Peter Ahnert, director of business development for unit loading device (ULD) specialist Jettainer, says airlines are yet to realise the benefits of a truly professional ULD outsourcing scheme.
Last time arabiansupplychain.com was in touch with Jettainer, you were conducting a composite ULD scheme with Lufthansa Cargo – how is that trial going?
It’s been going for quite a while now, and we should be able to get the first results by autumn. Obviously, running the test for just a year won’t provide us with sufficient information about the long-term properties of these composite materials and we need to be wary of durability when it comes to ultraviolet radiation, temperature changes, humidity, de-icing fluids and so on.
Since this is a major investment, we want to be sure that we are purchasing something that will hold up over the expected life-time. As a result, we are still engaged in having these materials tested in a neutral institute.
What else is Jettainer focusing on?
ULD management is the only sector we cover. Typically it’s been an in-house function for many airlines, but about 10 years ago, the initial thoughts were there among several airlines as to whether they could outsource this. They know it’s a non-core activity and at the end of the day, the shipper won’t necessarily care who owns the container or pallet on which the cargo is transferred, as long as supply is efficient, reliable and comes at an attractive price.
The services we provide cover the entire range of ULD management. Firstly, we undertake the sale and leaseback of the asset at the start of a contract; for example we purchased the fleet of US Airways four years ago. The asset then becomes ours and we supply it back into the carrier’s operations through the monthly ULD management feed.
The second pillar is keeping that asset productive, which means sending ULDs to our partners when they need repairing, for example.
Thirdly, we offer IT expertise; in order to track and trace ULDs, you need powerful software to track the individual inventories and at the same time offer a view of the entire network to immediately identify where there may be opportunities to cross-utilise.
Then, finally, we look after the actual daily activities of monitoring station inventories, talking to airports, initiating loading of empty equipment onto flights, talking to ground handlers, repair stations. In short, an airline that opts to work with us doesn’t need to retain any in-house services, except of course one person that we can interact with.
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