Dive Brief:

• American Airlines Cargo is seeking a Certificate of Excellence from The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) to recognize its investments and standards for handling cold chain products, according to a recent press release.
• As demand for cold chain transport of pharmaceutical and healthcare products grows worldwide, the company is looking to ensure its global network meets IATA standards by pursuing the Center for Excellence and Independent Validators (CEIV) ceritification first at key hubs, like Miami and Philadelphia.
• The company also cited increased regulatory insight over pharmaceutical logistics as a reason to pursue the certification throughout its 45-country wide cold chain network. 

Dive Insight:

With cold chain transport competition growing from such sources as cargo ships and trucking, American Airlines Cargo looks to gain the lead by seeking official certification from the CEIV.

The move should help assuage still-prominent fears by shippers that cold chain goods are more susceptible to damage by air than other modes of transport, due to the various stops involved and consistent pressure changes. Changes in temperature can cause a deleterious release of gas in various cold chain fruits and vegetables, for example.

Yet consumers are growing ever more accustomed to the luxury of successful cold chain transports, which include not only FDA-compliant pharmaceuticals, but also fruits and vegetables. Availability leads to increased demand, as shoppers come to expect safe, reliable transfers of specialized goods at quicker transport times.

Air cold chain transport still has a long way to go before it can beat out more established modes of transport, like shipping and rail, but shippers are sure to appreciate the quick-transport option.