Lufthansa test-drives lighter containers to cut transport costs

Addressing the need to reduce
costs in the airfreight industry,
Lufthansa Cargo and Jettainer
have initiated a pilot scheme to
test the impact of lightweight
containers on transport costs.
The trial of the new
containers will provide
information about their weight
advantages and shed light on the
behaviour of containers made of
composite materials compared
with their conventional
aluminium counterparts. A total
of 1 000 containers from four
manufacturers will be used in
the trial.
Jettainer’s managing
director Alexander Plümacher
believes the use of lightweight
containers could deliver annual
fuel savings in the upper
double-digit million range.
He anticipates that the trial
will provide forward-looking
information on the potential for
tangible savings in fuel costs
and CO2 emissions.
“Every kilogram less of
weight on our aircraft saves
kerosene – and so also lowers
our costs,” said Karl-Heinz
Köpfle, Lufthansa Cargo board
member operations.
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 pilot scheme will run
until autumn 2009.