Freighter operator Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) is to expand its operations into Germany with the start of flights to Frankfurt Airport.
The new setup will begin on 4 September and will operate using the Japanese airline’s Boeing 747-8 freighters, calling at Frankfurt twice per week.
One of the flights will operate on a loop of Narita - Anchorage - Schiphol - Frankfurt - Narita. The second flight will operate: Narita - Anchorage - Frankfurt - Narita.
The commencement of the route is subject to approval by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan and the relevant German authorities, NCA said.
AeroRoutes reports that the airline last served Frankfurt Airport in 2009.
At present, the airline’s scheduled network into Europe includes calls at Schiphol and Milan, while it offers services to Luxembourg through a codeshare agreement.
The move will be a boost to the German airport as cargo volumes have been fairly static this year - increasing 1.4% year on year over the first seven months of the year to 1.2m tonnes.
However, in July, the airport appeared to benefit from the trend of front loading ahead of the implementation of new US tariffs as its cargo volumes increased by 3.7% compared with last year.
The network adjustment is the first announced by the airline since it was taken over by ANA Holdings at the start of August.
According to ANA Holdings, the move creates Japan’s largest combination carrier, boasting a fleet including ANA’s six Boeing 767 freighters and two Boeing 777 freighters and NCA’s eight Boeing 747-8 freighters.
NCA also owns seven Boeing 747-400F that are operated by other companies on lease.
