Here is the top performing cargo-in-cabin airline operation in the world that today has been engineered and delivered to United Airlines by Jan Krems and his team.

Are you concerned that due to vaccine shipments, there may be space restrictions as we approach Valentine’s Day and Easter 2021?

We truly value our customers and we will always try to find solutions that work for them. Of course, there is a strong focus on transporting the vaccines to where they need to go, but we will work closely with all our customers to meet their needs. We are committed to providing the same levels of quality and service that our customers have come to expect from United Cargo. While the number of daily flights from all airlines has been reduced, our team is here to partner with customers to find creative solutions for all their shipping needs.

Kindly include a best practices view.

We provide exceptional care and handling for flowers both on the ground and in the air, with flights available seven days a week to fit your schedule. We have refrigeration facilities in over 100 locations, and all of our cargo compartments are temperature controlled to assure freshness throughout the journey.

Should flower industry folk plan on booking earlier?

We warmly encourage customers to open the dialogue and share their plans and goals in terms of flower distribution. Especially with deadlines associated around Valentine’s Day and Easter—the sooner we have an idea of our customer’s needs, the better we can put a plan in place and that we can execute against the plan. With many years of experience delivering flowers and perishables during this time, we have a certain level of expectation, but open dialogue and advanced plan notification is always welcome.

What can regulators do to make movement easier?

This is not necessarily a regulator issue to make movement easier. Once passengers begin returning to the skies, we will have more regular flights scheduled throughout the world.


What is the action plan upcoming to handle flowers?

We have incredible products and processes in place to handle a wide variety of shipments in different seasons. We have also shipped flowers and perishables throughout the world and have plans in place to make sure we are meeting our customers’ expectations during different parts of the year. This coming winter/spring holiday season presents some unique challenges, but we are tackling these like we do every year. We may come up with creative solutions such as using a combination of flights and trucking if needed. We are prepared.

What has surprised you in the year of COVID in addition to your biz soaring to 1.7b?

It’s a humbling figure, to say the least. I am so proud of my team rising to the occasion, creating our cargo-only flight program, and being the first airline to transport vaccine shipments into the U.S. I am also grateful for our customers who we have partnered with throughout last year. We couldn’t have done this without them. I wouldn’t say that our success has surprised me—it has just demonstrated that we have a great product, fantastic teams and amazing customers.

Air Canada just converted two aircraft into freighters. Any plans in that direction?

We currently don’t have any plans to retrofit aircraft. United Cargo and United’s International Network Planning teams are continuously analyzing cargo and passenger demand trends and adjust the schedules accordingly. We will continue to evaluate our passenger and cargo-only flight schedule on an ongoing basis making regular schedule adjustments throughout 2021, with a goal of optimizing our global network and fleet and best supporting our customers.”
Geoffrey