-
Lufthansa
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- LH/DLH
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1953
- Alliance:
- Star Alliance
- Airline Group:
- Lufthansa Group
- CEO:
- Carsten Spohr
- Country:
- Germany
Lufthansa is celebrating its 100th 'preighter' flight for EgeTrans Internationale. The German flag carrier partnered with the logistics firm in late 2020 to offer dedicated cargo flights to Chicago to service key industries. The partnership has held strong for nearly two years and looks to continue into the future too.
100 flights and counting
Today marks the 100th flight by Lufthansa Cargo as part of its deal with EgeTrans Internationale Spedition. Since the winter of 2020, the carrier has been using preighters, or passenger planes with seats removed for more space, to carry cargo for EgeTrans' customers in the US.
Lufthansa has been flying an Airbus A340, and occasionally the A350, between Frankfurt and Chicago, carrying supplies from Marbach am Neckar, the home of EgeTrans. Freighter onboard includes commercial vehicles and automotive, hydraulic, and agricultural machinery.
Frequencies on the route varied by the cargo demand, but at its peak last summer, Lufthansa was flying up to five weekly roundtrips to the Midwest. On average, these flights carry 37 tonnes of cargo, made possible thanks to a lack of seats and passengers onboard.
In a statement about the agreement, at EgeTrans' Air Cargo Manager, Florian Naujocks said,
"We are proud that the close cooperation with the Lufthansa Cargo Team Stuttgart is not exclusively limited to the freighters, but that we also have cargo capacities available three times a week on both freighters and passenger aircraft bound for Chicago at Lufthansa Cargo."
Partnership to continue
Preighters are a creation of the pandemic at a time when airlines had nowhere to fly their passenger jets and companies were desperate for capacity. Lufthansa's deal with EgeTrans is only one example of scores that airlines have credited with saving their business in 2020 and beyond.
However, as passengers return in droves quickly, airlines will quickly run out of extra planes on the ground. For Lufthansa, as the A340 returns to service, there will come a point where it is more profitable to fly passengers than just cargo or retire the two-decade-old product.
However, considering how lucrative cargo is now, Lufthansa is working to boost its dedicated freighter fleet and maybe signing deals to use its passenger belly space more efficiently. While the pandemic might be passing, some changes are here to stay for good.
New orders
Over at Lufthansa, the successful freight deals have seen it grow its order book again. The airline has ordered two 777Fs to increase short-term yield, while further out, it wants seven 777X freighters. This follows a streak of talking up the struggling Boeing, with CEO Carsten Spohr saying the American giant will recover and he believes in the company. With images of the first 787s coming out, Lufthansa is excited about the future.
What do you think about Lufthansa's pandemic-era agreements? Let us know in the comments!