers with increasingly sophisticated logistics networks. However, integrated carriers currently are tied too closely to the parcel market to offer specialized, cost-effective international shipment of hard freight. This leaves such service open to forwarders and airlines. Tony Keating of Atlasair Parcels Service Ltd., a UK forwarder aligned with UPS, believes there are 5 components in an effective international door-to-door operation: 1. a comprehensive ground network in every country in which a firm operates, 2. cost-effective linehaul flights, 3. efficient and reasonably priced handling, 4. quick and reliable customs clearance, and 5. a workable global communications system. By bolstering its cargo business, British Airways has developed an intra-European trucking network with a hub in Maastricht, Holland.