Czech airfreight’s high-flier
Petra Justová, 4RCargo’s Czech Republic country manager, won recognition at a major industry awards in October. She relates to Chris Lewis just how she got there.
Petra Justová didn’t exactly dream of becoming involved in air cargo, but now she couldn’t think of working anywhere else.
She likes the dynamism, that every day is different, and being part of a close-knit team that is almost like a family; the fact that it is such a specialised industry is part of the attraction, she thinks.
Like most 23-year-olds, Justová didn’t have much inkling about air cargo when she graduated in economics and international relations but she had done “a few small jobs” at the airport, including passenger security.
But then she went to work for an airfreight general sales agent in customer relations and sales.
She quickly learned the basics of the business and “pretty soon, I gained the trust of the manager there to work on my own, and I completely fell in love with it all”.
Unfortunately, Covid then intervened and she spent a year in a completely different sector.
“But then I got a call from the commercial manager of 4RCargo, Pawel Kazmierczak. I’d missed the vibe, the dynamism, the challenges of air cargo; I wanted to be part of it all again, so I came back.”
At first sight, there may not seem to be much connection between economics and international relations – Justová’s degree subject – and air cargo.
However, she says: “My degree did give me an understanding of how it all works, that air cargo is a small but vital piece of global relations.”
Global impact
If you will, freight is international diplomacy made real and when relations between countries become frayed – as they are at the moment – the airfreight industry is one of the first to feel the direct effects.
Trump’s tariffs are a worry, of course, but Justová and the 4R Cargo team are well used to dealing with all sorts of disruptions to the global supply chain – ships jammed in the Suez canal, war in Ukraine, the many ripples emanating from the Middle East unrest – you name it, and it has impinged on airfreight in some way.
Things might be ticking along relatively quietly for a while, but then something happens to disturb the global supply chain, “and suddenly, everyone wants airfreight. It’s what I like about the industry”.
Her company, 4RCargo is typical of the companies that have sprung up in central and eastern Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
It represents carriers including IAG Cargo and Cathay Pacific and it offers a single screening solution whereby goods that are picked up in the Czech Republic are picked up directly from the forwarder or shipper, consolidated locally and sent to hubs such as London, Madrid or Frankfurt.
There they are screened and loaded onto a plane to destination. As the name implies, cargo is only screened once, saving the customer time and money.
“I wouldn’t exactly say we invented the concept at 4RCargo, but we are the ones pushing it the most,” Justová explains.
The 4RCargo approach is to use IT and technology such as AI where it is useful, but to keep the personal touch and always ensure that customers can talk to a real person whenever they need to.
In freight, this is still important: “I am a big fan of digitisation, but you do need to be careful. Yes, there are things that AI is very good at, very easy and quick, and yes, it will lead to new possibilities. But you still have to have the professionals who understand the business.
“AI might help you analyse data better, but you still need someone who can actually read that data. And while our clients do have the online booking option, they can always call us.”
In-depth knowledge is also important: “I am always grateful for having a manager who used to set me ‘homework’, so I would know the difference between a 747F and a 777F, or about world geography. It helps enormously if you can answer a customer’s questions immediately, without having to go and look things up. Clients trust you more if you know your stuff.”
Exports on the rise
The Czech Republic, and central and eastern Europe as a whole, is today a fast-moving and growing market, exporting anything from beer to circuit boards all over the world, along with any amount of automotive components.
The country is also the world’s biggest producer of vinyl records, still hugely popular even in the digital media age. E-commerce is also hugely important inbound.
It wasn’t always the case, though. Justová is too young to remember the Communist era, but the older folk certainly do. The end of the former regime is still a big national celebration on 17 November.
“My grandmother still likes to buy a fresh pineapple for Christmas. I point out to her that you can get them any time now, but she still does that, because she remembers a time when you only got exotic things like that once a year,” she recalls.
She herself can’t understand why anyone would want to go back to the ‘old’ Czechoslovakia, though the Czech Republic hasn’t been immune from the protectionist sentiment that has gripped many other parts of the world.
We’ve all grown up with the expectation that trade barriers would be continually eroded and an ever-more open world, so the US administration’s attitude has come as a shock. But it is important to remember that the world moves on and today’s thinking may not prevail in a few years’ time.
Long-haul ambitions
The airfreight industry in the Czech Republic continues to expand and 4RCargo is competing with a clutch of new direct wide-body long-haul routes operating into Prague.
However, the wide-ranging network of IAG Cargo available at London and Madrid, along with Cathay Cargo services at Frankfurt, still gives it an edge, Justová believes.
“I actually love competition – it just makes life so much more interesting. You need competition to make you do more, to try more things.”
Copyright: Cathay Pacific
All Petra Justová ‘s efforts were rewarded on 16 October when she was awarded the RFS/GSSA Women in Air Cargo Award at Aviation Connect in Copenhagen, in recognition of her contributions to the industry.
Judges praised her achievements in redefining the Czech airfreight market, introducing innovative services such as the single screening service and for her role as one of the youngest senior female managers in the industry.
She was pleasantly surprised: “That’s not to say that I don’t believe in myself, but there are many incredible women in this industry. Yes, we are still the minority, as in most other countries, but it is getting better and better.”
When she entered the industry 15 years ago, females in the Czech industry were still fairly rare.
“That isn’t the case so much now, and although when I go to international conferences, it is still mostly men in suits, I’ve never felt that people look at me strangely. At the end of the day, it’s about what value you can bring and I’ve always felt quite confident about that,” she says.
Paradoxically, the position of women in the Czech workforce might have been held back by the country’s generous social provision, which gives women up to three years’ maternity leave – another hangover from the Communist past.
That’s all very well and good, but three years is a long time and it can detach women from their careers. Many ambitious career-minded women – like Petra Justová – forego the generous entitlement and return to work far earlier.
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