German flag carrier Lufthansa is switching the aircraft types it will deploy on its two New York area routes from Frankfurt. Some changes are already taking place this month and will continue through May.

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Swapping equipment on flights to New York

On its daily flights to Newark Liberty International Airport, Lufthansa currently deploys its brand-new Boeing 787-9s with capacity for 294 passengers. This month, the German carrier will offer 9,114 seats on the route. From May, coinciding with increased summer demand, Lufthansa will deploy its Boeing 747-8s to Newark, although it will continue serving the nearby John F. Kennedy International Airport. The aircraft switch to the 747s to Newark is logical for connecting passengers as EWR is a hub for Lufthansa's Star Alliance partner United Airlines.

Lufthansa Boeing 787 landing
Photo: Lufthansa

Though Lufthansa serves EWR, its greater concentration is on JFK, just across the water from Newark. New York City is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, and Lufthansa plans up to two daily flights to JFK during peak summer operations. This month Lufthansa is deploying four different aircraft types on flights to JFK, the Airbus A330-300, A340-300, A340-600, and 747-400. Next month, the 747 will no longer be deployed on the route, and in May, only the A340s will be used. For the rest of the summer, except June, only the A340s will fly to JFK.

Summer flights to the US

Cirium schedule data shows that Lufthansa will have up to 934 monthly flights to the United States during peak summer travel. From Frankfurt, Lufthansa will fly to Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Denver, Dallas - Fort Worth, Detroit, Newark, Washington - Dulles, Houston, New York JFK, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and St. Louis. Apart from its daily flights to JFK, Lufthansa will serve BOS, IAD, LAX, and ORD daily during peak summer ops.

Lufthansa Airbus A330-343 landing at Boston Logan International Airport
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

From Munich, Lufthansa will fly to Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Newark, Washington-Dulles, New York JFK, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, and San Francisco. At the height of summer, 328 of Lufthansa's 924 flights to the United States will depart from Munich. For most of the summer, Chicago will have two daily flights from Munich in addition to the two from Frankfurt.

Considering airline acquisitions

Earlier this week, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr spoke on the airline's interest in acquiring Italy's ITA Airways and Portugal's TAP Air Portugal. Following the firing of TAP's CEO, the Portuguese government expressed that it would look to sell a majority stake in the airline soon.

“The priority for Lufthansa is ITA but, of course, as number one [airline group] in Europe you cannot focus on one take-over candidate only. I do not shy away from TAP. The two most interesting [mergers and acquisitions] candidates right now are ITA and TAP, but I could give other names too. Whenever a candidate arises, we will keep a close eye on it and show our interest.”

Spohr was asked about the extent of negotiations with ITA but declined to share details, only stating that talks are going well.