History of Air Transport Use for the Delivery of Goods - Research Paper Example

International Commercial air Transport Route International commercial air transport has become one of the most dominant modes of transport around the world for many commercial goods especially perishable ones. In the past, some commodities could not be successfully traded in international markets because they were perishable, and if they had to be used, they would reach the intended destination in dried form or already spoilt. Air transport is efficient, quick, less risky, and very convenient for long distance traders especially on the international markets. Many frequent commercial freight routes have been established connecting various destinations that were previously inaccessible or too far for any consistent meaningful trade. Air transport is a phenomenon that was successfully implemented during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, with the first successful airplane recorded to have been invented in 1903 by Wilbur and Orville Wright generally referred to as the Wright brothers. They flew four times at Kitty Hawk and thus the first air transport route can be said to have been launched here. Improvements commenced with various changes and advancements being made. The first ferrying of commodities has been recorded to been between Dayton and Columbus, Ohio in the year 1910. The department store had decided to transport silk by air rather than rely on the already established and popular methods like rail. The shipment was very efficient thus successful and beat the railroad express. In 1919, the American rail company decided to use air transport to transport half a ton of goods from the capital to Chicago, although the freight was forced to land at Ohio, developments and improvements continued to be carried out (Davies 55). By 1920, there had emerged a successful air transport business, with businesses benefiting enormously from the air activities. Businesses could now keep fewer inventories at hand with needed commodities arriving in time for effective conduction of trade. The 1920s saw steady growth of the air transport with shipment changing from tens of thousands of pounds to millions of pounds with departments like the US Post Office being among the earliest pioneers of freight transport. Although there were major advancements, innovations and inventions in the subsequent years, all-cargo commercial airlines were not possible and came much later after World War 2. The route between Dallas and New York was the first to be used to transport cargo. Entrepreneurs had however rough time penetrating the freight market as they faced fierce opposition from the already established passenger carriers. The total air traffic remained dominated by other venture planes while freight industry remained lowly developed and untapped. The international commercial air transport route was however revolutionized in the 1980s, after years of stagnation, by Fred Smith. The young entrepreneur believed that for there to be improved and efficient international business trade, the whole industry needed an overhaul. He believed it was cumbersome and rigid for the existing airlines to combine and carry on with the duality of having both passengers and cargos in the same plane. Smith had the feeling and belief that freight and passenger traffic followed different diverse patterns and it would be thus erroneous as was being practiced for companies to combine the two. He established Federal Express as an exclusive freight company with a vision of specializing in the cargo delivery business (Wensveen 45). Although the company was faced with challenges during its initial years, the young entrepreneur’s policy of next-day delivery proved to pave the way for future expansion and reliability. After several years, the company began to record significant profits and within more years of existence, the company was the first freight company to record staggering revenues of over a billion US dollars. After acquiring and absorbing another freight company, Smith’s company became the largest airline that offers full service and is all cargo in all of its operations. FedEx was adopted in 1994 s the company’s new name. International air transport routes have become elaborately established in the contemporary modern world with each mode of transport becoming more specialized. Air transport of commodities has made companies operating in various parts of the world to get supplies in good time and thus able to meet the required international demands. A company in New York is able to get raw materials from Africa in less than a week’s time consequently manufacturing commodities that are in high demands. Globalization has thus been highly facilitated with costs of production and marketing reduced. Prior to the invention of the air transport, people used to rely heavily on rail transport for both international and regional business ventures that included the ferrying of goods. In the 16th Century during the age of exploration, ships were the main mode of transport and interregional connectors. Voyages were organized for years, and took years to conclude a business trade involving continents. India was very important to the European countries but there was no direct route to the sub-continent, there by prompting explorers and merchants to travel a long route. With air transport, routes have been established in areas that were previously impassable, had rough terrain, or were dangerous. With air transport, information and materials reach the targeted place in the shortest time possible unlike the rail and water transport (Bilstein 71). Horticultural products do not have a long storage lifespan like grains and cereals. Without an efficient transport system that is very quick, then most of these horticultural products can only be consumed locally. International trade and the elaborate commercial air transport has solved the age old problem of transporting perishable goods as they can now be consumed in any part of the globe as long as they are in demand. Air transport has become the major means of transport for these perishable commodities like French beans, tomatoes, carrots, green peas, and pepper among many more. In Europe most of the flowers sold there are produced in African countries. Trade freights have been established with regular commutation being witnessed every day or on weekly basis. For example, most of the flowers sold in Amsterdam, Netherlands are grown in Kenya, Africa. This means there is an established route between Amsterdam and Nairobi being facilitated by air transport. Commercial air transport has thus improved the lives of human beings, as people are able to consume what they do not produce. The supply is guaranteed as air transport is very efficient and thus some people or societies have been consuming