Lufthansa Cargo significantly improved its business results in 2025 compared to the previous year: Revenue increased by four percent to 3.4 billion euros (previous year: 3.26 billion euros), the adjusted EBIT rose by 29 percent to 324 million euros (previous year: 251 million euros). The adjusted EBIT margin improved by 1.8 percentage points to 9.5 percent (previous year: 7.7 percent). Available freight capacity was also expanded in 2025: a total of 14.45 billion freight tonne kilometers (+ 5.4 percent) were offered. Sales increased by seven percent year-on-year to 9.1 billion freight tonne kilometers. The average load factor improved by 1.1 percentage points to 63 percent (previous year: 61.9 percent). Furthermore, quality measured in “delivery on time” increased by 5 percentage points compared to previous year.
Lufthansa Cargo back among the top 5 global air freight providers
In addition to generally stable market demand and continued strong performance in the Asian business during the reporting period, the BOLD MOVES corporate strategy significantly contributed to Lufthansa Cargo’s success in 2025. BOLD MOVES has been implemented since the end of 2023 with the goal of firmly re-establishing Lufthansa Cargo among the world’s top three cargo airlines by 2030, based on Revenue Freight Kilometres. By the end of the 2026 financial year, a Top 5 position had been targeted. Lufthansa Cargo has now reached this important interim milestone ahead of schedule, already achieving it by the end of the 2025 financial year. At the same time, both employee engagement and customer satisfaction increased significantly in the 2025 financial year. The core elements of BOLD MOVES focus on three priorities: competitive core, profitable growth and focusing on its people and culture; enabling sustainable growth; and further developing the corporate culture.
Capacity expansion through ITA cooperation, Rome becomes Lufthansa Cargo’s fifth hub
In the 2025 financial year, Lufthansa Cargo significantly expanded its global offering and advanced key strategic initiatives. Since June 2025, the company has been marketing the cargo capacities of ITA Airways; since the winter schedule, this includes nearly the entire continental and intercontinental network of the Italian airline — excluding routes to and from the U.S. and Canada until regulatory approval is granted. With Rome as the fifth hub, Lufthansa Cargo strengthens its presence in Southern Europe and will expand global belly hold capacity by around 20 percent in the long term. Already today, Lufthansa Cargo is the home carrier in five of Europe’s ten most important air freight markets, including Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, and Austria.
Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo, comments: “Being back among the top 5 global air freight providers already in 2025 is proof of the impact of our BOLD MOVES strategy and of the outstanding commitment and ambition of our team worldwide. We have taken decisive steps in a short period of time to continue improving quality, customer satisfaction, and efficiency at the same time – exactly where our customers experience the greatest value. In parallel, we are advancing our network in a targeted way: Our partnerships with ITA Airways and Swiss WorldCargo open additional opportunities for our customers. Both bring us closer to our goal of making Lufthansa Cargo one of the world’s top three air freight providers by 2030.”
Gregor Schleussner, CFO and CHRO of Lufthansa Cargo, adds: “Lufthansa Cargo grew by 7.3 percent last year – more than double the growth of the overall market, which stood at 3.4 percent. This development impressively underscores the quality, reliability and economic strength of our business model. It is particularly noteworthy that we also exceeded our margin target – a clear sign of our consistent cost management and the high profitability of our operating business. This strong performance gives us additional financial leeway to continue investing in future technologies, infrastructure and high-quality services for our customers. At our hub Frankfurt alone, we are currently investing 600 million euros in our new, modern freight centre.”
Further improvements in the Lufthansa Cargo network
With new A321F destinations such as Katowice (KTW), Rome (FCO) and Beirut (BEY) in 2025, the company strengthened its European presence as well as its position in the Middle East. Freighter operations to Tel Aviv (TLV) were resumed and increased to up to seven weekly flights. In intercontinental traffic, freighter connections to Almaty (ALA) and a new route from Shanghai (PVG) to Los Angeles (LAX) over the Pacific were added, complemented by a broad offering of up to 50 weekly frequencies in Asia-Pacific and more than 30 destinations in North and South America. Belly hold capacity was also expanded through new routes from Vienna (VIE) to Los Angeles (LAX) and from Munich (MUC) to Orlando (MCO), as well as to Windhoek (WDH) and Calgary (YYC).
Progress in key industries and digitalisation
In 2025, Lufthansa Cargo further strengthened its position in sectors such as Pharma, Automotive, Aviation and Semiconductors, including through joining Silicon Saxony, introducing new standards for vehicle transport, and optimising processes for transportation of aircraft engines. At the same time, significant progress was made in digitalisation: a new online booking system accelerates processes, an improved tracking solution increases transparency, and AI‑powered tools – as automated email bookings and VR training – boost efficiency and service quality.
Growing, Together: Expanding collaboration with Swiss WorldCargo
In the current 2026 financial year, Lufthansa Cargo will continue focusing on expanding its offering: the company is deepening its collaboration with Swiss WorldCargo and unlocking additional synergies in key commercial and operational areas. With a harmonised product and service portfolio, customers of both companies gain access to one of the industry’s most comprehensive networks. With Zurich as the sixth cargo hub in the European network, Lufthansa Cargo is laying the foundation for further joint growth and an even stronger market presence in the global air freight sector.
