RAUNHEIM, Germany – November 9, 2005 —US Airways (NYSE: LCC) is the first U.S. international carrier to outsource Unit Load Device (ULD) management in a sale and leaseback deal that furnishes ownership and administration of the airline’s ULD fleet to Jettainer GmbH.
As part of its corporate cost-savings initiatives, US Airways has transferred its entire fleet of air cargo and passenger flight containers and pallets to Jettainer. Jettainer will manage the airline’s entire ULD operations for a monthly fee which covers ULD supply chain management services including order management, repair and maintenance, tracking and tracing, account management and other fleet administration services.
Jettainer is expected to save US Airways nearly $2 million on ULD-related costs of ownership over the duration of the five-year contract through focused management services and dedicated technologies.
Jettainer’s proprietary ULD tracking system monitors utilization in real time and manages stock levels through system-generated exception reports. The Web-based system is designed to manage radio frequency identification-enabled ULDs that Jettainer plans to introduce to improve tracking and management.
“After an exhaustive review of all of the ULD management solutions available, we found Jettainer to offer the right mix of technology and services to support our operations,” said Randy Richards, US Airways' vice president of cargo sales and service. “This outsourcing relationship with Jettainer, along with having ULD tracking technology in place for enhanced visibility and operational control, positions us for further efficiency and cost savings in our cargo operations.”
Jettainer, a joint venture of the world's largest international airfreight carrier Lufthansa Cargo AG (LCAG) and mobile asset management specialist TrenStar Inc., has created the first outsourced solution for the airline industry that efficiently manages and tracks ULDs and their contents as they travel around the world, and the first to support the formation and management of a global ULD pool.
Jettainer said this deal helps to solidify its customer base and that the company intends to start a neutral industry pool of ULDs designed to enable shared operational efficiencies and cost savings through greatly reduced capital requirements and lower, more predictable fixed operating expenses.
“Every year our management initiatives, ULD product improvements and innovations in tracking technology and pooling will be directed toward improving service levels and driving down costs so that we can enable savings to be realized by our customers,” said Jettainer managing director Dr. Mohammed Ali Seiraffi. “This is a tremendous win for us because, in a first for our industry, we will be showcasing a network that balances the flow and inventory of ULDs for a major international carrier.”
About Jettainer
Jettainer is the leading international service provider for outsourced ULD management. Established as a joint venture in 2003, the company operates the largest ULD fleet in the world from 400 stations worldwide. Jettainer offers airline clients including Lufthansa Cargo and US Airways higher availability of ULDs, economies of scale gained from combining fleets, increased savings on purchasing, better repair contracts, decentralized maintenance for faster repairs, continuous engineering of ULDs and a standardized fleet. The primary shareholders of Jettainer are mobile asset management company TrenStar Inc. headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and Lufthansa Cargo, one of the world’s largest international airfreight carriers, based in Frankfurt, Germany. Jettainer is headquartered in Raunheim, Germany. On the Net: www.jettainer.com
About US Airways
US Airways and America West have joined together to create the fifth largest U.S. airline employing nearly 38,000 aviation professionals. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and the US Airways Express operate approximately 4,000 flights per day and serve more than 225 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. This press release and additional information on US Airways can be found at www.usairways.com or www.americawest.com. (LCCG)
Further Information: Jettainer, Dr. Mohammed Ali Seiraffi, Am Prime Parc 13, D-65479 Raunheim, Germany, Phone: +49 6142 1770 320, Fax: +49 6142 1770 420, E-mail
PR Contact: Leanne Smullen, Phone: +1 (303) 220-1133, E-mail
PR Agency: Team Andreas Dripke GmbH, Phone: +49 611 / 973150, E-mail
US Airways PR Contact: Amy Kudwa, Manager of Media Relations, US Airways, Phone: +1 (480)-693-5729, E-mail
|
