Lufthansa Cargo adds second Airbus A321F freighter

Lufthansa Cargo will add a second Airbus A321F freighter from October as part of plans to grow its intra-European network and serve the express and e-commerce markets.

The carrier launched its short- and medium-haul European freighter network with an A321F in March.

The second A321F, which Air Cargo News reported on earlier this month is currently undergoing conversion in Singapore.

Similar to the first A321F, the second aircraft will also be based at the Frankfurt hub and operated by Lufthansa CityLine under a wet-lease agreement. Both A321Fs will operate under Lufthansa Cargo flight numbers.

The second twin-engine, narrowbody aircraft, registration D-AEUA, is identical in design to the first A321 freighter (D-AEUC, “Hello Europe”). A total of 28 tons of payload is available on 14 pallets and container positions on the main deck and ten on the lower deck.

As a goup company, Lufthansa CityLine has spent recent months on the technical and operational preparation of the first two converted aircraft of this type in Germany.

The new destinations in the intra-European network include Birmingham (BHX), London (LHR) and Madrid (MAD).

The existing destinations Istanbul (IST), Tel Aviv (TLV), Malta (MLA), Tunis (TUN), Dublin (DUB), Manchester (MAN) and Cairo (CAI) will continue to be served, while Istanbul and Tel Aviv will see additional frequencies.

“I am very pleased about the expansion of our A321 freighter network and capacity,” said Lufthansa Cargo chief commercial officer Ashwin Bhat.

“Complementing our B777F and belly capacity, we can now offer even shorter transport times within European and to selected medium-haul destinations. To the UK and Ireland, for example, we will offer daily weekday flights to Birmingham and Dublin, enabling our customers to build reliable, scalable and fast supply-chains.

“It is our goal to build a European Same-Day and e-commerce network and thereby establish Lufthansa Cargo as the leading European cargo airline and service partner in the market. In addition to Lufthansa Cargo’s high-quality standards on the ground, the A321 freighter is a very flexible aircraft, which will enable us to build customized networks and solutions for our customers.”

In May, Lufthansa Cargo ordered three B777Fs and seven 777-8Fs to increase its airfreight capacity.

Lufthansa Cargo will add another B777F into service by the end of the month.