Starting March 1st, Lufthansa Cargo customers will also be able to book cargo on converted Airbus A321 Freighters, with operations launching on March 15th. The new medium-haul network will include Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Malta, Tunis, Dublin, Manchester and Cairo.
On Wednesday (February 23, 2022), Lufthansa Cargo announced the launch of a new medium-haul network operated with converted Airbus A321 Freighters. Customers can book freight on the medium-haul freighters from March 1st, ahead of the launch of operations on March 15th. The new network will include service to Istanbul (IST), Tel Aviv (TLV), Malta (MLA), Tunis (TUN), Dublin (DUB) and Manchester (MAN), complementing Lufthansa Cargo's vast global network. The carrier will also add service to Cairo (CAI) starting March 29th. The partially new stations in the medium-haul network will be served 2-3 times weekly to and from Frankfurt (FRA). The carrier’s A321F will make its inaugural commercial flight from Frankfurt to Dublin on March 15, 2022.
In Wednesday’s announcment, Lufthansa Cargo’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ashwin Bhat, said,
“With the added medium-haul freighters, we are opening up a whole new strategic business segment. In the future, the A321F will offer attractive same-day and eCommerce solutions within Europe and to selected medium-haul destinations, and the new network represents a major step towards the fast-growing eCommerce 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 A321F, registration D-AEUC, has already been completed. As part of the conversion, the floor was reinforced, a roller system for moving freight was added and a large cargo door was installed. Lufthansa Cargo’s new A321F can accommodate a total of 14 main deck pallet and container positions, and 10 lower deck positions, resulting in a payload of 28 tons. The carrier’s second medium-haul freighter is expected to enter service by late summer. Both aircraft will be operated under a wet-lease agreement with Lufthansa CityLine, a Lufthansa Group Company, under Lufthansa Cargo flight numbers.
With revenue of €2.8 billion and 6.5 billion revenue ton-kilometers in 2020, Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world’s leading air freight companies, employing approximately 4,400 team members worldwide. The cargo carrier serves around 300 destinations in over 100 countries with a dedicated fleet of freighters, as well as belly-hold cargo capacity of passenger aircraft operated by Lufthansa German Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings Discover and SunExpress. Lufthansa Cargo also operates an extensive road feeder service network. Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and is the Group’s logistics specialist.
Source: Lufthansa Cargo/Mynewsdesk