ATC Aviation Services, part of World Freight Company (WFC), has become the first general sales and service agent to connect to WiseTech Global's CargoWise AirlineConnect, a step that WiseTech expects will accelerate direct airfreight booking inside the forwarder platform and squeeze independent booking portals.

The move matters because it extends CargoWise's reach beyond forwarders themselves into the sales agents that represent airlines. Until now, AirlineConnect let CargoWise users search, compare and book directly with connected carriers. Opening the rail to GSSAs multiplies the inventory a forwarder can reach without leaving the WiseTech environment.

WiseTech says it expects more forwarders to book airfreight directly within CargoWise as it expands its airline connections and admits GSSAs to the platform.

What does the GSSA connection change?

For ATC Aviation Services, the connection means CargoWise users can now search, compare and book services from the airlines ATC represents. That gives the GSSA direct distribution into the workflow systems of a large share of the world's forwarders — CargoWise is deeply embedded across global freight forwarding operations.

For forwarders, the appeal is consolidation: bookings, comparisons and airline documentation handled inside one system rather than through external portals or email chains with GSSAs.

Where does this leave independent booking platforms?

The commercial threat to standalone air cargo booking platforms is structural rather than speculative. WiseTech is not building a rival marketplace from scratch; it is adding booking capability to software that forwarders already use to run their businesses. Each airline connection and each GSSA that joins AirlineConnect reduces the number of transactions that flow through third-party platforms.

Independent platforms have competed on breadth of carrier coverage and the friction of legacy booking processes. WiseTech's expansion attacks both advantages at once: more airline and GSSA connections inside CargoWise, and no need to re-enter data across systems.

GSSAs themselves now face a strategic calculation. ATC's first-mover connection gives it distribution advantages among CargoWise users, which could pressure other GSSAs to follow or risk losing visibility with forwarders who increasingly book in-platform.

What comes next?

WiseTech has signalled continued expansion on two fronts: more airline connections and more GSSA participation. Each addition strengthens the case for forwarders to treat CargoWise as their primary airfreight booking channel, a shift that will test whether independent platforms can defend their position on price, coverage or specialized service.