VRR launches collapsible main deck container
30 / 09 / 2019
The world’s first fully-certified collapsible main deck container for the B737F and B757F will be launched by VRR during the Inter Airport Europe in Munich next week.
Weighing in at approximately 280kg (617lbs), the collapsible AAY container can be erected and collapsed by two people in just two minutes, says Rotterdam-based VRR, a leading provider of ULDs.
When folded, the container is seven times smaller, and has a height of only 255mm (10”). The units can be stacked up to four high on the B737F main deck, and six high on the lower deck of a wide-body aircraft. On land, the units can be stored up to six high.
“The collapsible AAY container is the answer to the global imbalance in main deck containers,” says Geert van Riemsdijk, Managing Director of VRR. “The digitisation of container fleets is giving fleet managers much better insight into container utilisation and revealing all sorts of repositioning issues. Incorporating the collapsible AAY into a container fleet will produce significant cost savings.”
The company admits that lower-deck containers comprise the majority of the global ULD fleet, but says the larger main-deck containers, which are used by freighter and express operators, make a substantial impact on the global imbalance of trade, especially in e-commerce.
“With volumes roughly four to five times larger than their lower-deck equivalent, their storage and repositioning requirements are much more costly and challenging.” The collapsible solution also helps to decrease the environmental impact.
The AAY container will be available to order from Q4 2019.
