and networks have always
made us a vital partner for large
companies. We will ensure our
large customers continue to
benefit from that network, and
we are absolutely committed
to also being the provider of
choice for SME customers.
Smaller businesses, smaller
parcels and e-commerce are
going to be key drivers in
Europe in the coming years.
The leveraging of TNT’s
unrivalled road network is a
vital part of that strategy.”
German innovation
Peter Gerber, Chief Executive
Officer at Lufthansa, was
unable to fully evaluate the
fourth quarter of 2018, but says
that he was generally satisfied
with last year’s business
development.
“Generally, we carry all
kinds of cargo, from airmail
to zoo animals. We are able to
offer various freight solutions
for cargo, for example for
goods that need to be cooled
or handled with extra care.
Nevertheless, the majority
of bookings come from the
automotive and pharmaceutical
industry.”
Three new Boeing 777F
aircraft are due in the coming
European markets last year
and are currently expanding
globally. This is a good example
of how e-commerce impacts
our operation. The result of the
on-demand Air Cargo eBooking
is that goods will move faster,
with up to a day shaved off
transit time, and tens of dollars
saved per shipment.”
The digital age
He adds that Lufthansa’s
customers (and the industry
as a whole) will benefit
from driving digitisation by
unlocking further potential.
“Digitisation will make air
cargo even faster, easier and
more transparent. Thus,
Lufthansa Cargo is pushing
digitisation, for example by
co-operating with partners like
cargo.one and WebCargoNet
and by developing our own
solutions like the all new DGD.
online cloud application.
“This can be used,
for example, to generate
electronically signed dangerous
goods declarations and send
them automatically, complete
with attachments such as
Cargolux cites its flexibility
as key in adapting to a
changing marketplace
safety data sheets. Forwarders
and other logistics providers
can also be digitally integrated
with the handling process,
facilitating paperless cooperation.
Cargo.one is another
important step towards the
digitisation of our industry.
Cargo.one has developed a
platform for booking and
marketing air cargo capacity
and through its focus on
offering dynamic spot rates
and enabling their booking,
cargo.one has become the first
platform of its kind.
“We will also keep
monitoring global political
developments. However, we
have not yet perceived any
significant impairments to
our international business
over the current year. So far,
our business regions have
developed positively, with
North Asia and North America
continuing to be our main
destinations for freighters. We
will keep our freighter network
flexible also in the coming
year in order to best meet the
demand of our customers.
Lufthansa Cargo is also going
to further push digitisation
of the industry’s processes by
offering digital innovations to
our customers.”
year; two will be operated by
Lufthansa Cargo and one by
its joint venture, AeroLogic.
These new aircraft will enable a
modernisation of the fleet and
are expected to replace MD-11F
freighters in the long term.
“We are constantly
modernising our hub at
Frankfurt in a modular way
in order to be able to react
to clients’ needs in a flexible
manner. We are very proud
that we are able to offer our
customers more capacity and
flexibility in our Cool Centre
at our Frankfurt hub, which we
extended from 4,500 to 8,000
square metres last year. As a
result, it is currently the largest
hub for temperature-sensitive
freight in Europe.
“Last year, we also launched
a co-operation with Freightos’
WebCargoNet, which
allows our customers to use
application programming
interface services. These enable
forwarders to instantly look
up contracted rates, assess
capacity and book cargo on
specific flights in real-time. We
began our roll-out in major
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