Capacity cuts ‘crucial’ to market survival
14 / 12 / 2012
A NO-NONSENSE approach to weak demand and capacity oversupply is arguably one of the primary reasons why Lufthansa Cargo (LC) fared better than some of its rivals in 2012.
This industry-wide supply and demand failing pushed down load factors and added pressure on ever-weakening yields, research company The Seabury Group pointed out in November.
“To deal with the downward trend of the market this year, we have taken out quite a lot of capacity to the extent that we grounded two MD-11 freighters,” details Dr Andreas Otto, LC board director.
The German carrier plans to bring them back into operation as soon as it notices that business is picking up.
LC’s current capacity will remain unchanged in the first quarter of 2013.
This industry-wide supply and demand failing pushed down load factors and added pressure on ever-weakening yields, research company The Seabury Group pointed out in November.
“To deal with the downward trend of the market this year, we have taken out quite a lot of capacity to the extent that we grounded two MD-11 freighters,” details Dr Andreas Otto, LC board director.
The German carrier plans to bring them back into operation as soon as it notices that business is picking up.
LC’s current capacity will remain unchanged in the first quarter of 2013.
Read more of Dr Otto’s projections: see the next issue of Air Cargo News (17 December 2012)