Lufthansa Cargo prepares to add capacity to portal CargoAi

Lufthansa Cargo has launched a pilot project in three countries as it prepares to add its capacity to online booking portal CargoAi.

As part of the pilot, marketplace users in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain will have access to routings and capacity information on all Lufthansa Group airlines serving those countries.

This initial roll-out is a pilot that will run for the next two to three months, during which time CargoAi and Lufthansa Cargo fine-tune their preparations for going live globally.

CargoAi said that the carrier would be able to promote its capacity to 5,000 freight forwarders across 103 countries who regularly use CargoAi’s marketplace.

Ashwin Bhat, chief commercial officer of Lufthansa Cargo, said: “We want to give our customers a choice of booking channels. The impressive success that CargoAi has demonstrated in just the four years since it was founded, mirrors the innovation that we strive for within our company and industry.”

“Lufthansa Cargo was among the first to introduce eBooking-channels within the airfreight segment, and we have large numbers of customers using the e-booking functionality in three pilot countries. We will be listening with interest regarding the new software’s features and “user friendliness & experience.”

Matthieu Petot, chief executive of CargoAi, said: “Lufthansa Cargo has often pioneered innovation in its long history and is again ahead of the digital curve with CargoAi: it is the first and only airline so far to enable forwarders to make use of our instant rate offer and booking confirmation functionalities.”

The cargo carrier also has partnerships with booking portals WebCargo and cargo.one.