Lufthansa Cargo to lift freighter capacity

A PROJECTED shortage of available global airfreight capacity has prompted Lufthansa Cargo to consider boosting its fleet to 24 freighters by 2015.

The move for an additional six freighters comes after a 2010 study commissioned by Lufthansa Cargo found that the market would only have a 1 per cent surplus in capacity in this year, followed by a one per cent shortage in 2012, three per cent in 2013 and five per cent in 2014.

Freighter options being reviewed by the company include acquiring new Boeing 777 freighters and converting some of Lufthansa’s 747-400 passenger aircraft.

The German carrier is enjoying a business boom with volumes of cargo and mail transported rocketing by 18.2 per cent to 1.79 million tonnes last year.

An initial 2008 market forecast conducted by Lufthansa Cargo projected a surplus in global air cargo capacity of 23 per cent in 2011, 20 per cent in 2012, 12 per cent in 2013 and one per cent in 2014. This promising outlook sank during the recession with many ageing aircraft retiring and approximately 10 per cent of the world’s widebody freighter fleet being grounded, compared to 15 per cent a year earlier.