Lufthansa Cargo adds short and medium-haul services

This month, Lufthansa Cargo is adding new destinations to its European route network, further expanding its regional footprint. The new freighter destinations include Larnaca (Cyprus), Athens and Milan. In total, Lufthansa Cargo will serve twelve destinations in the intra-European short- and medium-haul network on more than 50 weekly flights with Airbus A321 freighters.

As of yesterday, April 12, Lufthansa Cargo’s summer flight schedule expanded to include two weekly connections to Larnaca on Cyprus in a combined routing with the Greek capital Athens. The new service offers freight customers a fast connection for their cargo on a direct route to the hub in Frankfurt with onward transportation to destinations worldwide. In addition, a weekly connection to Milan complements the service and, in this way, links the economically strong region of Lombardy in northern Italy with Central Europe and the rest of the world.

One year of A321F freighter operations

For a year now, Lufthansa Cargo has been successfully offering customers fast and flexible transport solutions with its A321F connections, whether in scheduled or charter business.

Lufthansa Cargo currently operates two A321F freighters. By late summer, the fleet will be expanded to a total of four aircraft. As a twin-engine, technically advanced narrow-body aircraft, the Airbus A321 freighter is very powerful and at the same time fuel-efficient.

A total of 28 tons of payload is available on 14 pallet and container positions on the main deck and ten on the lower deck.

The adjustments and extensions to the flight schedule on short- and medium-haul routes associated with the further expansion of the fleet are currently still in the planning stage. “We look back with satisfaction on the first year of A321 operations and are delighted with the positive response and increasing demand from our customers. All signs are pointing to growth at Lufthansa Cargo.”

“With Larnaca, Athens and Milan, we have now added further very promising destinations to our route network.” “We want to expand our presence with our well-known service and product quality both in the fast-growing e-commerce segment and in the field of individual transport solutions according to customer needs,” says Ashwin Bhat, Chief Commercial Officer at Lufthansa Cargo.

Long-haul services

In addition to its expanded short- and medium-haul services, Lufthansa Cargo also offers its customers 79 weekly connections with 16 Boeing 777 freighters to intercontinental destinations. This is applicable to this year’s summer flight schedule.

The cargo carrier also markets the belly capacities of more than 7,000 flights operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings Discover and SunExpress. Taken overall, Lufthansa Cargo’s complete route network covers around 300 destinations in more than 100 countries, using both freighter aircraft and cargo belly capacity from passenger aircraft.

Summary

In 2022, the cargo carrier saw important milestones achieved across its freighter fleet. This firstly involved the investment in the continuous expansion of the B777F long-haul fleet.

The expansion of short- and medium-haul networks was achieved with A321 freighters, and the carrier has further progressed its Sustainable Aviation Fuel program.

In 2023, Lufthansa Cargo plans to successively equip its B777F fleet with Sharkskin technology, implement further digital services and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions through sustainable logistics solutions.

References

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