Lufthansa wants to fly its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to destinations in South America, revealed the airline’s CEO, Carsten Spohr.
Despite representing just 2% of the carrier’s operating revenue in 2023, the region has shown potential. “The routes we fly are very well booked,” Spohr said during a press conference on March 7 in Frankfurt. “South America is a very interesting market for us.”
According to him, Lufthansa has not been able to adequately serve the flight network to the South Atlantic. “Large wide-body planes are too big, and smaller long-haul aircraft, like the A340, are not efficient enough for such long routes from Frankfurt and Munich,” said the CEO.
Follow Air Data News: WhatsApp | Google News | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Lufthansa currently flies four-engine Airbus A340s to Bogotá, Colombia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Destinations with the greatest demand, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, are served with the Boeing 747-8, a huge aircraft, but the German airline has only 364 seats in four classes.
The Boeing 787-9 is not far from that, with 294 seats in three classes, but with more seats in economy class. Lighter and more efficient, the twin engine has a great range and offers a much better operating cost than the ‘Jumbo’ and the A340.
However, Lufthansa only has five aircraft of the type in its fleet, the first received in August 2022.
Airbus A350 has been forgotten
“Once we have enough 787s, we will be a stronger player in this market,” assured Spohr. Lufthansa expects deliveries of around ten Boeing 787-9s in 2024, five fewer than planned.
The carrier, however, did not mention the Airbus A350-900 as an alternative for flying to South America. The long-range jet has even better performance for long distances, in addition to a slightly greater passenger capacity, with its 318 seats.
Unlike the 787, Lufthansa already has 23 A350s in its fleet.
