Air Land Transport's John Snead.

• Author: Denny, Catherine
• Position: Company profile

Air Land Transport's John Snead

COMBATING OBSTACLES from Mount Redoubt's ash to regulatory anarchy, Air Land Transport's president, John Snead, has successfully propelled his company through snags of nature, economy and industry change to become a formidable competitor in Alaska's over-the-road freight industry.

Snead founded Air Land in 1976 with brother Jim Snead, the firm's secretary/treasurer, and Bruce Reed, who left the company a few years later. Specializing in less than truckload (LTL) transportation, local cartage and air-freight forwarding, the company has steadily grown to 62 employees and 34 freight vehicles at its Anchorage main office and Fairbanks, Soldotna and Kodiak branch offices.

Air Land topped its 1988 growth of nearly 4 percent with a 5.8 percent increase in gross sales revenues last year. That expansion included the addition of a facility in Fairbanks. To help to oversee the growing business, Snead added Gene Juvette, vice president of operations, in December. Although supervisors manage branch offices, John Snead retains a firm reign on his flourishing realm by making quarterly rounds of the offices.

Air Land's largest volume sector is air-freight pickup and delivery, a role it performs for Superior Fast Freight and Yellow Freight Systems Inc. Air Land works as a cartage agent for the larger, national companies, providing delivery service within the state. It performs a similar function for Burlington Air Express.

Don Coates, Yellow Freight's Anchorage/Fairbanks branch manager, represented the transportation firm in its search for an Anchorage-based cartage agent. He says, "I chose Air Land because it had stability. I saw it as an existing professional operation that we could trust our business to, and I was right."

With the sealing of that alliance in October 1987, Yellow Freight entered the Alaskan market. "We're very pleased with the relationship and know we chose the right company," adds Coates.

One contract that has not fared so well is the company's formerly profitable account with Flying Tiger Line. With the Federal Express buy-out of the carrier last year, Air Land's contract changed drastically. The Anchorage agent now handles only packages of 150 pounds or more.

Despite that setback, Air Land continues to grow, and other local cartage accounts compensate for the revised Federal Express contract. Snead sends a "bunny truck" - one that makes multiple stops - around Anchorage daily picking up and delivering freight. Among other accounts, the forwarder regularly delivers flowers to Carrs Quality Centers and Safeway stores.

Gear Shifting. Snead entered the freight industry close to a quarter-century ago as a truck driver for Pacific Air Freight in Portland, Oreg. After moving to the company's sales department, he was transferred to Alaska in 1969 as sales manager of the Anchorage office. Six months later Snead was promoted to office general manager.

He remained with Pacific Air when it was bought out by the Airborne Freight...