Lufthansa is one of the largest transatlantic airlines. From its bases in Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC), it currently has routes to 27 different US destinations, with an average of 60 daily flights to and from the US during September of this year. Lufthansa is also notable for flying some of the largest available aircraft on its US routes, including the Airbus A380, Airbus A340, and Boeing 747.

Lufthansa Airbus A380 landing shutterstock_2433149763

Photo: Maverrick | Shutterstock

Looking at flight data for September from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Lufthansa’s most prominent US destinations based on seat count are:

  • New York (JFK and EWR): 5 flights daily to the New York area from FRA and MUC, including twice-daily FRA-JFK, providing more than 3,600 seats daily.
  • Chicago (ORD): Twice daily service to the windy city from both FRA and MUC, resulting in nearly 2,500 seats daily.
  • Washington DC (IAD): Twice daily flights from FRA and daily from MUC, providing 2,100 daily seats.
  • Boston (BOS): Twice daily flights from FRA and daily from MUC, providing 2,100 daily seats.
A Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 on the apron at Munich Airport.

Photo: Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock

But what about the opposite end of this list? Lufthansa also has some smaller but still vital US routes, some of which only recently resumed after the pandemic and a few that are brand new to the carrier as it expands its US footprint. So, let’s look at Lufthansa’s five smallest US routes according to seat count.

5

Frankfurt – Minneapolis

4,393 miles | 6,468 seats

Minneapolis (MSP) is probably best known for being a hub for Delta Air Lines, and as a result, it doesn’t suffer from a lack of connectivity. Serving over 35 million passengers a year, Delta connects MSP with several long-haul destinations such as Tokyo, Amsterdam, Paris, Seoul, and London. But crucially, no connection to Germany for a state where 40% of the population has German ancestry, which is likely what inspired Lufthansa to launch an FRA-MSP route in June of this year.

Lufthansa Boeing 787-9

Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock.

This nonstop service operates five times weekly: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and utilizes one of Lufthansa’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, an ideal mix of size and range for opening a new long-haul route. The aircraft offers a three-class configuration, with 30 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 215 seats in economy.

4

Frankfurt – Austin

5,310 miles | 6,174 seats

Austin (AUS) has traditionally been a strong airport for American Airlines, but in recent years, Delta has named it one of its focus cities and has been significantly expanding its route network from there. Before Lufthansa, the city only had two European connections: British Airways daily to London (LHR) and KLM three times weekly to Amsterdam (AMS).

A Lufthansa Boeing 787

Photo: Lufthansa

Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the US, with over 23 million passengers passing through AUS last year. This makes it an attractive new market for Lufthansa, which started providing service to Austin from its base at FRA in 2022. When the route initially opened, it was flown three times weekly, but it has since grown to where it now operates five times a week with a 294-seat B787-9, which departs FRA mid-morning for a daylight flight to the Lone Star State and returns to FRA early the following morning.

Lufthansa Boeing 787

Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying.

3

Frankfurt – Raleigh-Durham

4,278 miles | 5,335 seats

Raleigh-Durham (RDU) lies in the shadow of its far larger North Carolinian counterpart, the American Airlines hub at Charlotte. Nevertheless, it is also one of the fastest-growing US cities and a focus city for Delta. Last year, RDU served a record 14.5 million passengers, breaking its pre-pandemic records. It also has significant plans to expand the airport and its facilities over the next decade.

RDU has recently added several international destinations, such as Copa Airlines to Panama and Aeromexico to Mexico City. Lufthansa was the latest international connection when it launched its route from Frankfurt this past summer. Flying five times weekly, it utilizes a 255-seat Airbus A330-300 for the service. In a nod to the business-centric travel of the Raleigh-Durham research triangle, the aircraft has a more premium-heavy three-class configuration, with 42 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 185 seats in economy.

Lufthansa Airbus A330 parked at Frankfurt Airport FRA shutterstock_2278487147

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

2

Munich – Seattle

5,284 miles | 3,809 seats

Seattle (SEA) is the most internationally connected city on this list, given that it is a west coast hub for Delta and a transpacific gateway for numerous international airlines flying to the US. Lufthansa has also flown from FRA to Seattle (SEA) for many years, and the route is notable for any aviation geek as one of the few remaining where you can fly aboard an Airbus A340-600.

Lufthansa Airbus A340-600

Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock

Lufthansa’s addition of a second route to SEA from its MUC hub this past summer is therefore notable as a strategic expansion of an existing market rather than the development of a new one. Dirk Janzen, VP of Passenger Sales at Lufthansa said:

“The United States is Lufthansa Group’s most important market outside of the home markets, and so this new nonstop service between Munich and Seattle marks a significant step forward in connecting travelers and fostering economic ties between Germany and the US West Coast.”

The route was also SEA’s 50th international connection. It is flown three times weekly and utilizes a 293-seat Airbus A350-900, with 48 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 224 seats in economy class.

Lufthansa Airbus A350-900 | D-AIXN
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

1

Frankfurt – St Louis

4,593 miles | 3,315 seats

St Louis (STL) has a storied aviation history. At the end of the last century, it was TWA’s main hub, with 103 destinations served by 515 daily flights and the eighth-busiest airport in the US. Sadly, the demise of TWA and American Airlines’ subsequent closure of STL as a hub has left the facility a shadow of its former self, and for more than two decades, it had no international routes at all.

Lufthansa Airbus A330

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

But as the pandemic subsided in 2022, Lufthansa added STL to its network, albeit as the smallest of all its destinations in the US with just over 3,300 monthly seats—less than Lufthansa flies to the New York area in a day. The FRA-STL service flies three times a week with a 255-seat A330-300, and it has been a strong success for Lufthansa, with the airline reporting an average 94% capacity over the first year of service.

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