Deutsche Post DHL and Lufthansa made cautious comments on the outlook for the air cargo industry as they launched their joint cargo operation Aerologic on Friday.

"Our business is an early indicator, but we have no order backlog, so I cannot say how things will develop," said Deutsche Post DHL's chief executive Frank Appel at an inauguration ceremony for the joint venture.

"Until April we saw neither an improvement nor a deterioration, so it looks as thought the floor of the crisis has been reached."

Aerologic is starting its operations with two Boeing 777 aircraft that will be used by Deutsche Post's DHL Express business on weekdays and by Lufthansa Cargo on Saturdays and Sundays.

Six more 777s will complete the fleet by the end of 2010.

Deutsche Post and Lufthansa had originally planned to buy 11 planes for Aerologic but have since scaled back their plans for now. They said they could increase the fleet in the future if there was enough demand, but said there were no firm plans.

Appel said the original annual revenues target of EUR550 million euros (USD$765.7 million) by 2011 was therefore obsolete, and said he could not give a new outlook.

"We will surely not give a guidance for individual parts of the business if we do not give a target for the business as a whole," he said.

But Aerologic still expects to turn a profit in 2010, the companies said.