Lufthansa Cargo continued its upward trend in the second quarter of the year with the first six months seeing the cargo airline carrying 830,000 tonnes of freight and mail, around 20 per cent more than in the first half 2009. Volume growth was particularly pronounced into and out of Asia as well as to America, the carrier said. The transported volume in the Asia/Pacific traffic region grew by 24.6 per cent and in America by an even higher 31.1 per cent.

Lufthansa Cargo marginally increased capacity in the second quarter. Over the six-month period, capacity was up by 2.3 per cent. Sales – as in the first three months – rose over-proportionately by 24.9 per cent at the half-year mark. Consequently, the load factor was up distinctly in the first six months to 72.3 per cent. That equates to 13.1 percentage points more than a year ago.

“We systematically seized market opportunities in the second quarter and invested in growth markets,” said Lufthansa Cargo chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr.

“With flights to new destinations, such as Tianjin in China and the re-inclusion in the fleet of the first MD-11 freighters, which were temporarily withdrawn from service, the company is well-poised for the second half.