Further cuts in global freighter capacity are inevitable because of unsustainable loss-making among airlines, according to Europe's biggest all-cargo carrier.
Robert van de Weg, senior VP for sales and marketing at Cargolux, said demand was down by 20-25%, but estimated that capacity had only been reduced by 10-12%.
"So there is quite a lot still to come out, " he said. Cargolux, historically one of the world's most profitable cargo airlines, admitted that by December it was making an operating loss, a situation that observers believed had continued into 2009, despite a reduction in its services of around 10%.
Most of the world's main freighter operators have significantly reduced capacity in recent months, with big Asian carriers such as Cathay Pacific cutting freighter services by around 20%.
Lufthansa Cargo followed a 10% cut late last year with a 20% reduction in February and a further 10% cut in recent weeks, and Delta said last month it would phase out the entire freighter fleet of subsidiary Northwest Airlines by the end of the year, having already cut grounded half its 14 freighters.
Van de Weg acknowledged that in previous downturns, some operators, particularly in Asia, had absorbed short-term losses and continued to operate full fleets - riding out the storm.