horticultural products as if they were locally produced (Bowen & Rodrigue 1). Air transport ensures the international market is served with many varieties of products and goods. Competition on the international market has ensured there is no monopoly exercised by some individual countries and thus there is more value for money as customers are being served with commodities of high standards, in an effort by a company or nation to outshine its main competitors. International trade has thus been greatly improved and diversified. Due to the reliability of the consistent supply, countries have opted to rely heavily or fully on others to provide a certain commodity. This has in turn created a web of interdependency among world nations. Interdependency means that countries must retain cordial and very friendly relations with their trading partners or blocs. Countries are thus keen on observation of international peace as chaos in one country can interfere with the economy of another. Improved international relations and collaboration has in turn boosted the process of globalization (Feenstra 23). Efficient international commercial air transport ensures a country gets a reliable source of revenue through trading in the established trade routes. These revenues have in turn been used in the various development projects in a bid to improving human life. Medicines can now be availed in a locality where there is short supply and thus helping alleviating pain. Many of the projects that are being conducted in many nations are funded by money accumulated from international trade of which air transport routes is one of the facilitator. International trade has thus become the backbone or the main source of revenues for many countries without which some countries would experience severe economic hardships. Many nations and companies have turned to air transport for the delivery of urgent business goods. Other forms of technological advancement have been very essential in the facilitation of the globalization process. The internet has enabled business transactions to be concluded online and the purchase of goods has now been simplified and diversified, as it is possible to do so via the internet. Small-scale firms are able to compete with the already established businesses as they can purchase goods without the necessity of traveling. Software programs have revolutionized the concept of globalization with many being the facilitating medium. Social networking have enabled the various people of the world to interact and share ideas. Business exchange and transactions have not been left out with many businesses turning to technology. However, although many businesses have become technologically oriented, there is no way software can be used to deliver goods because it is practically impossible. The online buyers and business magnates, to facilitate the delivery of the goods that have already purchased online, are thus using air transport. In this way, air transport has become an indispensable commercial tool in the globalization process International airports have been constructed because of successful commercial activities. These established airports have become well known for international business centers and in the process there are many people from all over the world being welcomed in these international airports. The local economies around such areas have thus been greatly boosted with some cities or towns being established because of the flourishing international markets facilitated by the presence of a huge hub for international business venture. Such areas include the FedEx hub in Memphis Tennessee (So 2). Globalization advocates for the establishment of common markets, currencies languages, and so forth. The massive commercial air transport being one of the precursors of globalization has further facilitated the liberalization of markets. Liberalization of markets has enabled international goods to compete with the locally manufactured goods. Fairness for all has thus served and maintained (Gillies & Moens 37). Although, international commercial air transport route has been very instrumental in boosting international trade and globalization, like any other system there are negative effects that are associated with such a system. One of the main undoing of commercial air transport is that it has facilitated the platform for criminals to conduct illicit trade activities. The biggest of these trades is the trade in drugs. Drugs are being disguised as other essential commodities of trade there by finding their way into the market. Drugs grown as far as Afghanistan are being used in some of the European nations. Air transport has facilitated this drug business with some of those involved accumulating great wealth to be included in the Forbes list richest people. The war on drugs has almost failed as criminals devise new methods of concealing the drugs from the officials. Some of the airports do not have the required equipments in scrutinizing cargos and thus it is very easy for drugs to pass various checkpoints into a commercial plane to be sold elsewhere. Illegal smuggling of substances like ivory and rhinoceros horns continues to be smuggled even though many are banned. Illegal poaching especially in Africa has continued to persist as the trade in these outlawed commodities has become very lucrative. In Africa, many of the airports do not have advanced technological gadgets to detect these illegal substances and thus certain routes have become notorious for the thriving illegal trades. Overall, international commercial air trade has evolved tremendously over the years with major improvement being made every day. Trade especially international trade has been revolutionized with many sectors being boosted. International trade and globalization have been greatly impacted by commercial air transports with both being heavily improved. Although air transport cannot hold the volume of goods that a ship can, air transport is efficient, quick and very reliable. Works Cited Bilstein, Roger. Flight in America: From the Wrights to the Astronauts, Rev. ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. Bowen, John and Rodrigue, Paul. “The Rise of Air Transport.” Dept. of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University, 2010. 12 Apr. 2011. Feenstra, Robert. Advanced International Trade. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2004 Davies G. Raymond. Airlines of the United States since 1914. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1972. Gillies, Peter and Moens, Gabriel. International Trade and Business: Law, Policy, and Ethics. Sydney: Cvendish Publishing, 1998 So, Benjamin. “Globalization, the Double-Edged Sword.” Wordpress, 2010. 12 Apr. 2011. Wensveen, John. Air Transportation: A Management Perspective. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2007 Read More