Lufthansa Cargo has acknowledged the achievements of its global partner Essen-based DB Schenker by presenting the logistics company with the Excellence Award for the second time in a row. Cooperation between the two outfits over the past year was particularly reflected in the joint growth in the Asian, German and Western European markets. Despite the pandemic-related capacity crunch, the tonnage transported for DB Schenker still increased significantly, including sales of express services, according to Lufthansa.

“It is very rare for our top customers to succeed in holding on to this title,” commented Lufthansa Cargo’s executive board chair, Dorothea von Boxberg.  She continued: “DB Schenker achieved that impressively over the past year. On the one hand, with significant commercial growth. On the other, with the world’s first CO₂-neutral freighter flight, with which we jointly anchored the topic of sustainability in our industry in a ground-breaking way. We would like to express our special thanks for this important commitment.”

“Once again, the very constructive cooperation between our businesses at all levels is also recognised. Furthermore, we are pleased that DB Schenker has continued to push the use of our digital services. The eAWB rate was 92 per cent, the share of electronic House Manifests (eHM) was already 72 per cent and our pre-check offer was used by 80 per cent. These outstanding figures, along with the commercial results and sustainability initiatives, underline our multifaceted partnership,” added Lufthansa Cargo’s chief commercial officer, Ashwin Bhat.

The award was accepted by DB Schenker’s chief operating officer for air and ocean, Thorsten Meincke, at a digital broadcast ceremony. “We are delighted to continue shaping our industry sustainably in the future together with Lufthansa Cargo,” remarked Meincke. “We thank Lufthansa Cargo for the repeated recognition and the excellent cooperation over the past year, which once again sets standards for our customers as well.”

Lufthansa Cargo’s Global Partnership Programme is a central platform for sustainable growth for the company and its largest customers, who account for a third of its revenue. The Excellence Award has been presented since 2002.

In April DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo announced that they had launched a regular carbon neutral cargo flight connection between Europe and China, which they described as the first of its kind.

Using a Boeing 777F, the weekly flights between Frankfurt am Main and Shanghai Pudong are covered entirely by using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This will reportedly save around 174 metric tonnes of conventional kerosene each week.