[240520.EN.AIR] Lufthansa Cargo Ups Capacity by Pulling Out Seats From Passenger Jets

LUFTHANSA is removing seats from passenger aircraft to meet the capacity demands in the face of national lockdowns and quarantines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Thus, 51 there are now additional weekly cargo flights from Germany and Austria to Asia and back. Since the cabin space can also be loaded with cargo, this results in an average capacity of 30 tons each in practice.

In cooperation with Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo is further expanding the currently particularly scarce air freight capacity between Europe and Asia.

At present, 14 flights a week with Boeing 777F wide-body freighters with a standard load capacity of around 103 tons operate between Frankfurt and the Chinese mainland. Thus, 35 weekly flights with Lufthansa passenger aircraft will be added exclusively for cargo transport.

Specifically, there will be two daily connections from Frankfurt to Shanghai (PVG) and one daily connection to Beijing (PEK) with Airbus A330-300 aircraft. One Airbus A350-900 each will take off from Munich daily to Shanghai (PVG) and Beijing (PEK).

In order to further increase the possible cargo volume, especially for the transport of comparatively light goods such as protective masks, parts of the cabin interior of initially four Lufthansa aircraft will be removed.

In Austria, Austrian Airlines is expected to provide 16 flights a week from Vienna International Airport for the transport of cargo from Easter onwards. Shanghai (PVG) will be served eight times a week, Beijing (PEK) five times, Penang (PEN) two times and Xiamen (XMN) once a week. Passenger jets of the type Boeing 767-300 and Boeing 777-200 will be used.

Source : HKSG.