Australia Post, Qantas to restructure shipping joint ventures

Australia Post and airline Qantas are to restructure their joint venture businesses Australian Air Express and Star Track Express. Over the next 12 months, Star Track Express will become a solely retail-focused business marketing road and air-based shipping services.

Australian Air Express will see its retail divisions merged with Star Track Express, including express sales, customer service and marketing functions, leaving it to focus on domestic air transportation and cargo terminal operations.

The reconfiguration follows a wide-ranging review of the businesses carried out during the last year by AUX Investments. A holding company set up specifically to steer the review, AUX will now oversee the changes it recommended.

With the changes, the two companies will take advantage of their respective brand strengths while consolidating shared functions in areas like IT, finance and procurement.

Australia Post managing director and CEO Ahmed Fahour said the reconfiguration would provide clarity of focus for both businesses.

“The Australian air Express and Star Track Express businesses have always had great potential,” he said. “These changes set them on a clear path of focusing on their respective strengths and capabilities, and we believe they will allow us to unlock the true value of our investments.”

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said of the two joint ventures: “They operate in a highly competitive environment and, supported by a range of shared services, they will now be positioned to better meet customer needs and offer market leading domestic air linehaul and integrated express freight solutions.”

Star Track Express was formed out of Sydney-based Multigroup Distribution Services in 1974, which became Discount Freight Express as the company expanded nationwide in the 1980s, before being renamed Star Track Express in the year 2000 – named after its Star Track sortation and tracking technology.

The company was acquired by Australia Post and Qantas in 2003.

Australian Air Express was launched as a joint venture between Australia Post and Qantas in 1992, as a freight company with exclusive access to Qantas flights to domestic locations and more than 200 countries worldwide.

• Stephen Cleary officially took over as chief executive of Star Track Express this month (May 2011). Today, the company’s parent firms also confirmed the appointment of Kevin Turnball as Star Track Express chief financial officer.