Lufthansa to trial lighter cargo containers

Lufthansa Cargo and Jettainer have begun testing lighter air cargo containers, in a drive to reduce costs.

The pilot scheme will run until autumn 2009 and will trial 1,000 containers, made by four seperate manufacturers, on Lufthansa’s global network.

Jettainer’s MD Alexander Plümacher said: “International aviation has used conventional aluminium containers for the transport of cargo and baggage for many decades.

"With the introduction of new lightweight containers made of composite materials, the global airline industry can reckon to deliver annual fuel savings in the upper double-digit million range,” he went on to say.

Karl-Heinz Köpfle the operations director of Lufthansa Cargo said the tests would bring about major fuel and CO2 savings.

“Every kilogramme less of weight on our aircraft saves kerosene – and so also lowers our costs,” he said.

A conventional LD-3 airfreight container made of aluminium weighs about 80 kg. The new containers made of composite materials are about 15% lighter.

The tests also aim to show whether the new containers need fewer repairs and whether the reduction in idle time due to repairs will affect the overall quantities of containers needed.

Lufthansa Italia, the new airline, also announced its first scheduled flight would depart Milan at 6:15am on 2 February, bound for Barcelona.