Lufthansa Cargo reported record results for the second year in a row boosted by continued growth in demand and high freight rates.

The cargo arm of Germany-based Lufthansa saw volumes increase to 7.2 billion freight tonne kilometers in 2021 compared to the previous year's 6.5 billion and its average load factor improved by 1.7 percentage points year-on-year to 71%.

"In the financial year 2021, Lufthansa Cargo achieved the best result in the company's history to date," it said in a statement.

For 2021, Lufthansa Cargo saw revenue rose to EUR 3.80 billion (US$4.19 billion) from 2020's EUR 2.76 billion (US$3.05 billion).

Lufthansa said the market for airfreight continued to be characterised by "extreme shortages in belly capacities due to the coronavirus pandemic."

For Lufthansa Cargo, it was also lacking a "large part of the belly capacities" of the Group airlines that would normally transport half of the total freight volume.

Capacity constraints to persist in 2022

Dorothea von Boxberg, chairman of the executive board and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo, said this year, the cargo carrier will continue to invest in airfreight innovation and sustainability including further use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to reduce carbon footprint.

"In 2022, Lufthansa Cargo will focus on sustainability and the ongoing decarbonization of airfreight logistics. We are pleased to welcome numerous interested parties to our sustainable aviation fuel offerings and aim to expand the use of sustainable aviation fuels with various customers,"  von Boxberg added, noting that Lufthansa will also begin to equip its freighters with Sharkskin technology, which will help save fuel.

"In the area of digitalization, we are working at full speed to convert to fully electronic air waybills, among other things," she added.

Nonetheless, the Lufthansa Cargo chief warned of continuing challenges in the logistics sector for the year.

"The issue of scarce capacity will continue to occupy us and our customers this year," von Boxberg said.

"With the marketing of the capacities of our first A321 freighter, which has just started, we want to offer customers new options for the ever-growing e-commerce sector, especially in the medium-haul segment.

"In addition, belly capacities on Lufthansa Group airlines will again increase significantly this year. We are currently examining further options to increase our capacity offering. At present, however, we also see that the situation in airfreight remains dynamic and that we have to react to developments on the world market at short notice and remain flexible."

Lufthansa Cargo noted that last year also saw the modernization of its fleet to purely B-777F freighters ⁠— which it said is considered the most efficient, modern freighter in its class. Its fleet now comprises fifteen aircraft, two of which were newly flown last year.

The cargo carrier also offers the belly capacities of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings Discover and SunExpress, it added.

"In 2022, we will continue to invest in customer focus, airfreight innovation and sustainability," the Lufthansa Cargo chief further said.