27APR04 saw the creation of a Joint Venture between Lufthansa Cargo and TrenStar Inc. Operations began near Frankfurt Airport, with a ULD fleet of roughly 27,000 units. Two years later, Jettainer became a fully owned Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary. Today, Jettainer’s ULD fleet has grown to a six-digit figure, and it manages containers for “some of the largest and most reputable airlines” out of over 500 international locations, and operating at 15 major hubs in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The latter saw the founding of Jettainer Americas Inc. in 2014 – a subsidiary serving customers in North, Central and South America, with teams in Dallas, Chicago, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. In 2017, an expert team and a Temperature Control Competence Center were inaugurated in Abu Dhabi for the global management of temperature-controlled containers. Last year, the company restructured, placing dedicated General Managers in key locations across the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Europe and Asia, responsible for ensuring operational efficiency and customer relationship management. Innovations include in-house IT solutions, JettWare and JettApp – “the industry’s first ULD management app,” – which streamline ULD management for Jettainer and its customers. Sustainability, too, plays a large role: Jettainer designs ever-lighter ULDs (and pallet nets and Squair timber alternatives), significantly reducing their tare weight. The first lightweight container was launched in 2009. In 2019, ‘skypooling’ was launched – a ULD sharing platform to solve the problem of over- and understock.
Thomas Sonntag, CEO of Jettainer, said: “Over the past two decades, Jettainer has transformed from a modest operator into a leader in the industry, we extend our gratitude to our customers, partners, and employees for their unwavering support and dedication. This milestone underscores the exceptional quality of our services and the innovative strength of our team. […] We selectively focus on digitalization that has a tangible impact, ensuring that they deliver real value to our customers. [Innovations such as] tracking sensors that indicate that Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) might only be a bridging technology. APIs are one solution to smartly work with data to enhance service value and operational efficiency. We already have several interfaces in operation with our customers and partners. Adopting the IATA ONE Record standard for all areas of ULD management is a pivotal next step that Jettainer is preparing to undertake. We remain committed to further shaping the future of air transport logistics with our forward-thinking solutions.”
