United Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo have signed a joint venture agreement for extensive cargo cooperation on routes between the U.S. and Europe.
      The cargo joint venture partners plan to provide a wide range of benefits to customers by cooperating on the availability of their capacity and aligning booking and handling processes.

Even More Connections & Service

      The carriers’ joint venture route network will provide greater flexibility and time savings to customers with thousands of new weekly route combinations and more than 600 direct connections per week between the U.S. and Europe.
      The combined network offering creates additional benefits through access from either partner’s booking channels along with coordinated handling processes and transfers at numerous stations.

It's Gerber Baby

      “The Lufthansa-United cargo joint venture will generate numerous benefits for our customers because our continental and transatlantic networks, our hubs, and our fleet complement each other effectively,” said Peter Gerber, Lufthansa Cargo CEO.

Sexy Cargo Rising

      “We are excited about the benefits that will be generated by our teams’ cooperation and our combined capacities,” said Jan Krems, President of United Cargo, who famously described air cargo as “sexy.”
      “Cargo customers will appreciate the opportunities for quicker and easier shipping between key locations in the U.S. and Europe.”
      The contract signing initiates the implementation phase of the joint venture project, during which the carriers will align their cargo IT systems and business processes with the goal to implement Business Day 1 later this year.

United Cargo Has Stunning Results

      United Cargo stayed in a groove in March, moving 279,592 cargo revenue tons—a stunning 23.8 percent boost over the previous March. For the first quarter, the total was 748,434 tons, a 20.3 percent increase over Q1 2016.
      The good vibes continued Tuesday when the carrier reported its first quarter financial results. United Cargo earned $220 million in revenue in Q1, up 13.4 percent from the same period last year.
      “Like everyone in our industry, we were really energized by the healthy expansion in business in the second half of last year,” United Cargo President Jan Krems told FlyingTypers.
      “After a really strong holiday peak season, we were optimistic that the momentum would carry over into 2017—even with the uncertain world political climate and the looming possibility of protectionism.
      “Our Q1 volume and revenue results give us even more confidence that the long-term trend is positive and that United Cargo will capture a major portion of the growing market,” Jan added.
      “Our United colleagues, in operations and elsewhere, had a tremendously successful quarter that played a crucial role in Cargo’s success.
      “They achieved a record-setting 25 zero mainline-cancellation days and completed 97.5 percent of flights in the first quarter, and also had the best-ever consolidated on-time departure rate for both February and March.
       “This kind of reliability and teamwork inspires our cargo team to raise our customer service to an even higher level,” Jan Krems declared.
Geoffrey