United Airlines cargo chief Jan Krems to retire after storied career

One of his major successes was managing United (NASDAQ: UAL) through the Covid pandemic. United was one of the first airlines to use passenger aircraft as mini-freighters when air travel shut down and quickly built a global cargo-only flight network that helped generate record revenues. United operated about 17,000 flights as freighters, with light boxes often loaded on seats and in aisles when possible.

Unlike cargo executives at most passenger airlines who treat the cargo division as a steppingstone to the corporate suite, Krems was always a cargo man. His secret sauce was cultivating relations with freight forwarders who book most of the cargo with airlines and convincing them to fly with United. He generated loyalty from forwarders by building deep relationships rather than exploiting seller’s markets to charge the highest possible rate, say people who know him. In turn, they would stick with United Cargo when there was surplus capacity and rivals would offer lower rates.

United Airlines’ cargo revenue increased 22.6% to $527 million in the second quarter, compared to $294 million for Delta, as the carrier benefited from a sharp rise in air cargo rates related to disruptions from the Iran war and the strongest volumes since the Covid-fueled boom in 2020. Last year, United Cargo had sales of $1.78 billion, up 2.1% year over year.

Those figures are noteworthy considering United doesn’t operate a freighter fleet, like Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific. It mostly relies on moving cargo in the belly of its large fleet of widebody passenger aircraft, while chartering freighters on an ad hoc basis to meet demand or link the passenger network to places it doesn’t go. United also has many interline agreements with other airlines supplying dedicated space to feed regional shipments through its international hubs, such as Tokyo. Krems has made pharmaceuticals and perishable foods priority areas for growth. While many airlines jumped to carry low-value e-commerce parcels from retail platforms, Krem’s kept the company’s base capacity for freight forwarders. 

The U.S. Postal Service has been one of United’s largest customers. The USPS relies heavily on United for international transport, including a freighter service to Micronesia, although domestic volumes may have declined in the past two years as the USPS shifts more mail to lower-cost ground transport. Other customers include Amazon, FedEx and UPS.

“Jan has been a transformational leader for our cargo business and a highly respected voice across the global air cargo industry. Throughout his tenure, he strengthened United Cargo’s commercial performance, expanded our global reach, advanced innovation, and deepened our commitment to customers around the world,” said Andrew Nocella, United’s chief commercial officer, in an email blast from United Cargo. “I would like to underscore the incredible impact Jan and his team made during the Covid pandemic . . . that helped United endure during an unprecedented time in history.

“His vision, expertise, and dedication have helped position United Cargo as a leader in the industry, with revenue performance two times our nearest U.S. competitor,” he said.

Krems was responsible for all aspects of United Cargo operations, customer service, sales, revenue management, product quality and technology.

United has a built-in advantage with its hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, which is centrally located and ringed by warehouses of major forwarders that have extensive road feeder networks across the country. United also has one of the heaviest international flight schedules originating from hubs in Newark, N.J., Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Washington Dulles connecting to many European destinations. Houston is a key gateway to Latin America. 

In 2024, United Cargo opened a 165,000 square foot facility, with a large refrigerated section, about four minutes from Newark Liberty International Airport. 

KLM roots

Krems joined KLM Cargo as a trainee in 1987 after graduating from college, working in a factory and the army, where he served in Lebanon for seven months, and answering an advertisement. 

KLM has been a breeding ground for air cargo executives with a reputation as the top hybrid carrier because of its attention to cargo and cargo customers. 

He worked for 27 years at KLM Cargo, including 10 years after the merger with Air France, where he managed operations for each major worldwide region, including as head of North America in Chicago. As the vice president of customer service, during and after the merger with Air France, he was responsible for the integration of all Air France and KLM cargo offices, aligning processes, cultures, IT systems and people. He joined United Cargo in July 2014. 

“I worked for Jan during the turbulent merger of Air France and KLM Cargo in the U.S. On top of that challenge, we at Martinair were being enveloped into the AFKL Group.  At the same time, the KLM-Northwest Airlines joint venture ended and the new JV with AFKL and Delta was launched. It was a wild ride and Jan steered us all though the headwinds and tailwinds.  You couldn’t have a better person to lead the process,” said Arthur Brown, president of air cargo at International Bridge, an e-commerce freight provider. 

Busch has spent 19 years at United, helping lead commercial growth across the Americas region and strengthening the organization, Nocella said.

(Why It Matters: Krems kept his focus on the freight forwarders, which generated return business and allowed United to make more money off cargo than post passenger carriers. The revenue he generated helped make break-even flights profitable.)

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Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

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