British Airways’ (BA’s) freight division is to launch the world’s first trial to replace paper documents with electronic processes for transportation of air cargo.

BA World Cargo will join four other airlines for the six-month trial of e-freight between the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore. The technology offers major potential savings by replacing the large amounts of paperwork required for cargo transportation.

E-freight will reduce costs in the long term by speeding up processes and reducing administration. But it will cost more in the short term because paper and electronic processes will run in parallel, says BA World Cargo deliveries manager Ed Searancke.

‘We will work with our customers to determine which consignments will be best suited for e-freight,’ he said.

‘We may begin with cargo that requires less documentation before we increase volumes. This will limit complexity and allow us to establish the processes of e-freight and resolve problems.’

The project will replace documentation required by government agencies, such as duty and declaration papers.

Initial trials will include the transportation of cargo between two direct points only, to demonstrate the success of e-freight.

‘If the trial is not executed properly, it has the potential to cause problems and affect our quality of service,’ said Searancke.

E-freight is one of the International Air Transport Association’s (Iata’s) priorities to simplify business processes at airlines and airports. Iata wants to implement e-freight around the world by 2010, potentially saving the industry $1.2bn (£600m) per year.

Iata is providing project management for the pilots, including tackling complex legal issues.