Lufthansa Cargo said it needs six more freighters with the capacity of an MD-11 by 2015 to keep pace with rising global cargo demand.
The airline expects its freight traffic to grow 5 percent annually from 2012 to 2015, driven mainly by shipments to and from Asia, said Andreas Otto, Lufthansa Cargo's management board member.
Otto said Lufthansa Cargo hasn't decided whether to buy new freighters, to convert parent Lufthansa's passenger planes into freighters or to lease aircraft.
Lufthansa Cargo currently operates 18 MD-11 freighters with a capacity of 90 tons each, making it Europe's largest scheduled all-cargo carrier.
The carrier expects to add the equivalent of one MD-11 freighter per year through 2015 to match growth, especially in sectors such as pharmaceuticals.
Lufthansa Cargo is setting up a transport hub for pharmaceuticals in Hyderabad, India, and will open a refrigerated warehouse at its Frankfurt base in 2011.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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