Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express gave downbeat assessments of prospects for the global air cargo market June 19 as they officially launched their joint cargo airline, AeroLogic.
The new carrier will start service on June 29 with a Boeing 777 freighter flying from its hub at Leipzig airport in Eastern Germany to Asia.
AeroLogic has abandoned its original target of annual revenue of $700 million by 2011 but it still expects to post a profit in 2010.
AeroLogic will deploy eight leased Boeing 777 freighters, two of which have already been delivered with two more scheduled to follow by the end of the year. The remaining four planes will join the fleet by the end of 2010. The carrier originally intended to operate eleven freighters but scaled back its plans amid tumbling air freight volumes.
Lufthansa Cargo will use the Boeing freighters, which have a maximum payload capacity of 103 tons, on a Leipzig-Tashkent-Hong Kong-Tashkent-Leipzig loop on weekends.
DHL will operate express services on a Leipzig-Bahrain-Singapore-Delhi-Leipzig rotation on weekdays.
AeroLogic plans to offer new direct connections to most of Asia's major metropolitan areas by 2010.
The carrier says its ultimate goal is to rank among the top five European cargo airlines.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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