Lufthansa blames drop in air cargo prices on overcapacity

Lufthansa has blamed the drop in air cargo handling prices on the fact that airlines keep adding too many planes.

According to the German airline, in a market that is more or less stagnant, other airlines are exacerbating the problem by creating a glut of capacity.

“Global growth has slowed, and global trade no longer grows faster than economic activity,” explains Peter Gerber, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo. “Persian Gulf carriers keep adding capacity although it does not pay off, and capacity growth currently is three times greater than demand growth.”

Lufthansa has been looking to reduce the costs of its freight operations after two quarters in which it reported operating losses. The airline aims to save around $89 million a year, and is already cutting up to 800 jobs as part of restructuring efforts.

The company is looking into new services, such as private freight shipments, and new partnerships with customers whom it could serve directly rather than via freight forwarders. Talks are currently underway with Amazon and Alibaba.

(Source: Fruitnet.com)