To meet the greatly expanding air cargo import volume at LAX, Mercury Air Cargo opened up an additional terminal, a refurbished 60,000 square foot building, on March 10, 2021.  “This facility exclusively uses the new online payment and reservation handling system, which greatly reducing waiting time for customers” said Joshua Floistad, Vice President of Operations, adding, “ and the first day went “extremely well.  Traditionally the entire pick-up process would take two to three hours. Yesterday, customers were in and out in less than 20 minutes. It’s a dramatic turn-around.”

During the two years that Floistad has been with Mercury Air Cargo, he has been impressed with the team who faced many surprises, challenges, and remarkable growth,  all during the pandemic.  There were openings and closings of facilities, the refurbishment and opening of the new facility, and an increase of cargo volume of up to 520 tons per month.

“I give credit to the dedication of team and the team-work that has driven this growth, as well as Spirit Pass. The people who work with me are truly impressive. If you had asked me a year ago if we could have seen the success we saw on March 10, I would have said , impossible. But we kept one vision and worked together across all departments. Having this focus and working together is really powerful” said Floistad.

The company faced many challenges with fluctuating regulations and ever-changing airline schedules.  Now with the new system operating during such challenges, Floistad believes there isn’t anything the company can’t accomplish.

Margaretha Laseen, Director of Commercial Development for Mercury Air Cargo, is proud of their unique reservations system developed with Spirit Pass, which makes it easier for the truckers and brokers in a system that typically slows down as the  documentation increases.

”The company services many different geographical areas and types of companies, first as a supplier to the airlines but also the forwarders, brokers, and truckers around LAX. Mercury has now established its unique identity and branding with the new reservation system and is being recognized for it as a market leader in the cargo handling industry. We have succeeded in pleasing the airlines and the local forwarding and brokerage market as well as the truckers who are picking up and delivering cargo”, says Laseen, adding with praise, “ Josh Floistad as well as John Peery, and Joe Czyzyk are the visionaries in our industry. What Josh brought into our organization is change and a new way of thinking, and that is unique right now in our industry, especially during these very fluid times,  which is remarkable.”