Jettainer has signed a five-year deal with United Airlines to provide unit load device (ULD) management services including worldwide tracking and tracing, inventory fulfillment, repairs and performance monitoring. The German company plans to open a new office at United’s operations centre in the US.
Jettainer was established as a joint venture in 2003 and its major shareholders include TrenStar and Lufthansa Cargo and undertakes ULD management for network carriers including Lufthansa, Swiss, US Airways and Etihad.
While outsourcing has been a key airline strategy for some time in areas like ground handling, IT management, catering and aircraft maintenance, the outsourcing of ULD management hasbeen slow to catch on.
"In recent years ULD management has emerged as a new candidate for outsourcing, but many carriers, especially established medium-to-large airlines, have adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude, leaving the first step to others," according to Jettainer director-business development Peter Ahnert.
"ULD management is a non-core activity for airlines, which makes it a prime candidate for outsourcing," headded.