In December 2022, Lufthansa began long haul service with its Boeing 787s. The airline has just announced its planned schedule for the aircraft for the summer season, which will see the Dreamliner serving more destinations in North America.
In this post:
Lufthansa’s Boeing 787-9 destinations
For context, Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first three Boeing 787-9. These aren’t the factory fresh 787s that the airline will start acquiring as of mid-2023, but rather Lufthansa is taking delivery of five jets that were initially intended for Hainan Airlines, but which Lufthansa opportunistically picked up.
Prior to starting long haul service with these planes, Lufthansa operated the 787-9s between Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) for crew familiarization flights.
Over the coming months, Lufthansa’s Boeing 787-9s will operate from Frankfurt (FRA) to destinations across North America, including Austin (AUS), Dallas (DFW), Denver (DEN), Detroit (DTW), Montreal (YUL), and Newark (EWR). Let’s go over the details of each of these routes.
Frankfurt to Newark
Since December 1, 2022, Lufthansa has been flying its Boeing 787-9 daily between Frankfurt and Newark with the following schedule:
LH402 Frankfurt to Newark departing 1:30PM arriving 4:40PM
LH403 Newark to Frankfurt departing 6:20PM arriving 7:55AM (+1 day)
The 3,862-mile route is blocked at 9hr10min westbound and 7hr35min eastbound. The route was previously operated by a Boeing 747-8, so that’s quite a downgrade in terms of premium capacity. Note that as of May 1, 2023, this route will once again be upgraded to a Boeing 747-8.
Frankfurt to Detroit
As of February 13, 2023, Lufthansa will fly its Boeing 787-9 daily between Frankfurt and Detroit with the following schedule:
LH442 Frankfurt to Detroit departing 11:05AM arriving 2:25PM
LH443 Detroit to Frankfurt departing 4:15PM arriving 6:20AM (+1 day)
The 4,161-mile route is blocked at 9hr20min westbound and 8hr5min eastbound. The route was previously operated by an Airbus A340-300.
Frankfurt to Dallas
As of March 26, 2023, Lufthansa will fly its Boeing 787-9 6x weekly between Frankfurt and Dallas with the following schedule:
LH438 Frankfurt to Dallas departing 10:10AM arriving 1:40PM
LH449 Dallas to Frankfurt departing 3:40PM arriving 8:15AM (+1 day)
The 5,143-mile route is blocked at 10hr30min westbound and 9hr35min eastbound. The route was previously operated by an Airbus A340-300.
Frankfurt to Montreal
As of March 26, 2023, Lufthansa will fly its Boeing 787-9 4x weekly (daily as of May 1) between Frankfurt and Montreal with the following schedule:
LH478 Frankfurt to Montreal departing 2:20PM arriving 4:05PM
LH479 Montreal to Frankfurt departing 6:05PM arriving 7:05AM (+1 day)
The 3,649-mile route is blocked at 7hr50min westbound and 7hr eastbound. This is a seasonal route that wasn’t operated in winter.
Frankfurt to Denver
As of May 1, 2023, Lufthansa will fly its Boeing 787-9 daily between Frankfurt and Denver with the following schedule:
LH446 Frankfurt to Denver departing 1:15PM arriving 3:40PM
LH447 Denver to Frankfurt departing 5:35PM arriving 11:10AM (+1 day)
The 5,052-mile route is blocked at 10hr25min westbound and 9hr35min eastbound. The route was previously operated by an Airbus A340-300.
Frankfurt to Austin
As of May 2, 2023, Lufthansa will fly its Boeing 787-9 3x weekly between Frankfurt and Austin with the following schedule:
LH468 Frankfurt to Austin departing 10:05AM arriving 1:55PM
LH469 Austin to Frankfurt departing 4:00PM arriving 8:45AM (+1 day)
The 5,310-mile route is blocked at 10hr50min westbound and 9hr45min eastbound. The route was previously operated by an Airbus A330-300.
What the 787 means for Lufthansa passengers
The first five Boeing 787s that Lufthansa takes delivery of won’t feature the carrier’s new “Allegris” business class product, as that will launch in mid-2023, when Lufthansa takes delivery of the first 787 that had actually been intended for the airline.
Rather Lufthansa inherited the interiors that had been designed for Hainan Airlines, with some changes to the finishes to better reflect Lufthansa branding. So you can expect that the 787s on these routes will feature reverse herringbone seats in business class, which is a huge upgrade over the current standard Lufthansa business class product.
This is one of two interim business class products that Lufthansa is currently offering, as the airline also recently picked up four Airbus A350-900s from Philippine Airlines, featuring a staggered product in business class.
Bottom line
Lufthansa has revealed its summer plans for its Boeing 787-9s, which will be based in Frankfurt. The plane will continue to fly to Newark through the end of April, and then we’ll progressively see the 787 flying to Detroit, Dallas, Montreal, Denver, and Austin. The airline currently has three Dreamliners in its fleet, with another two to be delivered in the coming months.
These Boeing 787-9s feature reverse herringbone seats in business class, which represents a massive improvement for Lufthansa’s business class hard product. However, don’t expect Lufthansa’s new “Allegris” business class just yet, as that’s only debuting next year.
What do you make of Lufthansa’s first long haul Boeing 787-9 routes?
With Montreal, and then Toronto to follow with 787-9 service. I hope they keep the 747-400 on the Vancouver / Frankfurt summer route as long as possible. I would like one more opportunity in 2024 to be on the Queen before they are taken out of service. If I wanted to fly on a 787-9, I would be on Air Canada's flight to FRA. 50 plus years of flying for this iconic aircraft.
My other option is out of SFO to Frankfurt on a 747-8i
Just got notice that the April DFW to FRA and Returns will be on A330-300 and not the 787-9. Don't know why they switched the equipment back out. Causing all sorts of seating issues with passengers.
FRA-DEN was previously served by a 747-4. MUC-DEN was served by an A340 years ago, though that was changed to an A350 prior to Covid.
Most recently it's been an A340. The 747 was consistent pre Pandemic.
Thanks. One thing stood out. Was there First Class on those 340s ? Saw the LH DreamLiner in FRA a couple weeks ago. Beautiful
Hey, LH, Keep the B747-8i @ IAD :-)
I guess they're putting the 789s on NA routes since it's their most competitive/premium J (hard) product to date and arguably right now NA demand is a bit stronger than to East Asia (not sure about ME on a per-route basis though). As time goes by and more 789s are delivered, new Asian routes and maybe even some in Africa could be included
FYI LH is bringing the A380 back to LAX, BOS, and JFK this summer
Ben, why do you think the 787 is being used just on North American routes?
Aircraft utilization. Most of these routes only require 1 airframe.
Combination of demand, utilization, and reciprocity.
Several US markets are back to or even above (e.g. MIA) 2019 numbers, whereas China is just now reopening, Japan is just now getting going, and many other large Asian markets are still comparatively stunted.
Ergo, why send two 787s to a single struggling market, when you can send two to 2 different N.Am markets that have largely recovered (at least in terms of high-end leisure; biz is still...
Combination of demand, utilization, and reciprocity.
Several US markets are back to or even above (e.g. MIA) 2019 numbers, whereas China is just now reopening, Japan is just now getting going, and many other large Asian markets are still comparatively stunted.
Ergo, why send two 787s to a single struggling market, when you can send two to 2 different N.Am markets that have largely recovered (at least in terms of high-end leisure; biz is still way down regardless).
Lastly, UA is going to have significant TATL capacity this year, for which the carriers' joint-venture agreement likely requires reciprocal ops.