Lufthansa Group announced multiple new destinations as part of its transatlantic expansion for 2024. This includes Lufthansa and SWISS, each adding two new routes.
Lufthansa Group Expalnding North American Routes
For the summer of 2024, Lufthansa Group’s Lufthansa and SWISS each will be adding two new destinations to North America. Specifically, Lufthansa will be adding Minneapolis and Raleigh routes and SWISS adding Washington DC and Toronto.
Lufthansa’s North America Expansion for 2024
As of the summer of 2024, Lufthansa will be adding two new nonstop routes from Frankfurt to Raleigh and Minneapolis. Let us go over the details of the new routes.
Lufthansa’s Frankfurt to Raleigh-Durham Route
Effective June 6, 2024, Lufthansa will be adding Frankfurt (FRA) to Raleigh-Durham (RDU) route and it will be operated on the following schedules:
- LH408 – Frankfurt to Raleigh-Durham departing at 10:20 and arriving at 13:50
- LH409 – Raleigh-Durham to Frankfurt departing at 15:50 and arriving at 06:15 (+1 day)
The airline will be running 5x weekly service between the two cities and the flight time is blocked at 9hr30min outbound and 8hr25min inbound.
Lufthansa is operating Airbus A330-300 on this route which features 254 seats (42 in Business, 28 Premium Economy and 185 in Economy).
Lufthansa’s Frankfurt to Minneapolis Route
Effective June 4, 2024, Lufthansa will be adding Frankfurt (FRA) to Minneapolis (MSP) route and it will be operated on the following schedules:
- LH482 – Frankfurt to Minneapolis departing at 11:10 and arriving at 13:15
- LH483 – Minneapolis to Frankfurt departing at 15:15 and arriving at 06:40 (+1 day)
The airline will be running 5x weekly service between the two cities and the flight time is blocked at 9hr5min outbound and 8hr25min inbound.
Lufthansa is operating Boeing B787-9 on this route which features 294 seats (26 in Business, 21 Premium Economy and 247 in Economy).
Lufthansa’s two new destinations will enable competition on both Delta’s major hub at Minneapolis while there will be shared competition among US legacy carriers and European carriers at Raleigh. Therefore, these markets are interesting for Lufthansa to enter.
SWISS’s North America Expansion for 2024
As of the summer of 2024, SWISS will be adding two new nonstop routes from Zurich to Washington DC and Toronto. Let us go over the details of the new routes.
SWISS’s Zurich to Washington DC Route
Effective March 28, 2024, SWISS will be adding Zurich (ZRH) to Washington DC (IAD) route and it will be operated on the following schedules:
- LX72 – Zurich to Washington DC departing at 13:00 and arriving at 16:20
- LX73 – Washington DC to Zurich departing at 20:45 and arriving at 10:50 (+1 day)
The airline will be running daily service between the two cities and the flight time is blocked at 9hr20min outbound and 8hr5min inbound.
SWISS is operating Airbus A330-300 on this route which features 236 seats (8 in First, 45 in Business, 183 in Economy).
SWISS’s Zurich to Toronto Route
Effective May 10, 2024, SWISS will be adding Zurich (ZRH) to Toronto (YYZ) route and it will be operated on the following schedules:
- LX80 – Zurich to Toronto departing at 09:55 and arriving at 13:00
- LX81 – Toronto DC to Zurich departing at 16:35 and arriving at 06:30 (+1 day)
The airline will be running daily service between the two cities and the flight time is blocked at 9hr5min outbound and 7hr55min inbound.
SWISS will also use Airbus A330-300 on this route similar to the Washington DC route.
SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour describes the expansion:
“In the wake of the pandemic, it has now become clearer than ever that travel is a deeply-rooted human need, especially among the younger generations. The demand for air travel continues to steadily rise, and the loadings on our flights are now higher than they have ever been before. As The Airline of Switzerland, we connect our home country with the world; and, in doing so, we offer our customers a quality range of premium air services. We are delighted that we will be further expanding our route network next summer on both the short- and the long-haul front. And as we do so, we will continue to pursue the kind of balanced growth that pays due and full regard to our customers, to society and to environmental considerations and concerns.”
SWISS Chief Commercial Officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour
In the situation for SWISS, the airline has a Star Alliance transatlantic joint venture, therefore, we can see that SWISS will be coordinating with its partners in terms of schedules and profit.
Summary
Lufthansa Group’s two major airlines – Lufthansa and SWISS – announced transatlantic route expansion for summer 2024. Lufthansa will be adding Frankfurt to Minneapolis and Raleigh-Durham while SWISS will add Zurich to Washington DC and Toronto.
I think both airlines have plans to enter markets with limited competition as these North American destinations have a strong presence by US airlines.
