This week, Lufthansa launched inaugural flights to Frankfurt from both Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. With the new routes, Lufthansa Group now serves 26 U.S. gateways.
On Thursday (June 6, 2024), Lufthansa celebrated the launch of their inaugural nonstop flight between Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (RDU) and Frankfurt (FRA). Raleigh-Durham joins Charlotte (CLT) as Lufthansa’s second North Carolina gateway, with the new route complementing existing service between Charlotte and Munich. Lufthansa has served Charlotte for nearly 20 years, and along with the new RDU service, the carrier now offers 12 weekly frequencies from North Carolina to their hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.
In Thursday’s announcement, Lufthansa Group’s Vice President Passenger Airlines Sales – The Americas, Dirk Janzen, said,
“Lufthansa is thrilled to bring Raleigh-Durham International Airport its first-ever nonstop connection to Frankfurt, and Germany as a whole. This new route will provide travelers throughout North Carolina with seamless access to Lufthansa Group’s worldwide network, opening up a world of possibilities for business and leisure travel, and helping to further the Group’s goal of connecting people, cultures, and economies.”
Also commenting on the new route, Raleigh-Durham International Airport Authority’s President and CEO, Michael Landguth, added,
“The launch of service to Frankfurt was 10 years in the making, dating back to our early conversations with Lufthansa in 2014 and culminating in today’s arrival of the first nonstop flight from Germany to RDU. We are thrilled to welcome Lufthansa as RDU’s newest international airline partner and provide convenient service to another European gateway.”
Lufthansa's Schedule Between Raleigh-Durham and Frankfurt - Courtesy Lufthansa
Flight LH408 departs Frankfurt at 10:20 and lands in Raleigh-Durham at 13:50, while the return flight, LH409, departs Raleigh-Durham at 15:40 and touches down back in Frankfurt at 06:05+1 (all times local). The new RDU service will operate five times weekly on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The route will be operated with a 255-passenger Airbus A330-300 with 42 Business Class, 28 Premium Economy and 186 Economy Class seats.
In an earlier press release on Wednesday (June 5, 2024), Lufthansa announced the launch of inaugural service between Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Frankfurt (FRA). With the new route, the Lufthansa Group now serves 26 U.S. gateways.
Further speaking on the new MSP-FRA route, Lufthansa Group’s Vice President Passenger Airlines Sales – The Americas, Dirk Janzen, said,
“We are thrilled to connect the vibrant Twin Cities, and the entire state of Minnesota, with Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub, offering a direct link for Minneapolis-St. Paul residents to Lufthansa Group's extensive network across Europe and beyond. The launch of this route serves as a main bedrock of our summer expansion plan in the United States, the most important market outside of the Group’s home markets, and we could not be happier to add more opportunities and capacity into and out of the U.S.”
Brian Ryks, CEO of The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) CEO, owner and operator of MSP, added,
“We are excited to welcome Lufthansa to MSP as our newest international airline. This new service addresses growing demand for travel to Germany and other European destinations. More than 35,500 passengers are projected to travel from MSP to Germany, while nearly 365,000 are expected to fly to Europe from MSP. Lufthansa not only helps meet that demand, but also gives passengers new options for reaching other parts of the globe.”
The route will be operated with a three-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, featuring 30 Business Class, 21 Premium Economy and 215 Economy Class seats. Flight LH482 departs Frankfurt at 11:10 and touches down in Minneapolis-St. Paul at 13:15. The return flight, LH483, departs Minneapolis-St. Paul at 15:05 and lands back in Frankfurt at 06:30+1. The MSP-FRA route operates five times per week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Lufthansa's Schedule Between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Frankfurt - Courtesy Lufthansa
Lufthansa previously added new direct service between Seattle and Munich, and increased capacity to Washington D.C. with an Airbus A380 super jumbo jet from Munich. SWISS also recently launched new service to both Washington, D.C. and Toronto, Canada. Lufthansa Group customers enjoy access to an extensive worldwide network, with Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and Discover Airlines, as well as via codeshare flights with Atlantic Joint Venture partners United Airlines and Air Canada.
Source: Lufthansa Group