Lufthansa Cargo cuts summer services

Lufthansa Cargo is reducing its services “across the entire flight programme” in response to weaker demand in the global air cargo market. The cuts will affect the second and third quarters to “allow the company to ensure profitable load factors and continued deployment of its aircraft at optimum levels going forward as well”.

The company says regional Lufthansa Cargo offices will inform their customers of the changes in good time.

Peter Gerber, ceo and chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo AG, said: “We have traditionally taken a flexible approach to the flight programme for our freighter fleet to suit customer requirements. This has allowed us to respond quickly to normalising demand in the market so that our operations remain cost-effective.

“We will continue to closely observe market developments and to flexibly adapt our supply in line with demand,” he added.

Lufthansa Cargo offers its customers an extensive and high-frequency network consisting of belly capacity and freighter connections. It says this mid-year adjustment to the flights offered is also in keeping with the planned rollover from the MD-11F freighter to the Boeing 777F jet.

Two new Boeing 777F aircraft were integrated into the Lufthansa Cargo fleet in spring. The changes to the schedule will pave the way for the withdrawal from service of two MD-11F freighters by the end of the year.

Lufthansa Cargo serves around 300 destinations in more than 100 countries with its own fleet of freighters, the belly capacities of passenger aircraft operated by Lufthansa German Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SunExpress, and an extensive road feeder service network.