Lufthansa cuts cargo and World Airways

LUFTHANSA Cargo, Europe’s largest air-cargo carrier, has reported a 21.4 per cent drop in traffic for December 2008 from the same month in 2007. A total of 114,000 metric tons of cargo was carried meaning that the entire year was left six per cent lower overall at 1.7 million tonnes.

The carrier trimmed capacity by 7.6 per cent but the load factor fell 11 per cent to just under 60 per cent. The knock-on effect to revenues meant a just over 22 per cent decrease.

As a result freighter capacities will be reduced by around ten per cent as will its cooperation with World Airways, which operates two MD-11Fs and a Boeing 747-400F for the airline. Those routes will now be taken over by Lufthansa’s new subsidiary Jade Cargo.

 “Lufthansa Cargo is adapting capacity in face of increasingly difficult economic conditions and a distinct falloff in demand,” said Lufthansa Cargo chairman Carsten Spohr. “We will continue operating all our 19 MD-11 freighters, while utilizing the capacity adjustments to further improve our quality, reliability and punctuality.”