- GSSAs are evolving from intermediaries to strategic partners, helping freight forwarders access commercial incentives, operational efficiencies and smaller airports closer to final destinations, while adapting to complex airline networks.
- Regional airports are gaining prominence post-pandemic, offering digital infrastructure, faster service, and competitive alternatives to traditional hubs, enabling freight forwarders and airlines to optimize routes and reduce bottlenecks.
- Growth in supply chain expertise, near-haul trends, and sustainability initiatives – including the promotion of sustainable aviation fuels and efficient routes – have become key components of GSSA’s value proposition.
Airlines are tightening their networks, regional airports are gaining ground, and freight forwarders are looking for fewer but more capable partners. Meanwhile, staff shortages and digital disruption pose long-term questions for the air cargo industry. In that environment, once viewed as an intermediary role, General Sales and Service Agents (GSSAs) are increasingly being asked to deliver strategic value – balancing commercial strength, operational expertise and supporting sustainability.
Airline consolidation is often viewed as a threat to competition, but the picture is more nuanced. “On the surface, mergers appear to reduce competition,” said Matthew Taylor, business development director at 4RCargo. “However, when combined with the right GSSA, these mergers allow airlines to deliver significant benefits to freight forwarders.”
By working with GSSA, freight forwarders can access commercial incentives as well as bundled operational management plans across the airline portfolio. “This provides customers with an easy-to-manage value-added service offering that allows them to shorten their supplier list, while maintaining pricing and service quality,” he added.
But the benefits are not automatic. Taylor stressed that global aviation agencies must quickly adapt to increasingly complex airline models. “GSSA must provide solutions to airlines that include the multi-faceted services they provide,” he noted. For example, freight forwarders can benefit from using smaller airports that are closer to final destinations, thanks to the expansion of certain airlines’ networks. “This creates a cost and time benefit for the shipping company, while at the same time benefiting the airlines,” he added.
Reshape the map
The role of airports in freight flows has also changed since the outbreak of the pandemic, with regional hubs becoming more competitive.
“While the traditional mantra directed freight forwarders to consolidate across major gateways such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Heathrow, this is rapidly changing,” Taylor noted. “Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, regional airports have been freed from the grip of major hubs.”
These airports now often offer more digital infrastructure, higher operational success rates, and faster service delivery. This has allowed freight forwarders to look beyond traditional gateways and use smaller airports that can compete on a large scale.
The same pattern is visible at destination points. “The United States is a good example,” Taylor said. “For freight forwarders, it can be beneficial to avoid bottlenecks in Chicago or Los Angeles by taking advantage of untapped belly capacity in Pittsburgh or Portland. This expands the use of these small airports and creates new opportunities for freight forwarders and airlines alike.”
Growth, experience and sustainability
While some in the industry believe GSSA partners face a trade-off between expanding their geographic footprint and deepening vertical expertise, Taylor disagrees: “Within the European market, those two goals complement each other, so we don’t see this as a trade-off.”
He pointed to shifts in supply chains, especially in the automobile industry. “The traditional German car industry is increasingly investing in near-backstop options within Central and Eastern Europe,” Taylor explained. “This is upending long-standing supply chains, and GSSA must be able to anticipate and adapt to these trends as quickly as possible.”
Sustainability has also become central. Nearly 25 percent of tonnage worldwide is now managed through global trade agreements, a number that is expected to rise. “Airlines cannot ignore the significant impact that GSSAs have on customers,” Taylor said. He added that sustainability at 4RCargo is an integral part of operations. “We are collaborating with airlines to investigate the promotion of SAF as a standard in fare quotes, as well as screening all shipments 24 to 48 hours before departure to ensure routes are as efficient as possible.”
About the Author
