The air cargo market continues to show signs of a slight recovery, according to Lufthansa Cargo.
The airline flew fuller planes in the first three months of 2014. Lufthansa saw an increase in capacity sales by nearly 72 percent.
Lufthansa Cargo said its capacity management remains demand-driven. Having increased its capacities by 1.6 percent, it was able to achieve a sell-out in the first quarter of 2014. With 399,000 tonnes of transported freight and mail, its tonnage remained on par with the previous year’s figure.
The cargo load factor during the first quarter of 2014 was 72 percent, which was almost flat year over year.
In an overview of Lufthansa’s transport regions, the company saw 135,000 tonnes of cargo in Europe, which is a decrease of 3 percent compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the Americas were close behind with 126,000 tonnes, though that region saw a 2.9 percent increase.
Asia Pacific saw 106,000 tonnes, making for a 4.1 percent increase. Africa/Middle East, which made up just 32,000 tonnes, saw the largest decrease at 9.8 percent year over year.
“There are noticeable, albeit still mild, signs of a market recovery,” Karl Ulrich Garnadt, the cargo airline’s CEO, said. “But I trust that we will be able to strengthen our market position with new Boeing 777 freighters and an attractive, global network in the course of the year.”
Europe made up 34 percent of Lufthansa’s total tonnage for the quarter, while the Americas accounted for 31.5 percent, Asia Pacific for 26.5 and Africa/Middle East for 8 percent.