The German logistics industry lost two of its leading figures, forever: Dieter Haltmayer from Quick Cargo Service, and Günther Gasthuber from IGLU Air Cargo. Haltmayer, in particular, but also Gasthuber, shaped the industry for years and left a lasting mark through their work. Through numerous meetings, interviews, and regular exchanges of information, CargoForwarder Global greatly benefited from the professional and, in the case of Dieter Haltmayer, friendly relationship with the two managers. They will be sorely missed in the logistics industry, especially in the air freight sector.
We would like to bid them farewell with the following tribute to the work of the founder of Quick Cargo Service, Dieter Haltmayer (91), by close friends and pioneers, followed by a separate obituary for Günther Gasthuber (66).
Dieter and Günther, Rest in Peace. Heiner
Obituary for Dieter Haltmayer
Ram Menen, former head of Emirates Sky Cargo:
Dieter passed away on Friday the 2nd January. I was so looking forward to his 100th and I was sure that he would definitely make it. So, Dieter’s passing came as a shock.
He was an amazing human being and a very good friend. What always impressed me most was not the company he built, but the way he treated people. Even at 91, Dieter remembered names, stories and small details, and he had an instinct for when someone needed encouragement or a firm word. He was still active and went to the office to be with his team. He lived his values openly: loyalty to his team, deep love for his family, and a quiet pride in seeing the next generation take over what he had started.
The last I communicated with him was a couple of months back just after his 91st birthday, when his house also got burgled. I was really taken aback when I got a call from Heidi last Sunday (04JAN25). Apparently, his end came with fluids building up in his body and lungs (following a pneumonia). All his family were with him during the last moments. He was blessed to have such a loving family. God bless him and may his soul rest in peace. We have all lost a good friend and the industry has lost a legend.
J. Florian Pfaff, Aviation Consulting, former Lufthansa Cargo Vice President
When my friend, Stephan Haltmayer, called me on Sunday evening [04JAN26], I already had a premonition. And indeed: just two weeks after my last phone call with Dieter Haltmayer, I learned from his son of the death of a friend, business partner, and role model in many ways.
My relationship with Dieter Haltmayer – and thus with his family and his life’s work, Quick Cargo Service – began in the 1990s. Dieter Haltmayer was always a loyal but also critically constructive customer of Lufthansa Cargo, for whom I had the privilege of working for more than 36 years. Over the years, I had the honor of presenting him with several awards in the field of digitalization and innovation – a clear sign of how early and visionary he was as a medium-sized freight forwarder, in anticipating developments in air freight.
To truly understand his entire life’s work, I recommend his book: Mein Leben für die Fracht [Cargo is my Life]. It reads like a journey through the history of air freight and should be required reading for every aspiring airliner and freight forwarder. Before Dieter founded his own company, he worked for several years as an airline colleague.
Quick Cargo Service, or QCS in short, grew over the years from a small start-up to a successful group of companies with stations in many European countries. In addition to this impressive entrepreneurial achievement, Dieter knew how to bind his family closely to the company. With Stephan, Jennifer, and Heidi, the second generation is now in management, and the third generation has already taken on responsibility.
One of Dieter’s greatest talents was not only founding and expanding a successful company, but also developing it within the family, thereby strengthening family ties. In this respect, too, my friend Dieter was a role model.
His tireless optimism and infectious good humor were particularly outstanding; he was a cheerful Rhinelander from head to toe.
Our families are connected by a friendship that would not have existed without him. We look back on many cheerful hours spent together.
Dieter will be remembered as an icon of the air freight industry. He was a loyal customer to Lufthansa Cargo. He has shaped the air freight business for years. But above all: He was a personal friend who will be sorely missed.
Thank you, Dieter, for the time you spent with us.
Desmond Vertannes, previous head of IATA Cargo
The industry has lost a true leader and personality. An airline man who transitioned to become a legend in forwarding and logistics. Dieter was enthusiastic and passionate but occasionally stubborn when he felt there was injustice. Dieter became a very special friend, and he knew who he could and would collaborate with and trust.
He was innovative, his personality oozed charm, wit, integrity and sincerity. His baby, QCS, has become a global force (enhanced by the pivotal roles played by Stephan, Heidi and Jennifer). Which Dad can proudly boast that all his children are active in his company?
Yet, in the company’s infancy he felt it wasn’t getting the same opportunities befitting multinationals. So, he created IGLU, an alliance of independent forwarders to compete, and it’s to him and Stephan I turned to when I wanted AMI to open an office in Europe in 2003.
His legacy will never fade, and many, many will share in the sorrow of his passing.
My deepest condolences and thoughts are with Stephan, Heidi and Jennifer and families and staff, and I wish them strength, peace and courage at this very sad time. ‘RIP Dieter, enjoy your flight once again with Maureen.’
Thorsten Hölser, Managing Director, Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association of Hesse/Rhineland-Palatinate
The air freight forwarding company Quick Cargo Service, founded by Dieter Haltmayer, would be a prime example of a typical medium-sized family-run business, according to the first things I heard about Dieter when I entered the freight forwarding industry.
However, as I have experienced over the past 30 years, there is little that is typical about Quick Cargo Service and Dieter Haltmayer in particular. When others complained about the situation in the air freight industry, Dieter really got going and expanded with new ideas and his willpower to make things happen. For example, As a visionary, he took up the idea of cooperation from road freight transport to air freight in close cooperation with our freight forwarding and logistics association and founded and developed the consolidator IGLU Air Cargo with other likeminded air freight forwarders.
When hot topics were on the table and many top managers in the industry were afraid to speak up, Dieter was the voice of the freight forwarding industry. He never minced his words, which distinguished him as an authentic entrepreneurial personality throughout his life.
Despite his entrepreneurial personality, however, his family was always at the center of his life, and personal encounters with friends were just as valuable to him. With Dieter’s passing, the freight forwarding and logistics industry has lost not only a figurehead in air freight, but also a special person whose vision, sincerity, and warmth we will miss. We will honor Dieter’s memory forever!
Addendum:
Dieter will be buried on Tuesday (13JAN26), in the family grave in Walldorf near Frankfurt, where his wife Maureen is already laid to rest. According to their son, Stephan, the funeral will be attended by family members and a few very close friends of the family.
His death will have no impact on the QCS property structure. The company will remain in the ownership of the three Haltmayer children: Stephan, Heidi, and Jennifer. And the first members of the upcoming third generation are already involved in management tasks. HS
A truly great man has left us. RIP Dieter Haltmayer. My condolences to his family and the QCS team.
Ulrich Gesolowitz
Formerly Managing Partner IPSEN AIR LOGISTICS GMBH
Dieter was a great inspiration to anybody who knew him. A good friend and a hero of the air cargo industry.