The airline, which last autumn was acquired by Berlin-based forwarding group Zeitfracht, has become the 283rd member of the International Air Transport Association. Concurrently, Zeitfracht Luftfahrt Holding together with their cargo sales agent Leisure Cargo have become business partners of the influential Board of Airline Representatives in Germany (Barig).
And the next step is soon to follow, announces Wolfram Simon, Managing Director of Zeitfracht: “We intend to file an application for obtaining an own air waybill number, thus making it
dispensable particularly for Leisure Cargo to utilize Condor’s AWB number (CFG 881) for flying our freight shipments as done up to now.”
It is another important module in the company’s effort to set up a European air express network and gain regulatory independence from any industrial partner.
Ambitious express aims
WDL-Aviation is based at Cologne/Bonn Airport and operates a fleet of four BAe 146 which build the nucleus of Zeitfracht’s ambitions plans for setting up a pan-European express network.
Therefore, it’s no wonder that MD Simon and his team have plans in their drawer to up the WDL fleet step by step and also utilize the lower deck capacity of other carriers for transporting small
and time critical shipments across Europe, entirely managed by their subsidiary Leisure Cargo.
LC finds new home
Walter Boehnke, Managing Director of WDL-Aviation states that: “We are consistently working to further develop our company with a strategic focus on the European market, and we are partnering
with IATA to gain a decisive backbone for the future challenges that our business brings." He goes on to say: "After all, the umbrella organization sets worldwide high standards."
Meanwhile, freight agent Leisure Cargo is moving its headquarters from Dusseldorf Airport to Frankfurt’s CargoCity South; the move should be accomplished at the beginning of May, says the
company. “By doing so we are even closer to many of our mandate airlines,” reasons Leisure’s Managing Director Thilo Schaefer, when being questioned by CargoForwarder Global.
Blue Air becomes LC's latest mandate airline
As announced today (16 April), Zeitfracht daughter Leisure Cargo will manage the freight business of Romanian passenger
airline Blue Air as of June 1. The carrier operates 29 Boeing 737 pax aircraft that serve intra-European routes. The deal was inked last week, says Zeitfracht in a release.
"Our new offer focuses in particular on time-sensitive shipments, perishables and valuables, for which surface or sea transports are no real option," explains Zeifracht CEO Wolfram Simon.
"With Blue Air, we are gaining a new capacity provider that fits perfectly into our portfolio and complements the already
widespread geographic coverage of our services in Eastern Europe," adds Mr Schaefer.
Heiner Siegmund
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