Both routes originating in Duesseldorf are offered five times a week each by deploying A330 equipment. Responsible for filling up the airline’s belly-hold compartments is Leisure Cargo GmbH, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Air Berlin since the beginning of this year.
Formerly, Leisure belonged to German LTU that was acquired by Air Berlin in August 2007. “The Air Berlin group is by far our biggest customer”, says Ralf-Rainer Auslaender, general manager of Duesseldorf-based Leisure Cargo GmbH. All-in-all the GSA and cargo management company presently has 18 airlines listed in its portfolio, among them Italian Eurofly, Swiss Belair and Aladia of Mexico.
“We hand over the sales business to local agents that have got the specific market knowledge,” explains Auslaender. Among them are Abda Aviation of Malaysia, Chinese MBTS International Cargo, and Walkers Air Services from the Maldives.
Although too early to assess the loads on the just commenced China flights of Air Berlin, Auslaender seems quite happy with the performance of the air freight business.
“From the very first day we had double digit volumes of tonnage on these China flights,” he says. “In some cases it went up to 22.7 tonnes both ways.” Annoyingly however, not only for him but the market in general, is the lasting imbalance of the loads with low volumes on the easternbound routes and jam-packed bellies on the way back from the Far East.
Consequently the rates from Germany to China vary between 20 to 50 US cents per kilogram while in the opposite direction they fluctuate between 3 and 4 US dollars, depending on seasonal circumstances and local market conditions. Besides Air Berlin the German air freight management company together with its subsidiary Leisure Cargo Asia of Kuala Lumpur is also responsible for filling the cargo compartments of LTU Airline, which continues to fly under their traditional brand and livery despite being swallowed by Air Berlin last summer.
“Presently they operate eleven flights a week from Germany to Bangkok,” says the manager. Further, LTU serves the Maldives as do Air Europe, Eurofly and Neos – all of them cargo customers of Leisure Cargo.