Lufthansa operates first Brussels-Chicago B777 freighter flight
It will operate twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays and will mainly carry pharmaceuticals and life sciences shipments.
Lufthansa Cargo operated its first direct freighter flight from Brussels International Airport (BRU) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) on April 3, 2024, using its Boeing 777 freighter.
As announced earlier in March 2024, the new service, which is Lufthansa Cargo's first direct Belgium to U.S. freighter connection, will operate twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays and will mainly carry pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
“This is a big step as it is the first time we are connecting Belgium directly to the American continent with a cargo aircraft and therefore all members of the Lufthansa Cargo Executive Board took part in this groundbreaking event,” Lufthansa Cargo wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Ulla Kuntze, director sales and handling Belgium of Lufthansa Cargo, explains, “We are very happy to now serve our customers in the Belgian market with a direct connection to America. The capacity offered with a B777F freighter twice a week will connect Brussels Airport as a very important hub, especially for the time-critical pharmaceutical business.”
The routing will lead from Frankfurt via Brussels to Chicago and back to the home hub in Frankfurt.
Brussels Airport is known as the preferred European pharma gateway. According to the March 2024 Lufthansa Cargo release, the airport has the largest surface of pharma warehouses in Europe and continues its investments in the redevelopment of its cargo zone. Brussels Airport’s cargo community specialises in the handling of time and temperature-sensitive goods, their stakeholders were the first worldwide to receive the CEIV Pharma certification.
Geert Aerts, chief cargo & real estate officer of Brussels Airport, emphasised, “We are super excited to welcome Lufthansa Cargo at Brussels Airport and in this cargo community. We have a shared focus on reliability and efficient transportation of pharmaceuticals as much as we have shared ambition for more sustainable aviation and cargo operations.”
"With this partnership, together with the community, I'm sure we will be strengthening not only their cargo network but also the connectivity of Brussels Airport," he added.
Lufthansa Cargo's global B777F network comprises 82 weekly connections to the world as per the summer flight schedule started on March 31, 2024, including 34 connections per week from Europe to North America and four connections to South America, 42 direct connections from Europe to Asia and two freighter flights per week from Europe to the Middle East and Africa. The A321F fleet complements the short and medium-haul network with up to 18 destinations.
Ashwin Bhat, CEO, Lufthansa Cargo says, “Enabling global business is the purpose of Lufthansa Cargo. And under this purpose, we have started our new service between Brussels and Chicago. Connecting the two economic powerhouses in terms of pharmaceutical business between Belgium and Chicago.”
