KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia’s logistics arm, Teleport, today launched the world’s first digital air cargo network, Freightchain, which runs on blockchain.
Freightchain chief technology officer Vishal Batra said leveraging on AirAsia’s 247 aircraft to carry cargo, a shipper or freight forwarder can now instantly book and confirm any aircraft without having to go through time-consuming sales or email channels.
“Freightchain will assist shippers and their freight forwarders to discover all available cargo network connections owned by airlines for their supply chain needs. It then facilitates on-demand bookings in real-time through bids submitted and validated on blockchain,” he said in a statement.
He said the present unprecedented situation due to Covid-19 has made air cargo all the more crucial in the global fight against the pandemic.
“A software to transparently bid and confirm urgent air cargo capacity in real-time is vital to keep global supply chains for life-saving medical supplies and equipment moving,” he said.
The first pilot booking on Freightchain was conducted to ship pharmaceutical cargo from Bengaluru, India, to Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
An instant itinerary via Kuala Lumpur and Seoul was confirmed in real-time with flights from three different carriers through a smart contract on blockchain.
“Due to the unavailability of direct flights from Bengaluru to Ulan Bator, the shipper had to manually enquire about the availability of connecting flights with multiple airlines and agents over phone calls and emails, a very tedious and time-consuming process.
“Freightchain simplified the booking process and confirmed the itinerary 10 times faster for shippers by using its programmes to discover the available routes with connecting flights within the shipper’s budget and passing on significant cost savings to shippers,” Vishal said.
For the airlines, he said, the dynamic on-demand interlining of flights helped improve otherwise underutilised flights.
Shippers can visit https://www.freightchain.world/ to start securing cargo space instantly. – April 16, 2020, Bernama
