Lufthansa Cargo will be able to increase its medium-haul network across Europe for same-day e-commerce customers once three additional narrowbody freighters arrive between October and next summer, the company announced recently.
As was previously announced, a second A321 narrowbody cargo will start flying in October. A specialist overhaul company is currently converting the old passenger jet in Singapore. In addition to adding Birmingham, England, London, and Madrid to its intra-European network, Lufthansa Cargo announced that Tel Aviv, Israel, and Istanbul will receive additional frequencies.
With its first A321 freighter, flown by Lufthansa subsidiary CityLine, an intra-European passenger carrier, the airline started the regional cargo network in March. With destinations in Europe and North Africa, namely Cairo, Egypt; Malta; and Tunis, Tunisia, the new service is targeted at the e-commerce market.
From its base in Frankfurt, Germany, the cargo division of Lufthansa will operate daily flights during the week to Birmingham and Dublin, one of its current destinations.
As per the Chief Commercial Officer, Ashwin Bhat, they can now offer even shorter travel times inside Europe and to specific medium-haul locations. According to the International Air Transport Association, Lufthansa Cargo is one of the top 15 planned cargo airlines in the world in terms of the amount of long-haul cargo it transports. There are 11 Boeing 777 freighters in its fleet, in addition to five more that are used in the AeroLogic and DHL Express joint venture.
According to Bhat, the company wants to dominate the same-day delivery market in Europe.
In order to do this, Lufthansa Cargo said that it will get two additional A321 modified freighters in the first half of 2023, increasing its potential that is accessible to clients ordering express delivery.
The converted A321 freighters offer high capacity for a narrowbody aircraft and excellent fuel economy. The aircraft has a carrying capacity of up to 28 tonnes and has 10 small container places on the lower deck in addition to 14 pallet and container locations on the main deck. The competing Boeing 737-800 can’t use the lower deck since it only allows loose cargo.
The San Francisco-based BBAM Aircraft Leasing & Management, which delegated transformation to an Airbus joint venture with operations in Germany and Singapore, is leasing the A321 freighters to Lufthansa Cargo.
