Lufthansa cargo centre hinges on night flights

Lufthansa cargo centre hinges on night flights
By Manik Mehta
Frankfurt

Using a carrot-and-stick approach, Lufthansa once again raised the issue of restrictions on night flights at Frankfurt Airport at the presentation of its 2007 annual business report.
The German carrier said it would invest a large sum of money to build a new cargo centre north of Frankfurt airport if it is allowed to operate all the night flights permitted at Germany’s largest airport.
Carsten Spohr, chairman and chief executive officer of Lufthansa Cargo, said at the presentation of the 2007 report it was a relief that the government had decided to allow 17 night flights a day from 11 pm to 5 am as part of its airport expansion plans but added that was still too little as Lufthansa had to compete with other carriers for a share of those flights. He said his carrier would be more content if all the 17 flights had been allocated to Lufthansa.
He reiterated that Lufthansa would have to look at other sites such as Leipzig or Munich for expansion of its operations if it was not satisfied with the number of night flights Frankfurt grants the carrier.
Spohr said Lufthansa’s investment at Frankfurt would depend on how the night flights were distributed among the competing airlines.
The Lufthansa group wants a total of 41 night flights a day until 2020 for its passenger, cargo and charter operations.
Lufthansa said that the planning approval for the expansion of Frankfurt airport is jeopardising the company’s growth potential and competitiveness.
The carrier said it would file a complaint on the planning approval of the airport expansion to an administrative court in Kassel, Germany. Lufthansa isn’t the only airline that has announced legal action against the planning approval. TUI’s holiday airline TUIfly and charter airline Condor have also said they will sue over the issue.
The company’s complaint is also directed at limitations on jet engine trial runs, a Lufthansa spokesman said. He said the planning approval foresees that from winter 2009/2010 such trial runs of jet engines will only be permitted in maintenance hangars that would have to be built. However, this time frame is too tight as it isn’t possible to build the necessary hangars on such short notice, the spokesman said.
In September, Frankfurt airport operator Fraport, the state of Hesse, the city of Frankfurt and several municipalities neighbouring the airport reached a compromise on the building of a new runway and a third terminal, with the condition that residents are protected from air traffic noise by limitations on night flights. It was finally agreed to permit 17 flights between 11 pm and 5 am.
Under its original plans, Lufthansa will construct a new centre at Cargo City North, near Frankfurt airport, with state-of-the-art equipment which would make the centre fully automated and a more efficiency-oriented cargo-handling facility.
Nonetheless, Spohr stressed, all this depends on the outcome of a complaint to be filed by Lufthansa Cargo against Frankfurt airport’s decision on night flights. "We are, of course, interested to start construction as soon as possible," he said.
Spohr did not announce the date for starting work on the Cargo City North terminal but said Lufthansa is already proceeding with the building of the new US$109 million cargo terminal planned for Cargo City South, which is expected to be completed by mid-2009.
Lufthansa Cargo is also involved in another dispute with Russian authorities which has still not been resolved. Russia wants Lufthansa to move its Asian hub from Astana in Kazakhstan to Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. But the carrier has stood firm on its decision that it would move its hub only if the Russian airport is modernised and brought on par with international standards.
Lufthansa will move its hub in the middle of next year when the modernisation of the Russian airport is expected to be completed. The lucrative refuelling stops would then benefit the Russian side while Kazakhstan would emerge the loser in this battle. Presently, Lufthansa Cargo’s jets land some 50 times a week in Astana.
Another issue that is of concern to the German cargo carrier is the overcrowding in the global air cargo market. Roland Busch, who looks after financial matters at Lufthansa, said overcapacity worldwide has increased from 22 percent in 2006 to 40 percent last year.
Despite that, 2007 was a successful year’ for Lufthansa Cargo, with operating profit up from $127 million to $211.43 million. But turnover declined by 3.8 percent to $4.27 billion, and the carrier emphasised that this was due to cooperation with other airlines in the freight sector.