Welcome to Unitpool

Dear Visitor,

It is a pleasure to welcome you to our website.

As you know, Unitpool is the only independent ULD pooling company in the world.  We supply and manage our own fleet of 22'000 units, IATA Code R7.  We track, trace, balance, maintain and repair our equipment across the global networks of our 22 airline customers.   The overlaps among these networks create the synergies that allow us to reduce the excessive buffer stocks that an airline managing its own fleet would have to maintain in order to secure its operation.  These synergies and our management expertise are the backbone of POOLING. 

Outsourcing ULD management to Unitpool eliminates capital expenditure and the risks of ULD ownership, saves on operating costs, and improves management and utilization of the ULD fleet. In the current economic environment, where being able to reshape and resize fleets and networks according to demand is vital, the Unitpool model offers the perfect mix of variable costs and flexibility, combined with the reliability that comes from our professional airline roots.

Look back on 2008

2008 was Unitpool's first full year under the new ownership of Aviation Services Holding.  Much focus was given to improving

• our organizational structure and increasing supervision at key stations
• our IT system - we signed an agreement with Ultra Electronics for a revamp of our ULD management system Tracker (see the press release in our media section)
• our ULD fleet - we embarked on a program aimed at converting our aluminium AKE containers  to light ULDs - we started a pilot with light weight units from two suppliers, and will be adding to this in the weeks to come

Commercially, we extended our contract with Etihad Airways for an additional three years, and signed-on leisure travel leader TUI Group carriers Thomsonfly, Jetairfly and TUIFly Nordic, to sister companies First Choice and Arkefly.

Outlook for 2009

Unitpool is entering 2009 with much optimism.  The airlines will be facing great challenges to manoeuvre around the turmoil and economic pressures that they will no doubt face.   Outsourcing ULD supply and management to Unitpool, will not only allow substantial book gains (through the sale of the ULD fleet), but will turn what is no doubt a high fixed cost into a variable one.  Our model allows full monthly stock scalability, mirroring the fluctuations in the operation - making ULD costs variable will no doubt prove to be an advantage for any airline that is ready for change.

Here are some important areas that we will continue to focus on through 2009:

Lightweight ULD - AKE Fleet Conversion

Despite the recent truce on fuel cost increases, which according to experts is likely to be a relatively short term truce, Lightweight ULDs remain on everyone's mind.  Following discussions with customers and various airlines in the industry during the course of last year, it became apparent that the Lightweight ULD was becoming more a necessity than a choice, not only to save on fuel cost but also as a mean to reduce the airline's carbon footprint.

Consequently, in September of 2008, the Unitpool Board of Directors approved a project to up-grade its current aluminium LD3 fleet to light weights.  The project includes the following initiatives:

• we started a pilot with two manufacturers in September of last year - these LD3 units are coded ZKE to differentiate them  from the rest of the LD3 units (aka AKE) - we are working to introduce additional ZKE from a third supplier, proceeding with our evaluation of the various products
• we aim to set an RFP by mid-year to complete the process and select a supplier for all future new AKE purchases
• we will embark on a program to retrofit some 4'000 of our existing aluminium LD3, providing a weight reduction of at least 11kg per unit

In addition, we are evaluating alternatives to start a pilot with lightweight nets, meeting not only the requirements of our cargo carriers, but also that of our passenger airlines which maximize belly capacity with additional cargo payload.

Tracker Upgrade

As previously announced, Unitpool has signed a 7-year deal with Ultra Electronics Airport Systems.  Under the terms of the contract Ultra will develop a brand new purpose built ULD Pooling Management system with features and functionality to an agreed specification.  The product will be exclusive to Unitpool and will use the most modern technology ensuring that the system can be expanded and extended as required by fast moving developments in tracking technology.

Roll out of the new system is anticipated to begin in the third quarter of 2009.

Growth

With it’s new ownership and operational structure in place, plans to improve its product with the introduction of lightweights into the fleet, and its new top-of the line system in full development, Unitpool is poised to meet ambitious growth objectives in 2009.

Events

This year you can meet us in person at various functions  that will run throughout the year, including:

• World Cargo Event (WACE) in Bangkok, 18-20 Feb, where our Chairman, Dr. Ludwig Bertsch will be a speaker
• IATA World Cargo Symposium, in Bangkok, 02-05 March – this event will be held at the CentralWorld, which coincidentally is where our Operations Center is located – we’d be very happy to give you the grand tour!
• IGHC Ground Operations Symposium, 17-20 May, in Cairo

We will also have a booth during the Air Cargo Europe, in Munich, 12-15 May, as well as the Air Freight Asia, in Hong Kong, 8-10 September.  We will tell you more about these events in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, you can always get in touch with us at .

Again, welcome to our website.  We hope that you enjoy your visit, and we look forward to seeing you in the very near future.

With best regards,

David Harman
CEO

PS:  feedback on the content of  our website is always very welcome.  We will be adding several features over the coming months for customers and suppliers in password protected zones.