Lufthansa Cargo sees solid first half rise

LUFTHANSA Cargo carried 830,000 tonnes of freight and mail in the first six months of 2010, nearly 20 per cent more than in the first half of 2009. Asian and American imports and exports were particularly strong, at 24.6 per cent and 31.1 per cent growth respectively.

Capacity was up 2.3 per cent. Sales, as in the first three months, rose over-proportionately by 24.9 per cent at the half-year mark, raising the load factor up in the first six months to 72.3 per cent. That equates to 13.1 per cent more than a year ago.

The Lufthansa Group, which includes Swiss WorldCargo and Austrian Airlines, increased airfreight traffic by 20 per cent in June to 171,000 tonnes.

“The cargo business is currently absolutely booming,” said Stephan Gemkow, Lufthansa’s chieffinancial officer. “For the first time in over 10 years we are seeing not just strong imports out of China, but also strong exports to China.”

“We systematically seized market opportunities in the second quarter and invested in growth markets,” said Lufthansa Cargo’s chief executive officer, Carsten Spohr. “Since 1 July, our customers can also utilise capacities on board flights operated by Austrian Airlines. With them, we are offering an even more dense and larger network, together with an additional plus in flexibility.”