New air option on Luxembourg-Jo’burg route

This week saw the launch by Safcor Panalpina of a weekly own-controlled airfreight service from Luxembourg to Johannesburg using a Boeing 747-400F aircraft with 105-ton capacity. It follows the signing of an ACMI multi-year lease agreement (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) between the logistics major’s global partner Panalpina and Atlas Air. Working with Panalpina World Transport, the weekly inbound service will connect from the USA and Far East via Luxembourg and Dubai respectively, Richard Hartmann, product and procurement air at Safcor Panalpina told FTW. “The modern aircraft is designed for abnormal sized loads and is fuel-efficient, which is a requirement of our global multinational clients who are committed to reducing cargo emissions,” he said. “With own-controlled capacity, competitive pricing and quick retrieval times through our facility adjacent to OR Tambo International Airport, the service allows us to offer tailor-made solutions for specific industries, including a fully integrated cool chain solution particularly suited to the pharmaceutical industry,” says Hartmann. And it comes at a crucial time of the year, he adds. “There are capacity constraints in the market at the moment due to the change of model of aircraft on routes with limited cargo-carrying capacity as well as Far East peak season demand. Although we use commercial uplift where we can, our customers demand the flexibility of own-controlled capacity. In fact, we are in the process of signing a second service provider to offer a similar uplift on a different day of the week.”