interview
themarket and the iPhones as well. I do not think there are any newgadgets on the horizon, sowe are not expecting to see a big rush this year – at least not at themoment.”
What is the current situation regarding air freight capacityoutofChina?
“Particularly in the Chinamarket there is nowa large amount of scheduled capacity available,, with the Chinese carriers in particular offering a lot of capacity on a growing fleet of passenger and freighter aircraft. “We are alsoseeingserious competitionfromcarriers inthe
Middle Eastern – not tomention the Russian carriers,who are getting stronger.”
Areyoulookingatanyparticularareaswhereyouthink you might be able to grow your charter business effectively?
“We will continue with a programme of controlled growth. We would like to make more of the business opportunities available in Latin America and Africa. Certainly,wewould like to develop a lot more towards handling a regular China - Africa business. Butheobserved:“It’sdifficult toget agriponthese sectors.
You are dealingwith a special group of people. Nonetheless, we are targeting thesemarkets in a controlledway.”
Lufthansa Cargo Charter now has three regional CompetenceCentres setupinHongKong,Chicagoand Dubai.Howdotheseofficesbenefityouinthewayyou handlebusiness inthese regions?
“We see the three Competence Centres as being a success. It’s adifferent approachandthe ideaof runningsucha set-up is to build your reputation in an area, boost your image and promote sales. It’s an on-going challenge – and it’s not done yet.”
Charter operators are always first on the scene when thereisahumanitariancrisisneedingurgent response. Howdoyouhelpinsuchemergencies?
“The use of charter capacity becomes vital when there is an urgent humanitarian or relief aid mission to arrange and human lives are at stake. We first talk with all our partner airlines like Lufthansa,
Lufthansa Cargo, Austrian Airlines, Swiss WorldCargo and others to see how best we can help provide air freight lift in
We will continue with a programme of controlled growth”
the situation – but this is not an areawherewe intend to get rich by providing urgently-needed assistance under these unfortunate circumstances.”
Charterflightsareusedwhenthereisanemergencyor whentime is short,but canthey alsohave a legitimate place inthe everyday lifeof the supply chain?
“There is a lot of projectworkwhere careful forward planning can help shippers and forwarders make the best out of the supply chain.We are always talkingwith these people to find out howwe can help them. “As just a couple of examples, themovement of F1 Grand
Prix racing cars flying between events or Porsche cars being moved by air to take part in test programmes under exacting conditions in variousworld
areas.These are both high-profile examplesof ahighly-organisedcharterbusiness inactionthat have been planned a longway in advance.”
What other business areas do you consider to be of interest at the moment – particularly to the China market?
“Over andaboveour adhocbusinessofprovidingindividually tailored and cost-effective one-stop solutions, Lufthansa Cargo Charter is also flying regular weekly freighter charters on a Shanghai - Europe routeing and fromHong Kong to the US.
On a long-termbasis, we would like to develop the same
type of business from Europe to the Middle East and to Bangladesh. Iwouldsee this as apositivedevelopment for the future.”
AIR LOGISTICSCHINA 21
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