It had seemed as if the Asian market was impervious to the time-definite hype. With the exception of Singapore Airlines' premium Swiftrider product, no Asian carrier has offered such services until this spring. The picture changed April 1, when Japan Airlines launched a new product portfolio. Besides a regular service and a product for cargo requiring special handling, the airline now offers two premium products. JAL pledges to have such shipments ready for pickup or customs clearance within 90 minutes of touchdown.
Customers get automatic status updates by e-mail at every stage of the movement.
Such shipments will be ready for pickup or clearance at the other end within three hours after arrival. To date, the momentum on the time-definite front has been fully with European and American carriers. Lufthansa Cargo was the first to unveil what it calls its .td lineup two years ago, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Alitalia followed last summer. United Airlines launched a premium time-definite line last year and Northwest Airlines aligned its product menu with KLM's by the end of 1999. But Northwest's foray into the segment started out only on the trans-Atlantic sector.