Germany's biggest air freight carrier, Lufthansa Cargo, carried 864,490 tonnes in the first six months of 2012, a 9.2 per cent decline year on year, the Shipping Gazette informs.
But despite increasing difficulties, Lufthansa Cargo succeeded in maintaining utilisation rates for its aircraft at a high level. Compared to the same period last year, the load factor slipped marginally, by 0.7 per cent to 68.4 per cent.
"There can be no talk as yet of a real crisis," said chairman and CEO Karl Ulrich Garnadt. "Extreme volatility has been a hallmark of our industry for some time now, and we know how we have to deal with it. Lufthansa Cargo temporarily suspends flights from its schedule or closes down routes permanently when they cease to be financially viable. This flexible, demand-driven management of our capacities is one of our strengths that we are also relying on now."
Revenue in the first half of the year slipped 8.5 per cent on 7.6 per cent less capacity compared to the same period in 2011. The company said the financial results for the first six months of the year will be published on August 2.