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Geo-political uncertainty propels Lufthansa Cargo's Q2

Lufthansa's logistics division - whose main component is Lufthansa Cargo, posted an adjusted EBIT in Q2 of €116m, an increase of 58% on the same period last year while revenues were up 27% year on year (YoY) to just over €1bn. Commenting on the quarter at conference call in Frankfurt earlier today, attended by The Loadstar, group chairman and CEO, Carsten Spohr, said: "The second quarter operating environment for air cargo was anything but easy, the conflict in the Middle East affecting the reliability of global supply chain networks which had to be adjusted at short notice in an environment like this, one thing becomes clear once again. The more complex and unpredictable the global economy becomes, the more a growing cargo business, like Lufthansa Cargo, shows its worth." He continued: "In particular, the crisis in the Middle East triggered a surge in demand on routes to the Far East and for our new and now almost daily, trans-Pacific connection, as well as our new intra-Asian routes." He went on to highlight that "this commercial success was the result of the consistent execution of our strategy and our increasingly strong focus on high-margin products, semiconductors and more and more IP server equipment for the growing AI-driven investments in computers around the world and data centres". In a statement issued before the conference call, the Group noted that in the context of a significantly changed market environment, due to the conflict in the Middle East and the corresponding reduction in competitors' capacities in the region, Lufthansa Cargo's freight business had "gained momentum in overall terms". The reduction in the volume of capacity on the market and the strong rise in fuel costs led to a significant increase in yields compared to previous quarters. Demand was driven by continued strong business in the Asia/Pacific region in particular. This was reflected in an increase in cargo tonnage. India had also performed strongly. Higher fuel and charter costs in particular had a negative impact on expenses. Capacity, expressed as available cargo tonne kilometers (ATK), grew a modest 2% versus the previous year mainly driven by 6% bellyhold growth, particularly from Italian airline subsidiary, ITA Airways. Traffic, expressed as revenue cargo tonne kilometers (CTK) increased 3% YoY while the cargo load factor was stable at 62.9%. Mr Spohr also drew attention to the modernisation of Lufthansa Cargo's ground infrastructure. "At the end of June, we brought the first and most important phase of our new Frankfurt cargo centre into operation. This will make our handling operations even more reliable, more efficient, and more productive, and obviously will contribute to the premium positioning of Lufthansa Cargo." He also remarked on the Group's internationalisation strategy which was beneficial to Lufthansa Cargo with the integration of the marketing of ITA Airways' cargo capacity and closer co-operation with other passenger airlines in the Lufthansa portfolio.

News in Brief Podcast | Week 31 2026 | Peak Season, Middle East Risks and AI

In this episode of The Loadstar Podcast News in Brief, we unpack another busy week across global supply chains. Chief analyst Peter Sand of Xeneta joins us to discuss the latest fallout from tensions in the Middle East, why container lines are continuing Red Sea transits despite ongoing security risks, and what the recent wave of emergency surcharges really means for shippers. We also examine the latest ocean freight rate trends, whether this year's peak season has already reached its high point, and what cargo owners should consider when planning contracts for the months ahead. Then, Loadstar publisher Alex Lennane breaks down the latest financial results from major logistics players, including CMA CGM, Kuehne+Nagel, CH Robinson and Geodis, highlighting what's driving air cargo performance as demand continues to outpace capacity. She also discusses Project44 CEO Jett McCandless' claim that AI could begin to erode CargoWise's dominance by enabling forwarders to build smarter, more flexible software ecosystems.

Lufthansa Cargo sees profits and revenues soar in Q2

Lufthansa Cargo saw revenues and operating profits rapidly increase in the second quarter of the year as a result of rising rates caused by the Middle East conflict. Lufthansa's logistics division, which includes Lufthansa Cargo, time:matters, Jettainer, HeyWorld and a 50% stake in AeroLogic, saw second quarter revenues increase by 27% year on year to €1bn, while earnings before interest and tax were up 58% to €116m. This increase in revenues and operating profits comes despite a smaller year-on-year increase of 3% in cargo traffic to 2.4bn revenue cargo tonne kms (RCTK). Meanwhile, capacity was up 2% on last year to 3.7bn available RCTK and the cargo load factor improved by 0.4 percentage points to 62.9%. The fact that revenues and profits increased faster than demand levels comes as the airline benefited from reduced capacity due to the conflict in the Middle East. Air France KLM Cargo also reported a strong increase in revenues during the quarter, although IAG Cargo registered declines as it does not operate freighters and was not able to benefit from the situation in the Middle East, instead being affected by a loss of belly capacity. "In the context of the significantly changed market environment due to the conflict in the Middle East and the corresponding reduction in competitors' capacities in the region, Lufthansa Cargo's freight business gained momentum in overall terms. "The reduction in the volume of capacity on the market and the strong rise in fuel costs led to a significant increase in yields compared to previous quarters." Demand was driven by continued strong business in the Asia Pacific region in particular, Lufthansa said. Capacity increases were mainly due to increased belly capacities, including the marketing of ITA Airways' belly capacities following its takeover and integration into the Lufthansa business. Offsetting some of the gains made in higher revenues were higher fuel and charter costs, which had a negative impact on expenses. The strong performance would have helped negate the impact of the loss of its four aircraft Airbus A321 regional freighter fleet during the quarter as a result of Lufthansa CityLine operations being stopped as part of measures aimed at tackling rising costs and labour disruption impacting its operations. Those aircraft were operated by CityLine and have been on the ground since April as Lufthansa continues to weigh up its options. Elsewhere, the cargo business was also affected by pilot strikes in the second quarter. In terms of business developments during the quarter, the ALPHA phase of Lufthansa Cargo's €600m LCCevo air cargo project at Frankfurt Airport commenced operations and it merged its Heyworld e-commerce and CB Customs Broker businesses into a new subsidiary, GlobeCross. The company also highlighted its Bold Moves strategy in a press release. The strategy has the objective of re-establishing Lufthansa Cargo among the world's top three leading cargo airlines by 2030, based on freight tonne-km.