Jettainer to provide further savings through largest global pooling operation proposed for the airline industry
Raunheim, Germany — June 16, 2004 — Jettainer GmbH, a joint venture of Germany's Lufthansa Cargo AG (LCAG), a logistics company within the Lufthansa group, and U.S. mobile asset management company TrenStar Inc., is set to offer major airlines annual cost reductions on unit load device (ULD) management and further savings through participation in what will be the largest global pool for these air cargo containers, according to the providers.
Jettainer managing director Dr. Mohammed Ali Seiraffi said LCAG failed to find a suitable ULD management solution on the market, so it pursued a joint venture with TrenStar, a provider of asset tracking technology.
"Jettainer will serve the global air cargo market and form the basis for an industry-wide ULD pool, which, given the airline industry's long history of adopting a consortium approach to providing shared infrastructure and services, bodes well for a neutral, third-party pool."
"Jettainer leverages TrenStar's asset management expertise and tracking technology and Lufthansa's industry operational knowledge and relationships to provide all services to deliver or make ULDs available to individual clients or pool participants," said Seiraffi. "Jettainer offers services that feature the latest equipment and the most advantageous technology to deliver the right ULD type in the right number at the right time in the right condition to the right location."
Jettainer will operate from more than 250 stations worldwide where ULD management services will include detailed process setups with freight forwarders, ground handlers and other parties. Jettainer offers an integrated track and trace system to provide airlines with near real-time visibility of ULD inventory levels at all stations, said Jettainer sales manager and TrenStar senior vice president of new markets Chris Sapyta. Jettainer's ULD pooling operation will benefit all pool members through improved efficiencies, reduced capital requirements and lower, fixed operating expenses, he said.
"Over the past two years the airline industry has made an extraordinary effort to cut costs in every portion of business operations. Now the airlines have a chance to further reduce expenses," Seiraffi said. "The concept of outsourced ULD asset ownership, management and pooling opens up another avenue leading to long-term savings."
TrenStar chairman and Jettainer board member Hennie Van der Merwe, said, "Airlines will always compete for passenger miles and cargo contracts, however by selling off non-core assets to a neutral third-party management company the airlines can come together to achieve the common goal of reducing costs and creating operating efficiencies."
Van der Merwe cited a similar success in the beer keg industry in the United Kingdom, where TrenStar now owns and manages more than 60 percent of beer kegs and is in the beginning stages of pooling those assets.
LCAG is the world's largest international airfreight carrier and Jettainer's first client. Jettainer's long-term contract with LCAG transfers ownership and management of LCAG's approximately 26,000 ULDs to Jettainer. Jettainer will add its special units to LCAG's fleet.
