Customers will be able to book services on the A321 from 1 March and the first flight will fly from Frankfurt to Dublin on 15 March.
In addition to Dublin, the network will grow with the addition of Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Malta, Tunis and Manchester, and for the summer schedule starting on 29 March, Cairo will be added.
The stations will be served two to three times a week to and from Frankfurt as Lufthansa Cargo responds to the continuing growth in demand for e-commerce.
Ashwin Bhat, Chief Commercial Officer of Lufthansa Cargo says that the A321 will offer same-day and e-commerce solutions within Europe and to selected medium-haul destinations.
He says: “On one hand, available capacity in the global airfreight market continues to be scarce and, at the same time, end consumers expect short delivery times for their ordered goods. With the medium-haul freighter, we can close this gap and continue to reliably and quickly provide our customers with the capacity they need with the same quality and expertise for which Lufthansa Cargo is known.”
The conversion of D-AEUC has been completed with a reinforced floor, a roller system for moving cargo and a large cargo door being installed.
Fourteen pallet and container positions are available in the maindeck along with ten in the lower deck, giving it 28 tons of capacity.
The second freighter is expected to enter service in late summer and both will be operated under a wet lease agreement by Lufthansa CityLine, each under Lufthansa Cargo flight numbers.