The first direct freighter flight departed from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to Los Angeles (LAX), marking Lufthansa Cargo’s expansion into transpacific operations.
With the start of the winter flight schedule last weekend, Lufthansa Cargo has inaugurated its first direct transpacific freighter service from Asia to North America. On Sunday, October 27, 2024, flight LH8019 took off from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) in Vietnam to Los Angeles (LAX) in the United States, operated by its JV subsidiary AeroLogic.
The aircraft with the identification D-AALO had previously taken off from Frankfurt (FRA) for Vietnam on Saturday, October 26, 2024. It had then flown back from Los Angeles on Sunday, October 27, 2024, and had arrived at the carrier’s home hub on Monday, October 28, 2024.
With the new flight schedule, Lufthansa Cargo is now offering its customers 89 weekly B777F freighter connections worldwide. This includes 50 frequencies to 17 destinations in Asia, reflecting the strong demand in the region. The growing e-commerce industry, in particular, is driving this development, to which Lufthansa Cargo is able to respond quickly and flexibly thanks to its early preparations. With its own A321 freighter fleet (now operated by Lufthansa Cargo) for short and medium-haul routes, as well as additional cargo capacities marketed on the extensive network of Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines and SunExpress, Lufthansa Cargo is able to offer its customers capacities to over 350 destinations in 100 countries in its winter flight schedule.