Lufthansa suspends St. Louis–Frankfurt nonstop flights for one month due to seasonal rotation

Since Lufthansa began operating this route in 2022, it has consistently shown strong passenger demand. In December last year, flights averaged about 80% full. Before Lufthansa's arrival, St. Louis had no nonstop service to Europe from 2003—when American Airlines ended its London route—until WOW Air briefly connected the city to Iceland from 2018 to 2019 before shutting down.

Lufthansa chose to launch service after studying corporate travel needs in the region and found both business and leisure demand for transatlantic flights was strong. To support this new link to Europe, local organizations pledged up to $5.7 million in financial incentives for Lufthansa; these included contributions from Lambert Airport ($700,000), St. Louis County Port Authority ($2.5 million), and Greater St. Louis Inc., a regional trade group. However, because subsidies were tied to operating five weekly flights—and Lufthansa currently flies three times per week—the airline receives less than the full amount.

The airline has indicated that expansion on this route could occur if more aircraft become available. Don Bunkenburg, senior director of sales at Lufthansa, stated last year: “We’d definitely be expanding the route if we had the aircraft. [The route has] really exceeded expectations… We’d never want to just stay with three.”

Currently Lufthansa operates around 301 aircraft overall—including seven Airbus A330-300s—and awaits delivery of additional widebody jets such as Airbus A350s and Boeing 787-9s (https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/aircraft/airline/LH). Delays from both manufacturers have affected new deliveries industry-wide due to ongoing supply chain problems (https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/lufthansa-says-airbus-boeing-delivery-delays-impacting-fleet-growth-2024-03-07/). Once more planes are added to its fleet over time, Lufthansa may consider increasing frequency or deploying different models like the Boeing 787-9 on its St. Louis–Frankfurt service.

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