Securing system-relevant supply chains thanks to cargo transports in passenger aircraft
Following on from the charter agreement between Lufthansa Cargo and EgeTrans Internationale Spedition GmbH, which has been in place since winter 2020, more than 100 so-called “preighters” flights, i.e. freight transports in passenger aircraft, have now been carried out for the transport company from Marbach am Neckar.
Aircraft of the type Airbus A340 and in some cases Airbus A350 of Lufthansa Passage have been used exclusively for EgeTrans. They serve the route from Frankfurt to Chicago, carrying an average of around 37 tons of freight per flight. On board the aircraft are consignments for agricultural machinery and for the automotive, commercial vehicle and hydraulics industries, which can be transported from Baden-Württemberg to the USA in the fastest way possible. At peak times, up to five preighters flew weekly in the summer of 2021 alone, including roundtrips.
“Organizing such preighter turnarounds requires precise coordination with our customers, but also with all parties involved, such as Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Passage and Lufthansa Technik. We are proud to have established such a reliable and resilient process chain for the respective freight requirements in these special times. In the future, we will continue to focus on using and offering synergies and capacities in the best possible way for our customers,” explains Achim Martinka, Vice President Germany of Lufthansa Cargo.
“The communication with the Lufthansa Cargo contacts works flawlessly and always to our complete satisfaction. We are proud that the close cooperation with the Lufthansa Cargo Team Stuttgart is not exclusively limited to the freighters, but that we also have cargo capacities available three times a week on both freighters and passenger aircraft bound for Chicago at Lufthansa Cargo,” adds Florian Naujocks, Air Cargo Manager at EgeTrans.
Against the backdrop of lower ancillary loading capacities in passenger aircraft, Lufthansa Cargo has since 2020 regularly enabled freight-only transports in passenger aircraft, some of which have been specially converted for this purpose, which could not often be used in the usual scheduled service due to the pandemic.
Since March 2020, Lufthansa Cargo has operated numerous preighter flights worldwide, thus repeatedly demonstrating the importance of fast and reliable transports by air. In this way, it is making an important contribution by supplying businesses worldwide with essential goods even in times of pandemic, enabling them to continue production and maintain supply chains. The transport of urgently needed goods, including medicines or medical equipment, could also be ensured in this way.
