Lufthansa Cargo and Swiss World Cargo sent out nigh on identical press releases informing their customers that SAF quota rates will become part of the Airfreight Surcharge (ASC) price index, come 01JAN25. Until now, the ASC, which the airlines introduced back in 2015, included fuel, currency and security prices in its index: additional costs that the airlines cannot influence and still need to cover. These price developments are monitored using a standardized index calculation system, and the ASC adjusted accordingly at given intervals. The ASC is added to the net price of each shipment, but its level can vary from country to country, depending on local regulations. Since the airlines feel they require support in bearing the increasing environmental costs of mandatory SAF blending, SAF prices will soon be added to the ASC monitoring. “For departures from European Union (EU) countries, a mandatory SAF blending rate of initially 2% will apply from 2025. Countries outside the EU are also planning to introduce or have already introduced mandatory SAF blends. The Indian government, for example, is working on a mandatory quota of 1-5% from 2027. Singapore is requiring airlines to add 1% SAF to flights departing from Changi Airport starting in 2026. The target is 3-5% by 2030. By then, the EU will require 6%, and the UK and Japan will require 10%,” the releases state.
In other Lufthansa Cargo news: its current Chief Operations Officer, Dietmar Focke, will step down from the cargo airline’s Executive Board on 31OCT24, to take on the function of Managing Director at Lufthansa Industry Solutions. Since 01MAR22, he was responsible for Global Handling Management, Flight Operations, Security and most of Lufthansa Cargo’s equity investments. Dr. Michael Niggemann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lufthansa Cargo AG and Chief Human Resources Officer of the Lufthansa Group, lauded: “With his extensive experience in aviation and logistics as well as the management of large business units, Dietmar Focke has continued to lead Lufthansa Cargo into the future as part of the Executive Board team and has made a significant contribution to the further development and modernization of Lufthansa Cargo [referring to LCC Evolution, e-commerce, and A321 freighter expansion, for example]. We would like to thank him for the good cooperation, and we are pleased that he continues his career within the Lufthansa Group as Managing Director of Lufthansa Industry Solutions. We wish him every success for his new role.” His successor has not yet been named.
