Allied Aviation avoids localised rate wars by redirecting cargo to more lucrative Indian gateway stations, executive director Kritika Seth told delegates at the Aviation Connect event in Athens this week.

Speaking during a panel session, Seth said the company evaluates its relationship with forwarders in a market where prices collapse — weighing whether long-term commitments justify staying — and, if rates fall below acceptable levels, pulls volume from its broader Indian network rather than carry lower-margin freight.

"India is a very fragmented market in terms of commodity, so feeding cargo from other gateway stations really adds value to the overall revenue and productivity," Seth said.

How does Allied Aviation decide to walk away from a lane?

The decision rests on whether a rate war offers any wider commercial benefit, Seth explained. When one does not, Allied shifts capacity to alternative stations where yield is higher.

"So if there is a rate war happening in one gateway, I will look at another station to feed in cargo and optimise the revenue and balance out the entire flight revenue," she said.

Seth added that the company maintains strict price discipline and will not reprice a lane to win a single shipment.

What does a 'premium product' mean for a GSSA?

For carriers Allied wants to position as premium, the answer is no participation in rate wars at all, according to Seth.

"It is all about what kind of product I am trying to create for the airline I am working with," she said. "So if this is an airline that I am trying to position as a premium product, we then do not enter any rate wars."

Allied pairs that positioning with deep local commodity knowledge and an effort to understand what the airline customer actually needs from the business it carries.

How is Wexco using data to maximise GSSA profitability?

In a separate session, Wexco Cargo GSSA managing director Des Vertannes said the company interrogates data across products and verticals to identify the most profitable combinations.

"You have to look across the spectrum to see where you can see those opportunities and then maximise those opportunities, and that is where the data comes in," Vertannes said.

Wexco feeds the resulting analysis back to its airline principals and adjusts commercial terms accordingly, he added.

"There is a lot of research that goes into that and then we feedback to the airlines and realign."

What outcomes should GSSAs be selling?

Vertannes used a presentation to argue that GSSAs should sell outcomes rather than capacity, a shift that requires:

• Detailed knowledge of commodities, lanes, seasonality and risk
• Anticipating customer needs before they become urgent
• Offering routing and service-level advice
• Aligning the sales promise with operational delivery

"Responding quickly to requests for quotes is part of that approach," Vertannes said.

What is the broader implication for airline customers?

The Athens remarks frame a shift in how GSSAs protect airline revenue, suggesting that carriers relying on local agents without a wider network or data capability face the full force of any localised rate war, while those using diversified principals gain a buffer against single-market price erosion. Whether the premium-product strategy can be sustained as Indian gateway capacity expands and more entrants chase volume will determine whether these approaches become a standard playbook or remain the preserve of the largest GSSA groups.