Around the world in 66 hours

In this week’s issue of Cargo Facts Update, we published a brief note describing the belt-tightening measures Lufthansa Cargo will undertake following three difficult quarters in 2015. That note is included at the end of this post, and we will expand on Lufthansa’s plans at the beginning of next week (including some interesting thoughts from cargo boss Peter Gerber).

But today is Friday, and most of you are already thinking about the weekend, so, instead of analysis, and in keeping with the Lufthansa theme, we offer a pair of videos.

The first is a longish documentary, following a Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F on a 66-hour, around-the-world route: Frankfurt – Chicago – Honolulu – Auckland – Melbourne – Penang -Lahore – Sharjah – Frankfurt. The second is shorter, offering a cockpit view of a Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F landing at Shanghai Pudong (PVG).

Around the world in 66 hours

Landing in PVG

And here is the note from the 04 December issue of Cargo Facts Update.

What next for Lufthansa Cargo? Following a difficult third quarter, and facing increasing competition as well as being dogged by strikes, Lufthansa Cargo will tighten its belt. In a wide-ranging interview in German business daily Handelsblatt, cargo boss Peter Gerber said, among other things, that Lufthansa Cargo would cut both staff and main-deck capacity.

The carrier has instituted a cost-cutting program called “C40” under which it hopes “to reduce spending on personnel and services by €40 million per year.” Mr. Gerber would not be drawn out on the number of jobs to be cut, but he was quite specific about aircraft, saying: “We are removing two MD-11 cargo planes from the fleet, one from active operations and another from our reserve capacity.”

Following these retirements, Lufthansa’s freighter fleet will consist of five 777Fs and twelve MD-11Fs. However, Mr. Gerber was adamant that no move to abandon freighters was in the cards: “British Airways is already out of the pure cargo business. Air France-KLM is in the process of leaving it. We’re the last ones remaining in Europe. And we fully intend to stay.”