Promising young BIFA forwarders feted at Virgin Atlantic

Who says young people aren’t interested in the forwarding business? Earlier today, the three finalists of the British International Freight Association’s (BIFA) “Young Freight Forwarder of the Year” contest were given a tour of Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s U.K. facility during Familiarization Day at the British carrier.

In the event, sponsored by Virgin Atlantic Cargo since 2011, finalists Louis Perrin, a director of Hemisphere Freight Services; Katie Brown, airfreight manager of TPS Global Logistics; and Irene Borghi, customer services supervisor at Cargonet, spent the day touring the Virgin Atlantic facility at London Gatwick Airport, viewing the carrier’s Engineering, Network Planning, Operations, HR, Finance and Training departments. The contest open to anyone working in the freight forwarding business up to the age of 32.

The VIP group also visited a cabin crew training facility, toured an aircraft cockpit and saw the cargo warehouse, where they were taken airside to see an aircraft being loaded with cargo. The day ended with a tour of the airline’s VHQ headquarters.

The BIFA award “aims to recognize and inspire future leaders of the freight forwarding industry,” said Ray Wood, Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s regional sales manager for the U.K. “This year we wanted to take a step further and invite the finalists to the home of Virgin Atlantic so they gain even more experience from their success… We plan to make this a part of our annual award sponsorship.”

BIFA said nominations are still being accepted for the 2018 BIFA Young Freight Forwarder of the Year Award until Oct. 8, 2018. The winner will be presented Jan. 17, 2019, at a ceremony in London. Check here for more details on the award event.