Lufthansa Cargo, the leading international cargo carrier, has revealed that it is set to launch a new multimodal service from Europe to Australia on 1 January 2009.
The AirShip service will see cargo flown daily from Europe to Shenzhen in China and Hong Kong, before being shipped on by sea to Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. New AirShipCentres will aid cargo transition between air and seam the group said, with transport operated under a single air waybill number.
'AirShip transport is an addition to our td.Pro service for general cargo. With it we are offering customers a reliable, high-quality transport solution to Australia, which ideally combines the time and cost advantages of air and seafreight,' said J Florian Pfaff, Lufthansa's vice-president for Europe/Africa.
Cargo shipments currently take six to eight weeks on the sea route from Europe to Asia, with the AirShip service reducing transit time by 14-18 days.
'We are accommodating growing demand on the Australian continent and strengthening the cargo hub of Shenzhen of our Jade Cargo International subsidiary,' noted the group's vice-president for the Asia-Pacific Martin Schlingensiepen.
