Will ULDs ever earn the respect they deserve?
We are all too familiar with the way ULDs are treated, or should we say mistreated, and we all have pictures, like this one, of yet another victim of a “mishandling moment”. Around USD 500 million is spent annually on repair of ULDs and the aircraft that carry them, and this is before we consider indirect costs such as flight delays. It is sad to say, but the main focus seems to be on finding someone else to pay for the damage, rather than preventing it in the first place. ULD owners chase ever cheaper repair charges and lower spare parts costs, and operating parties, such as cargo terminals, claim it was never their fault in the first place. With such an approach to the problem, what chance is there of any real change?
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