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INDUSTRY
groups Aircargo Forwarders of the Philippines Inc. (AFPI)
and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
said they will return to the negotiating table to settle
the use of the Neutral Airway Bill (NAB).
After
talks bogged down last year, both groups are still at
loggerheads with each other. Still, both sides said
they agree that the discussion on the issue should be
done among themselves, and not on the courts or by the
Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).
AFPI
president Jaime Roxas said on Monday that they would
start initial talks with “off-the-court” negotiations
and try to strike an agreement to avoid a long legal
tussle if the CAB again takes over the issue.
Things
turned for the worse last month after the CAB official
hearing the case died.
“However, we will continue with our old position that
the NAB should be provided to freight forwarders for
free,” Roxas said.
At the
moment, Roxas said, their members are paying for the
said document “with reluctance.”
He
clarified that AFPI is not negotiating with IATA on
reducing the price of the said airway bill.
“We will
not consider any proposal to reduce the price of the NAB
since [any fee] is still to be paid by the forwarders,”
Roxas said.
“If they
want to use the NAB as the airlines’ universal airway
bill, IATA should provide it for free and not force
airfreight forwarders to pay for it.”
Since
April last year, IATA has implemented the neutral airway
bill and disallowed use of individual airway bills.
The IATA
charges a P10-fee for each use of the new bill while the
previous airway bills were being given free by airlines.
AFPI, in
their pleadings filed before the CAB, argued that IATA
should stop from requiring the use of the NAB as the
airlines’ universal airway bill. Likewise, the group
said the NAB shouldn’t be peddled at the cost of freight
forwarders.
While
many forwarders say they can still shoulder the cost,
they point out that such document should not be sold
when it was previously given for free.
An
airway bill is a consignment note completed by the
exporter and issued by the airline. If the goods are
addressed to the name on the airway bill, such as the
buyer, then the goods will be handed over on proof of
identification provided freight charges have been
settled.
Only a
few countries use the neutral airway bill. In Australia,
the agents pay for the cost of the form, while in
Korea
and in Japan, the cost is shared by the agents and
airlines.
IATA, on
the other hand, implemented a management shake-up a few
months ago and softened its stand on the use of the NAB.
But the IATA continues seeking for a fee of about P6
each, claiming earnings would be used to recover
printing cost.
Thousands of the said airway bill have already been
printed even with- out the approval of the forwarders.
To date,
only flag-carrier Philippine Airlines uses the NAB,
claiming that it would benefit the shippers for a more
efficient and faster cargo movement. |
