Lufthansa May Sell Freighter Fleet

Lufthansa Cargo warned it might give up its fleet of freighters if night flights are outlawed at its Frankfurt airport hub.

"Everything that goes toward a single-digit number (of night flights) would mean that it no longer pays off to have our own cargo fleet," said Lufthansa Cargo Chief Executive Carsten Spohr.

A German court approved a $5.6 billion expansion plan for Frankfurt, Europe's top cargo hub, two weeks ago. But it passed responsibility for a decision on whether to ban night flights back to the state of Hesse, where the airport is based.

Hesse approved the airport expansion in 2007 on condition there was a maximum of 17 flights between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Lufthansa had called for a minimum of 23 flights while other carriers, including Deutsche Post DHL, have demanded night flight rights, too.

Lufthansa Cargo could gradually reduce its fleet of 19 MD-11 freighters if night flights are restricted, Spohr said. Freighters carry around half of Lufthansa Cargo's shipments with the remainder carried on Lufthansa's passenger aircraft.

The carrier has ruled out moving its hub to other airports, including Leipzig, the base of AeroLogic, its recently established joint venture cargo carrier with Deutsche Post DHL.

Lufthansa earlier announced plans to ground six freighters beginning in October and mothball four of them for at least a year in response to "feeble demand and a collapse in average yields."

Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.