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Lufthansa Cargo A321 freighter lifts off for first commercial flight

[ March 23, 2022   //   ]

Lufthansa Cargo’s first Airbus 321 freighter took off for service for the first time on March 15, 2022. The aircraft took off from Frankfurt (FRA) to Dublin (DUB) before continuing to Manchester (MAN).
The freighter, christened “Hello Europe,” was loaded with express freight and general cargo on its maiden flight. The twin-engine aircraft is operated by Lufthansa CityLine. With this market launch, Lufthansa Cargo is responding to the continued growth in demand from the e-commerce industry and can thus offer customers even more capacity and additional fast connections.
Dorothea von Boxberg, Chairperson of the Executive Board and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo emphasized the importance of the new freighter for the Lufthansa Cargo business model.
“The addition of the medium-haul network is an important step in further opening our company to attractive business segments such as the fast-growing e-commerce sector,” she said. “Lufthansa Cargo can now offer its customers same-day and e-commerce solutions within Europe and to selected medium-haul destinations.”
The new aircraft will serve a wide range of customers and routes, both scheduled and charter.
“We look forward to providing much-needed capacity in the European market and further strengthening our position as the leading airfreight carrier in Europe,” she said.
For Lufthansa CityLine, too, the operation of the A321 freighter represents a step into the future: “We have put Cargo Operations at Lufthansa CityLine on its feet in a very short time. Together with Lufthansa Cargo, we are very proud to launch this first converted A321F certified in Germany,” says Jens Fehlinger, Managing Director of Lufthansa CityLine.
With the start of operations on March 15, Lufthansa Cargo will gradually add Dublin (DUB), Manchester (MAN), Istanbul (IST), Tel Aviv (TLV), Malta (MLA) and Tunis (TUN) to its global route network by deploying the A321 freighter. In the summer schedule, the carrier will also add flights to Cairo (CAI) starting March 29. The partially new stations in the freighter network will be served two to three times a week from and to Frankfurt (FRA).
The new A321 freighter was named “Hello Europe” as a greeting to the European countries for whose e-commerce and same-day shipments it will primarily be used.
To date, Lufthansa Cargo operates a freighter fleet of currently 15 of its own B777F aircraft. The second A321 medium-haul freighter is expected to enter service in late summer. Both aircraft will be operated under a wet lease agreement by Lufthansa CityLine, each under Lufthansa Cargo’s flight number.
The Airbus A321s (A321P2F), which have been converted to freighters, offer a payload of 28 metric tons with a range of 3,500 kilometers. The conversion allows the use of standardized cargo pallets on the main deck as well. The twin-engine Airbus A321 is one of the most versatile aircraft in its class: with the ability to transport containers on the main deck, it offers fast loading and unloading, enabling highly efficient flight operations.

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