It is not what most would have expected from the announcement of the newest destination by the airline.
The new route is from Frankfurt to St. Louis.
A new flight will be launched between St. Louis and Frankfurt in June 2022. It is even more interesting that the route will be operated by Lufthansa, rather than Eurowings. It will be the first time in 20 years that St. Louis will have a direct link to continental Europe.
The exact frequencies, schedule, and aircraft type have not yet been revealed. I think the route will be operated by an A330, but that is subject to confirmation, as the route isn't yet on sale.
There are flights to St. Louis.
My take on the new flights.
If you asked me last week which city in the United States Lufthansa would add service to, I would not have guessed St. Louis.
I think this makes sense. St. Louis is one of the largest airports that is not served by a subsidiary of Lufthansa and is one of the highest traffic airports in the United States. The busiest airport is Minneapolis, because of the number of people connecting through on Delta.
I view it in a different way.
Airlines are having to get creative with long haul service, since most of Asia is closed, and China is a huge market pre-pandemic.
It's a bit easier to sell seats as part of the joint venture with United.
I think St. Louis is giving significant incentives and subsidies for this route, which will improve the economics for Lufthansa even more.
WOW Air ended its service to St. Louis after just one season, as the airline was disappointed by the response from customers.
WOW Air was the last airline to fly from Europe.
The bottom line.
The new route will be launched in June 2022. I was surprised by the route since I wouldn't have expected St. Louis to get a flight on a major carrier. I can make sense of this in terms of how travel demand has shifted, the incentives the airport is offering the airline, and the general size of the airport.
What do you think about the flights from Lufthansa to St. Louis?
Ben is the founder of OMAAT.
