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Lufthansa is gearing up for an exciting new route launch next May, with the German carrier announcing it would connect 
Frankfurt Airport (FRA) to Columbus (CMH) three times a week. The route will be served with the airline's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, and this includes the Allegris cabins.
The new route will provide the largest city in the state of Ohio (Columbus) with its first nonstop route to Europe. For Lufthansa, this marks the latest move for the 
Star Alliance carrier as it explores serving secondary US cities, and acknowledges the ambitious terminal replacement already underway at Columbus.
Lufthansa's 30th Route To The United States
Lufthansa will launch the new service on May 5, and will operate the route year-round beginning just in time for the busy Northern Hemisphere summer season. Services will depart from Frankfurt on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, with the return flight traveling back that evening.
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The new flights will provide travelers not only easy access to Europe, but also feed into the airline's wider Asia and Africa network. As such, they will provide simple one-stop itineraries to more than 130 destinations.
|
Flight Number |
Frequency |
Dep. Airport |
Dep. Time |
Arr. Airport |
Arr. Time |
Aircraft |
Days Of Operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
LH406 |
3x Weekly |
Frankfurt (FRA) |
11:15 AM |
Columbus (CMH) |
2:00 PM |
Boeing 787-9 |
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
|
LH407 |
3x Weekly |
Columbus (CMH) |
4:20 PM |
Frankfurt (FRA) |
6:15 AM + 1 Day |
Boeing 787-9 |
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
The new service will mark the airline's 30th route to the United States, where the airline operates a robust network of nonstop services from 
Munich Airport (MUC) and Frankfurt to the United States. Lufthansa will have more US routes than any other airline, but it sits in second place for the most US destinations, behind 
British Airways with 27. Crucially, BA's US flights run almost exclusively from London Heathrow, whereas Lufthansa has a more even spread between Frankfurt and Munich.
$46 Million Revenue Guarantee
Underpinning this new route to Columbus is a $46 million revenue guarantee. This will support the airline's initial launch and provide a financial incentive for the airline. This will remove the financial risk for Lufthansa to launch the first-ever nonstop flight, and promises the airline top ticket revenues even if the route is underperforming in the start-up phase.
|
From |
To |
|---|---|
|
Frankfurt (FRA) |
Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), Washington, D.C. (IAD), Los Angeles (LAX), Boston (BOS), Newark (EWR), Miami (MIA), San Francisco (SFO), Houston (IAH), Detroit (DTW), Atlanta (ATL), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Seattle (SEA), Raleigh/Durham (RDU), Denver (DEN), St. Louis (STL), Austin (AUS), and Columbus (CMH) |
|
Munich (MUC) |
Chicago (ORD), Newark (EWR), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), Denver (DEN), Charlotte (CLT), San Diego (SAN), Washington DC (IAD), Seattle (SEA), and Miami (MIA) |
For Lufthansa, it can expect travelers to connect onto its wider European network from Columbus, with data from Cirium identifying that in 2025 more than 900 travelers flew daily from the airport to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The most popular destination on long-haul flights from Columbus is 
London Heathrow Airport (LHR). Lufthansa has an extensive network of routes from both Frankfurt and Munich to the United States, as detailed above.
Terminal Upgrade At John Glenn Columbus International Airport
Columbus International Airport is currently undergoing a $2 billion project that will upgrade the 1958 terminal with a more modern facility. This includes an expanded passenger capacity (up to 13 million a year) and 36 gates.
Frankfurt adds to the airport's existing international destinations. These include year-round services to 
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and seasonal services to Montréal (YUL), Cancún (CUN), Punta Cana (PUJ), and San Juan (SJU).