SHENZHEN is likely to become a major cargo hub during the coming decade, says Cargolux's area director for Asia and the Pacific, Dirk Visser. He said in the company's 1992 annual report that Cargolux, which last November became the first international airline to land at Shenzhen airport, expected to begin regular services later this year. Mr Visser said the carrier's additional capacity also attracted both old and new charter customers during last year. Cargolux booked twice as many flights as in 1991 on the rapidly developing transpacific route. ''The on-demand charter services we offer amidst our regular schedule are so advantageous that they often draw clients away from desperate low-rate competitors,'' Mr Visser said. Some customers' shipments actually travelled a shorter journey between Europe and the Far East because the carrier secured new airways during the year, he said. Operating for the first time last year with five B747-200 freighters, Cargolux was able to open important new destinations such as the Indian sub-continent via Colombo weekly, and to Malaysia on a twice-weekly basis. ''The vast wealth of the Middle East will lure big business once the region stabilises,'' said Cargolux area director for Europe and the Middle East Pierre Wesner. Aircraft loads from the Far East averaged 90 per cent capacity, though the combination of dwindling exports, increasing capacity and restrictive regulations by some authorities lowered revenue. Traffic from Japan suffered, partly because manufacturers moved to lower cost centres in Southeast Asia.
