The Lufthansa Supervisory Board approved the restructuring of the freighter fleet operated by Lufthansa Cargo.

The logistics services provider in the Lufthansa Aviation Group is selling all eight aircraft in its Boeing 747-200 fleet. Three of the Boeings are to be sold to Air Atlanta Icelandic and re-chartered by Lufthansa Cargo, as needs dictate. Simultaneously, the cargo carrier is to augment the 14 freighters in its MD-11 fleet with five used aircraft.

Explaining the decision, Lufthansa Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber underlined the need to make early preparations for major future investments especially in difficult times. "The decision to operate with a uniform MD-11 fleet constitutes an investment in modern, environment-friendly aircraft.

We will thereby strengthen Lufthansa Cargo's competitive position in the long term in a generally difficult market: We are rejuvenating the fleet, we can produce more efficiently, and react even more flexibly to fluctuations in the market and demand," said Mayrhuber after the Supervisory Board meeting.

The Boeing 747-200s are to be sold in the course of next year. The used MD-11 passenger aircraft will be converted into freighters prior to their integration in Lufthansa Cargo's flight schedules from January 2005.