Lufthansa Cargo May Buy Airbus Planes as It Expands in Asia

[White Cap]

Lufthansa Cargo May Buy Airbus Planes as It Expands in Asia
Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) --

Deutsche Lufthansa AG's cargo unit, the world's largest freight airline by tonnage carried, said it may buy planes from Airbus SAS, abandoning its exclusive reliance on Boeing Co. as it expands in Asia.

Lufthansa Cargo currently has only Boeing's MD-11 and 747- 200 aircraft in its fleet. The company will evaluate both the freighter version of the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A380, which will both be available in 2008, said Lufthansa Cargo AG Chief Executive Officer Jean-Peter Jansen.

``Both aircraft are offering improved conditions as far as operations and costs are concerned,'' said Jansen in an interview in Singapore today. ``So we have to look into both aircraft to see which is a good solution.''

Lufthansa Cargo, Korean Air Co. and other airlines are carrying more freight this year as demand for semiconductors, mobile phones and other goods from Asia are growing in the U.S. and Europe. Lufthansa Cargo is expanding in China, where it says air cargo traffic may grow at an annual rate of between 15 percent and 20 percent the next few years.

Last month, Lufthansa agreed to set up an airfreight venture with southern China's Shenzhen Airlines Co. as exports from China grow. The venture will serve Chinese and Asian routes when it starts operations as early as in March next year.

Asia accounted for 45 percent of the cargo carrier's sale last year, Jansen said. On Oct. 31, it started three weekly cargo services to Guangzhou in China from Frankfurt.

``An aircraft type like the 777 is a very good fitting for markets especially for markets with direct operation and frequencies,'' Jansen said. He declined to say how many planes Lufthansa Cargo plans to purchase or when would buy them.

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