newstodate.aero
Aug 19, 2015 (newstodate): With effect from October 25, 2015, Lufthansa Cargo and Swiss WorldCargo will introduce a new pricing system.
Instead of the current calculations of airfreight rate and a variety of surcharges, the two carriers will offer a structure comprising a cargo net rate and an airfreight surcharge, with the latter to replace the current security, fuel and other surcharges.
-Same, same, but different, says one Danish Branch manager of a leading forwarding company.
-Other airlines have introduced all-in rates and we see a variety of different forms of constructing rate systems that are seemingly very different in an effort to bar against any suspicion of cartels.
-Looking specifically at the rates systems to be introduced by Lufthansa Cargo, there is nothing especially "transparent" about it despite claims of the opposite. By abolishing the individual surcharges and merging them instead as one unified "airfreight surcharge", there is no possibility for customers to assess what is in the basket, what has gone up and what has gone down.
-One thing is certain: fuel prices have decreased significantly over the last year and seem to stabilize at a low level. This should lead to a lower fuel surcharge, but some airlines like KLM and AF Cargo have nevertheless kept their fuel surcharges unchanged. By putting all surcharges under one label like "airfreight surcharges", customers will be unable to verify how the total rate is actually composed.
-But eventually, this is totally unimportant. In the end what counts is the total price of the transaction as invoiced by the carrier. The competition in the market will decide which airline gets the transaction, regardless of how they calculate the rate internally.
-Even the airfreight market remains ruled by "the invisible hand", he says.
Instead of the current calculations of airfreight rate and a variety of surcharges, the two carriers will offer a structure comprising a cargo net rate and an airfreight surcharge, with the latter to replace the current security, fuel and other surcharges.
-Same, same, but different, says one Danish Branch manager of a leading forwarding company.
-Other airlines have introduced all-in rates and we see a variety of different forms of constructing rate systems that are seemingly very different in an effort to bar against any suspicion of cartels.
-Looking specifically at the rates systems to be introduced by Lufthansa Cargo, there is nothing especially "transparent" about it despite claims of the opposite. By abolishing the individual surcharges and merging them instead as one unified "airfreight surcharge", there is no possibility for customers to assess what is in the basket, what has gone up and what has gone down.
-One thing is certain: fuel prices have decreased significantly over the last year and seem to stabilize at a low level. This should lead to a lower fuel surcharge, but some airlines like KLM and AF Cargo have nevertheless kept their fuel surcharges unchanged. By putting all surcharges under one label like "airfreight surcharges", customers will be unable to verify how the total rate is actually composed.
-But eventually, this is totally unimportant. In the end what counts is the total price of the transaction as invoiced by the carrier. The competition in the market will decide which airline gets the transaction, regardless of how they calculate the rate internally.
-Even the airfreight market remains ruled by "the invisible hand", he says.