Air services suspended by Jade Cargo
January 4, 2012
Jade Cargo, China’s first air freight joint-venture, has suspended services, hit by weakening demand in the Asia-Pacific market.
The carrier said the suspension was temporary, “to provide the shareholders with an opportunity to co-ordinate with stakeholders to continue with the restructuring of the company’s financial structure”.
The Shenzhen-based carrier is a JV between Lufthansa Cargo (25%), Shenzhen Airlines (51%) and German development bank DEG (24%). .
Jade Cargo was founded in 2004 and operated a fleet of six B747 extended range freighters to destinations including Frankfurt and Dubai, as well as Shanghai, Chengdu and other Chinese cities.
Media reports have suggested Lufthansa Cargo intends to withdraw from the Chinese market.
“We are leaving all options open,” Karl Ulrich Garnadt, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo, said in December.
Beyond the weak demand for air cargo, Garnadt said Lufthansa Cargo had known for some time that Jade Cargo was undercapitalised.
Asia-Pacific freight carriers have seen the steepest decline in transport volumes as a result of falling US and European consumer demand for goods manufactured in Asia. From November 2010 to November 2011, shippers in the region saw volumes decline by 6.4%.
Courtesy of IFW
