Saudi Arabian Airlines and cargo arm Saudia Cargo are moving to the next phase of their collaboration with unit load device (ULD) outsourcing company Unilode Aviation Solutions by going digital with ULDs.
Unilode will be rolling out its state-of-the-art ULD digitalisation programme, which it said “will enable the airline to gain a competitive advantage in the market by offering value-added services to their customers”.
In 2016, Saudia awarded the management of their containers and pallets to Unilode with operations commencing in 2017, which among others has seen the opening of a repair station in Jeddah for the maintenance and repair of Saudia Cargo’s ULD fleet.
Saudi Arabian Airlines chief executive officer (CEO), Jaan Albrecht said: “Saudia is pleased to see the current successful collaboration with Unilode extended to include an advanced ULD tracking solution that will further drive planning efficiencies and associated cost savings.
“Unilode has already demonstrated its expertise and flexibility to supply the right assets to meet Saudia’s ULD needs, and the digitalisation programme will help gain more control, make certain manual tasks redundant and ultimately ensure that we keep up with the continued growth that our airline is seeing year on year.”
Saudi Airlines Cargo Company CEO, Omar Hariri said Saudia Cargo aims to serve the air freight industry with a “spirit of excellence” by continuously enhancing service levels and developing effective logistics solutions to the highest industry standards.
He added: “The full digitalisation of our ULD fleet by Unilode will enable us to achieve just that, allowing us to have better quality assurance, more insights and greater visibility throughout our network, which will develop our cargo capabilities.”
Unilode CEO, Benoît Dumont said the ULD company is “committed to providing breakthrough innovative solutions to its customers” – which can help the airline’s enhance operations and keep their business one step ahead of the competition.
“The partnership aspect of Unilode’s ULD management agreements with its customers has always been at the forefront of our business and with our digital transformation programme being rolled out to the market we will further improve our portfolio of value-added solutions offered to our customers,” he said.
“Saudia and Saudia Cargo belong to the world’s fastest growing airlines and we look forward to continuing serving them with Unilode’s flexible and customer-centric ULD management, repair and digitalisation solutions.”
