Lufthansa has announced a significant expansion of its long-haul network, including doubling the number of routes it operates its Airbus A380s on.
In total, the German airline will utilize six A380s from Munich Airport (MUC) starting next summer. Passengers will be able to fly from the German city to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and two newly added destinations, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL).
By summer 2025, Lufthansa’s active Airbus A380 fleet will grow to eight aircraft, as previously announced by the carrier.
However, the German airline has announced additional destinations to the United States (US) from MUC, including Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA), which is already served by Frankfurt Airport (FRA), returns to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).
Lufthansa will also extend its winter flying schedule to Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR), India by also offering flights throughout summer 2024.
The carrier has also introduced new US destinations at FRA, including Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU).
“Numerous German companies have branches in the Raleigh-Durham area, and employees will now have an optimal connection to Germany and Lufthansa’s global network for the first time,” Lufthansa said.
The carrier said flights to MSP are “an ideal starting point for exploring the state of Minnesota where urban sophistication meets exciting outdoor adventures”.
MSP is one of the major hubs for Delta Air Lines, an airline from the SkyTeam alliance, which rivals Lufthansa’s Star Alliance.
Group expansion
Meanwhile, another airline within the Lufthansa Group, Swiss International Air Lines, trading as SWISS, is also expanding its North American network, which includes the US.
SWISS will connect Zurich Airport (ZRH) with IAD and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Canada starting in summer 2024.
“The demand for air travel continues to steadily rise, and the loadings on our flights are now higher than they have ever been before,” Tamur Goudarzi Pour, the chief commercial officer (CCO) at SWISS, said.
SWISS will fly to IAD year-round from March 2024, while services to YYZ are currently provisionally planned for only the summer season.
The Switzerland-based airline will also offer flights from ZRH to Košice International Airport (KSC), Slovakia, and Cluj Avram Iancu International Airport (CLJ), Romania. Both short-haul destinations will be served by the Airbus A220.
“The varied programme of scheduled services that SWISS will operate from Zurich and Geneva in its 2024 summer schedules will extend to 113 destinations,” the airline summarized in its announcement.