Lufthansa Cargo has operated over 100 cargo flights in passenger aircraft or ‘preighters’ for EgeTrans, securing critical system-relevant supply chains, since entering a charter agreement in winter 2020.
On Monday (May 23, 2022), Lufthansa Cargo announced that they have completed over 100 cargo flights since winter 2020 with passenger aircraft for EgeTrans Internationale Spedition Gmbh. The charter flights have been instrumental in securing system-relevant supply chains for the Marbach am Neckar transportation company, with flights between Frankfurt and Chicago. Utilizing Airbus A340 and A350 passenger aircraft or ‘preighters’, Lufthansa Cargo carried an average of 37 tons of freight per flight with consignments for agricultural machinery and for the automotive, commercial vehicles and hydraulics industries, which have been transported from Baden Württemberg to the U.S. in the fastest possible way. During peak periods in summer 2021, up to five preighters flew weekly, including return flights.
In Monday’s announcement, Lufthansa Cargo’s Vice President – Germany, Achim Martinka, said,
“Organizing such preighter turnarounds requires precise coordination with our customers, but also with all parties involved, such as Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Passage and Lufthansa Technik. We are proud to have established such a reliable and resilient process chain for the respective freight requirements in these special times. In the future, we will continue to focus on using and offering synergies and capacities in the best possible way for our customers.”
Also commenting on the successful preighter operation, EgeTrans’ Air Cargo Manager, Florian Naujocks, added,
“The communication with the Lufthansa Cargo contacts works flawlessly and always to our complete satisfaction. We are proud that the close cooperation with the Lufthansa Cargo Team Stuttgart is not exclusively limited to the freighters, but that we also have cargo capacities available three times a week on both freighters and passenger aircraft bound for Chicago at Lufthansa Cargo.”
Against the backdrop of lower ancillary loading capacities of passenger aircraft during the height of the pandemic, Lufthansa cargo has regularly enabled freight-only flights on passenger aircraft since 2020, with some aircraft being specially converted. Since March 2020, Lufthansa Cargo has operated many preighter flights worldwide, supplying businesses with essential goods, enabling them to continue production and maintain critical supply chains.
With revenue of €3.8 billion and 7.2 billion freight ton kilometers in 2021, Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world’s leading air freight companies, employing approximately 4,200 team members worldwide. The cargo carrier serves around 300 destinations in over 100 countries with a dedicated fleet of freighters, as well as belly-hold cargo capacity of passenger aircraft operated by Lufthansa German Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings Discover and SunExpress. In 2022, the airline will equip their fleet of dedicated freighters with Sharkskin technology to reduce drag, and expand their SAF program to further reduce CO2 emissions. The company also operates an extensive road feeder service network. Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and is the Group’s logistics specialist.
Source: Lufthansa Cargo
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