Cathay Pacific Airways and CHEP Aerospace Solutions, an independent provider of outsourced unit load device (ULD) and galley cart services, have signed a five-year renewable agreement for the supply and management of ULDs and pallet accessories.

CHEP will acquire Cathay Pacific’s fleet of 25,000 ULDs, convert the majority of their containers to modern composite units weighing 58 kg, and supply a fleet of lightweight containers. This fast transition to a lightweight container fleet will enhance operation efficiency over the first five years of their partnership, contributing to the sustainable development commitments of both companies. CHEP will supply Cathay Pacific with a dedicated fleet of lightweight containers, and fulfil global cargo pallet requirements through CHEP’s pooling system, providing significant synergy benefits to Cathay Pacific through the cross-utilisation of pallet assets with existing CHEP customers including AirBridgeCargo, Air Canada and Cargolux.

Cathay Pacific director cargo, James Woodrow, said: “Our teams have gone through a thorough review of the different possible ways to optimise the management of our ULD fleet. CHEP have demonstrated their capability to meet our operational requirements. They have offered a tailor-made solution enabling Cathay Pacific to achieve substantial benefits. We also expect efficiency gains in our operations, as well as quickly modernising our fleet of ULDs. We are confident that our long-term partnership with CHEP will be a success and our teams look forward to working together.”

CHEP Aerospace Solutions president, Ludwig Bertsch, said: “We are delighted to be entering into this long-term partnership with Cathay Pacific. With a dedicated team based in Hong Kong, CHEP’s Global Operations Centre in Bangkok, and our global repair network of 50 stations, we look forward to our successful cooperation for many years to come.”