Last December the world was informed that Karl Ulrich Garnadt who was in charge of Hub Management & Passenger Services at Lufthansa Passenger Airlines was named Lufthansa Cargo Chairman and CEO.
     His appointment was in fact a return of sorts as he had served a stint at Lufthansa Cargo from 1991 to 1999.
     Today after having assumed command January 1 for a term of three years, Mr. Garnadt has apparently hit the ground running.
     At the CNS Partnership Conference, Mr. Garnadt spoke of Lufthansa Cargo’s extremely positive results for 2010 that have continued during the first three months of 2011.
     Herr Garnadt attributed the positive results to “internal efforts and management of capacity, attaining financial strength and flexibility”.
     “In a time when price pressures and volatility continue, the Lufthansa Cargo brand and quality are the reason for strong and loyal customer support,” Mr. Garnadt said.
     A major milestone was achieved when the parent Lufthansa Group endorsed Lufthansa Cargo’s plans and approved a significant investment in five B777 cargo aircraft.
     “This is a testimony to the role air cargo plays in global supply chains and also a reflection of strong German exports.”
     Challenges such as investment in technology remain, coupled with efficient processes, and here e-freight is mentioned.
     “In the U.S. market, 50% of all bookings are e-bookings and efforts must be made to continue to make air cargo competitive.
     “Security is another critical issue which requires attention and cooperation.
     “In Europe in general and Germany in particular, the environment is on the front burner and this is also becoming a topic in the U.S.
     “For Lufthansa Cargo, home market concerns of major import are those pending a court decision, expected this coming winter, regarding the night curfew at Frankfurt am Main airport, the carrier’s base which affects 43 all cargo flights.”
     The economic outlook points to stabilizing conditions for 2011, albeit overall results will likely not match 2010.
     Achim Martinka, VP the Americas, emphasized “positive transatlantic developments with the increase in tonnage making Lufthansa Cargo the number one transatlantic cargo carrier”.
     “Frequencies have been added to Brazil and Mexico.
     “In the U.S. DFW and IAH were augmented, operating to Frankfurt via JFK and ATL respectively,” Mr. Martinka noted.
     “Some weakness in China has manifested itself.
     “A previous fuel stop in Puerto Rico is being built up at Aguadilla into a full traffic stop which will further strengthen Lufthansa Cargo’s number one position on the Atlantic.”
     Achim also touched on quality management and customer recognition as important pillars of success.
     Lufthansa Cargo Group member Swiss WorldCargo’s Oliver Evans pointed out the more specialized nature of their cargo business, away from general cargo, and focused on express and mail.
     “San Francisco became a new destination in 2010, while the ongoing fleet upgrade from A330-200 to A330-300 with improved fuel efficiency and lower emission.”
     In response to our question about the strategy, and operational philosophy of the various Lufthansa Cargo Group members, Mr. Garnadt described a pragmatic and differentiated approach, for example, the autonomy of Swiss WorldCargo or the marketing of the entire belly capacity of Austrian Airlines by Lufthansa Cargo, resulting in the best overall belly cargo network in the world, complemented by freighter aircraft.
     Mr. Garnadt also noted the surprising strength of German and Swiss exports despite a weak U.S. dollar.
     We learned of the progress of a new runway at Frankfurt Rhein Main scheduled to become operational in October 2011 and the new logistics center being built there, both with significant focus on pharma products.
     Hyderabad in India was noted as a major pharma hub with profitable business prospects.
     The outcome of the proposed night curfew at Frankfurt obviously plays onto these measures in a very big way.
Ted

Click video and learn more about the initiative called
“Die Fracht braucht die Nacht”—“Cargo Needs The Night.”

     We sit outside on a shady patio Tuesday afternoon, after the official program of CNS Partnership Conference ended as one of the longest-held traditions at CNS continues in 2011—The SWISS World Cargo Press Roundtable.
     The group headed by Oliver Evans, (right) Chief Cargo Officer includes Jack Lampinski, managing director the Americas, Annette Kreuziger, senior manager and head of marketing and our old friend Bernd Maresch, who is passing the baton to Annette, having established his own firm, Hans Mars.
     Oliver starts by expressing satisfaction with “the opportunities to work together with members of the Lufthansa Cargo Group while maintaining Swiss WorldCargo’s autonomy, brand and organization that reflect Swiss values—quality and service.
     “With a fleet of 26 long haul aircraft, of which 25 are available to cargo, a milestone has been reached by matching the number the erstwhile Swissair operated,” Oliver Evans says.
     That is no small potatoes.
     Taking the sky back from the financial debacle that was Swissair has been many years in the making, but today SWISS is all the way back and as big as Swissair ever was.
     “Cargo played a key role in the results of the airline which made an operating profit of CHF 368 million for 2010,” Oliver Evans assures.
     “Cargo load factors were consistently back to the 80% to 85% range,” we are told while SWISS WorldCargo is continuing to focus on carrying quality cargo which requires the special care and touch Swiss WorldCargo has been known for.
     SWISS WorldCargo employs 310 staff worldwide, and has outsourced operations to handling partners.
     “We are consistently number one in Europe for “flown as planned” on certified Cargo2000 routes and enjoy customer satisfaction and loyalty ratings of 88%.”
     Despite these positive results, changes in the organization have been made in order to “stay ahead of the game” as Oliver puts it, continuing to streamline processes and building a most diverse cultural, gender and experience based management and workforce.

Lâlin Sabuncuoglu-Janssen

Annette Kreuziger

     This change management program has industry veterans, such as Jack Lampinski the old cargo pro for example, side by side with Lâlin Sabuncuoglu-Janssen, managing director and head of area management Europe.
     “The great advantage of such diversity is that our team is able to engage with the customer in a unique way reflecting the global nature of our business, bringing in the richness of ideas and solutions available anywhere in the world.”
     In response to our question, Oliver stated “that network and fleet planning take into account cargo needs, having a voice at the table, exemplified by a change of gauge for a specific cargo requirement to move valuables, something unimaginable 10 years ago”.
     “Global events have seen China slowing down while business and operations in Japan were holding up well despite acutely challenging circumstances.
     “Next year in 2012 will see new intercontinental destinations added in North America and Asia.”
At that point we can imagine that SWISS will be a bigger entity than Swissair ever was.
     “The core business remains airport-to-airport services, therefore serving forwarders, but the specificity of the focus markets requires closeness to pharma and banks to understand their needs and develop solutions with the forwarder.
     “Our e-freight strategy is to follow a dual track, on the one hand preparing for 100% e-AWB in our home market Switzerland by the end of 2011, and on the other ramping up volumes of e-freight with selected high volume shippers and forwarders on all certified lanes to or from Switzerland,” Oliver Evans assures.
Ted/Sabiha

Civairettes Kept 'Em Flying

     LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, home of this publication for 25 years got a new $100 million, 235 foot high air traffic control tower this past January 21 to help handle the 400,000 aircraft movements expected in 2011.
     To celebrate ATC and aviation history, a picture display was put up at the new FAA facility.
     We have seen some of the photos before and there are dates that don’t quite add up, (meaning well intentions are one thing but getting dates right is easy enough) however overall this is a collection with spirit and great heart of early aviation.
     Standout for us is this beauty from the part of the display titled “Air Traffic Control”.
     These ladies are captioned: “1944 CAA Region 5 Civairettes Club, Kansas City, KS.”
     We are guessing these folks were airport-based civil air employees working in one form or another, including as air traffic controllers while the men were overseas during WW II.
     Talk about long ago and far away . . .
Isaac Nijankin

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