In the financial year 2021, Lufthansa Cargo achieved the best result in the company’s history to date. Revenue rose to EUR 3.80 billion ($4.21-USD), previous year: EUR 2.76 billion ($3.06-USD), while adjusted EBIT amounted to EUR 1,493 million ($1,655-USD); the previous year was EUR 772 million ($855-USD). A total of 7.2 billion freight ton-kilometers were sold last year (previous year: 6.5 billion). The average load factor improved by 1.7 percentage points year-on-year to 71.0%, while the supply of capacity increased by 8.7% to 10.1 billion freight ton-kilometers offered.
“We owe this result in particular to our employees, customers and partners. Together, we have managed to effectively maintain global supply chains even in times of pandemic. In addition to good revenues, the successful completion of our cost reduction program was a key factor in the good result. In 2022, we will continue to invest in customer focus, airfreight innovation and sustainability,” said Dorothea von Boxberg, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.
“In 2022, Lufthansa Cargo will focus on sustainability and the ongoing decarbonization of airfreight logistics. We are pleased to welcome numerous interested parties to our sustainable aviation fuel offerings and aim to expand the use of sustainable aviation fuels with various customers. In 2022, we will also begin to equip our freighters with Sharkskin technology, which will help us save fuel. In the area of digitalization, we are working at full speed to convert to fully electronic air waybills, among other things.”
However, Dorothea von Boxberg also puts customers in the mood for continuing challenges in logistics for the time being: “The issue of scarce capacity will continue to occupy us and our customers this year. With the marketing of the capacities of our first A321 freighter, which has just started, we want to offer customers new options for the ever-growing e-commerce sector, especially in the medium-haul segment. In addition, belly capacities on Lufthansa Group airlines will again increase significantly this year. We are currently examining further options to increase our capacity offering. At present, however, we also see that the situation in airfreight remains dynamic and that we have to react to developments on the world market at short notice and remain flexible.”
Last year, Lufthansa Cargo successfully implemented important projects of its corporate strategy. For example, the fleet modernization to a pure, highly efficient B777F freighter fleet was completed. This currently comprises fifteen aircraft, two of which were newly flown last year. The twin-engine Boeing 777F is considered the most efficient, modern freighter in its class. In addition, Lufthansa Cargo distributes the additional load capacities of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings Discover and SunExpress. Sustainable aviation fuels were also a focus at Lufthansa Cargo in 2021: In addition to weekly CO2-neutral freight rotations between Europe and Asia, customers have been able to use the “Sustainable Choice” add-on service since last summer and thus have their freight transported in a CO2-neutral manner. Lufthansa Cargo also became a pilot customer for the first industrial power-to-liquid (PtL) plant to promote the development and research of synthetic PtL aviation fuel.
Lufthansa Cargo started the past financial year with positive expectations. Due to the continuing effects of the pandemic, freight capacities remained scarce worldwide despite increased demand. Marked by a noticeable cooling of the airfreight market prior to the Corona pandemic, the cargo airline had already launched a structural cost-cutting program in 2019, which is also contributing to the current result.
