WestJet Cargo and Jettainer have agreed on a long-term extension to a partnership dating back to 2015.

Canada's second-largest airline and the international leader in outsourced ULD management signed the contract at the air cargo Europe in Munich.

 Source: WestJet

"Over the coming years, Jettainer will continue to manage and maintain WestJet’s entire ULD fleet, providing additional main deck containers as the airline now launches its first freighter services," the announcement said.

WestJet currently operates a Boeing fleet of more than one hundred 737-700, 737-800, 737 MAX 8 and 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

2023 will see a significant expansion to its cargo operations with the inclusion for the first time of four 737-800BCFs in its fleet as three Boeing Converted Freighters have already entered service and the fourth one will join in due course.  

The expanded fleet is expected to benefit its customers not only from additional capacity but also from connections between Canada and the Caribbean, Europe, Japan and the United States.

Focus on e-commerce, perishables

As it builds its cargo airline subsidiary from scratch, WestJet noted that its newly hired team will focus on tapping into the ever-growing e-commerce business along with other valuable commodities that the region offers, such as perishables.

On April 22, 2023, the first freighter flight in WestJet's airline history took off, kicking off a rapidly expanding network of pure cargo services and complementing its belly freight operations.

Meanwhile, Jettainer provides a highly efficient and reliable ULD (Unit Load Device) management service to WestJet, with a fleet of more than 1,000 containers and pallets for baggage and freight.

The container fleet has consisted predominantly of lightweight AKE units and has now been expanded to include freighter-specific main deck containers. Additional equipment needed at short notice has flexibly been supplied via the lease&fly service. 

"Since years, Jettainer has been a trusted provider of ULD management services for WestJet and has continued to improve and innovate its services. Even during Covid and post-pandemic, and despite high fluctuations in our ULD requirements, we could always count on Jettainer for the availability of the ULDs needed," said Kirsten De Bruijn, executive vice president of Cargo WestJet, in Munich.

De Bruijn noted that outsourcing ULD management allows the carrier to fully focus on cargo sales, "knowing that we have a competent partner taking care of our growing container and pallet needs."

"As we now launch and scale up our cargo division, Jettainer's niche expertise will play a key role in our development. We look forward to many more years of successful partnership," the WestJet executive added.

Kothari Shailendar, managing director of Jettainer Americas Inc., also welcomed its renewed contract with Jettainer.

"Our long-standing partnership with WestJet is a prime example of how we focus on our customers' individual needs. Our dedicated teams, openness to innovation, and the highest level of transparency help companies be successful in the long term," he said.

"We are very much looking forward to accompanying WestJet in realizing its ambitious development plans," Shailendar added during the announcement of the contract extension at air cargo Europe.