Lufthansa Cargo announces medium-haul network start date
24 / 02 / 2022
Photo: Lufthansa Cargo
Lufthansa Cargo will in March launch its new medium-haul network using two converted A321 freighters to help meet e-commerce demand.
Customers will able to make bookings from March 1 for operations from March 15 covering Istanbul (IST), Tel Aviv (TLV), Malta (MLA), Tunis (TUN), Dublin (DUB) and Manchester (MAN).
The partially new stations in the freighter network will be served two to three times a week from and to Frankfurt (FRA).
Conversion of the first twin-engine A321F has already been completed and the aircraft will make its first commercial flight from Frankfurt to Dublin on March 15.
In the summer schedule, the carrier will also add flights to Cairo (CAI), starting March 29.
“With the added medium-haul freighters, we are opening up a whole new strategic business segment,” explained Ashwin Bhat, chief commercial officer at Lufthansa Cargo.
“In the future, the A321F will offer attractive same-day and e-commerce solutions within Europe and to selected medium-haul destinations, and the new network represents a major step towards the fast-growing e-commerce segment.
“On one hand, available capacity in the global airfreight market continues to be scarce and, at the same time, end consumers expect short delivery times for their ordered goods. With the medium-haul freighter, we can close this gap and continue to reliably and quickly provide our customers with the capacity they need with the same quality and expertise for which Lufthansa Cargo is known.”
The conversion of the first aircraft included fitting a reinforced floor, a roller system for moving cargo and a large cargo door.
A total of 14 pallet and container positions in the maindeck and 10 in the lower deck are available to Lufthansa Cargo customers per aircraft. This results in a payload of 28 tons per aircraft.
The second medium-haul freighter is expected to enter service in late summer. Both will be operated under a wet lease agreement by Lufthansa CityLine.
