LLL: Last week, Lufthansa Cargo announced it was reducing its winter freighter flight schedule serving mainland China to five weekly connections – one third of the normal level, although its Hong Kong flights remain unaffected. How are you coping in such an uncertain environment?

PG: The current situation in China increases the complexity of our operations and makes reliable planning more difficult. However, it is very important to us to ensure at least a basic supply even in these exceptional circumstances. Because even in challenging times we want to make our contribution to world trade. To achieve this, we must monitor the situation very carefully and react flexibly.

LLL: What kind of goods are you transporting on these flights?

PG: We are currently carrying more and more relief supplies and medical equipment such as respirators, protective suits and disinfectants. Apart from that, we do not see any significant change in the mix, which as usual includes machinery, spare parts and temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals.

LLL: How optimistic are you that you will be able to maintain your mainland China schedule in the days to come taking into account the Ccontinued spread of the coronavirus?

PG: At the moment it is difficult to estimate how the situation will develop in concrete terms. We are making every effort to maintain our service offering as long as possible and to expand it if necessary.

LLL: United Parcel Service reached an agreement with its pilots allowing them a voluntary decision on whether to fly to China or not. Does Lufthansa Cargo have this kind of understanding with its pilots too?

PG: Yes, the deployment of our flight crews on these routes is on a voluntary basis and our expats and their families on site (in China) can return to Germany if they wish. In addition, we naturally do everything possible for the safety of our employees, which is our top priority. Among the precautionary measures we have taken are flight stopovers in Novosibirsk, which helps us to avoid longer stays for crews in China. It goes without saying that we also provide protective masks and disinfectants for all employees.

LLL: What scope do you have to focus on markets other than China during this viral outbreak?

PG: China is a very important market for us and we will continue to be closely connected to it in the future. At the moment, nobody can predict how long this exceptional situation will last. What is clear is that the Chinese economy will get going again. At the same time, we are of course looking into re-directing our capacities, just in case. In view of the necessary traffic rights, however, this is not possible overnight. It’s more likely that we will bring forward the (maintenance) checks of some of our aircraft.

LLL: What expectations did you have with regard to Lufthansa Cargo’s operating performance in 2020 before the coronavirus hit China?

PG: We came out of a challenging 2019 financial year, and our estimates for the market development for the first half of 2020 are correspondingly conservative. But we still see positive potential for the second half of the year.

Source:lloydsloadinglist

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The OLO News.