The 04MAR20 saw Cargolux celebrating 50 successful years of air cargo logistics. Looking back, these were very varied and challenging times with a number of ups and downs and stakeholder
changes.
Congratulations, Cargolux, on your services spanning a half-century!
Founded in Luxemburg on 04MAR70, as a joint cooperation between Luxembourg’s national carrier Luxair, Iceland's national carrier Loftleiðir, the Swedish shipping company Salén, and some private
investors, Cargolux began flight services in May 1970, operating a single Canadair CL-44 freighter from Luxembourg to Hong Kong. It quickly grew, both in popularity and fleet size, and progressed
to 747 freighters in less than a decade. In fact, it was the first airline to employ 747-400Fs and was later the launch customer for the 747-8F, making it easy to deliver on its slogan promise of
“You name it, we fly it”. Today, Cargolux is the top freight-only operator in Europe and ranks 7th on IATA’s international list when it comes to international scheduled FTKs.
The forwarding agent’s airline
“It is a remarkable achievement for an all-cargo operator to celebrate 50 years in existence and I think I speak on behalf of the whole company when I say we are proud of how far our airline
has come. We have weathered many storms over the years and this celebration shows the world how committed and dedicated our employees are. In addition, I would also like to thank all of our
customers and business partners in helping us get to commemorating this memorable occasion,” says South African national, Richard Forson, Cargolux’s President and CEO.
Ups and downs
Cargolux’s success is due to its visionary strategy and its willingness to enter partnerships and grow its network, though it has seen its fair share of ups and downs in the past 50 years (for
example, the failure of its joint venture with Luxair back in the late 80s, with the launch and subsequent folding of a passenger charter airline, Lion Air, a few financial struggles, and a
couple of personnel and cartel issues). Shareholders over the years, which included Lufthansa and Qatar, changed, and today Cargolux is owned by Luxair (35.10%), Chinese HNCA (35.00%), BCEE
(10.90%) SNCI (10.67%) and the Luxembourg State (8.32%).
B747-8F becomes “Birthday ambassador”
Cargolux, which today counts more than 85 offices in over 50 countries, has decided to hold a year-long Birthday celebration, hosting special events both for employees as well as customers.
Kick-off to the celebrations, was the delivery of a specially branded plane, LX-VCC, (one of the company’s iconic 747-8 freighters), bearing a jubilee design with a special “50” logo and the new
name “Spirit of Cargolux”. It will act as a Birthday ambassador as it journeys across the globe. The company has also launched http://anniversary.cargolux.com, which shows the airline’s history and developments.
CargoForwarder Global, which has often reported on Cargolux over the years (though not quite numbering 50!), also wishes the airline a very Happy Birthday, and here is to another 50 successful
years!
Brigitte Gledhill
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