Beginning spring 2018, the Lufthansa Group will expand its network in California when it opens its third and fourth official gateways in the Golden State. Specifically, Lufthansa’s third gateway in California will operate out of San Diego International Airport and its fourth gateway will operate out of Mineta San Jose International Airport. These enhancements will further emphasize Lufthansa Group’s commitment to the United States, as well as make California the first U.S. state that has four Lufthansa Group gateways.
“California remains one of our top priorities for expansion in the U.S., and our new service from San Diego to Frankfurt continues to support this commitment to the most dynamic market outside of Germany,” said Larry Ryan, Lufthansa Group senior director of sales for the USA. “Our customers flying to and from San Diego will now experience our quality service and premium offerings as the only 5-Star European airline serving the city.”
“This nonstop service by Lufthansa ties San Diego into a new European hub system year-round, supporting both business and leisure travelers,” said Kimberly Becker, president/CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. “The flight represents an efficient and convenient connection for Southern Californians to reach beyond Frankfurt, to over 150 destinations in Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Indian sub-continent.”
The California Gateways:
San Diego
Beginning March 22, Lufthansa will fly an Airbus A340-300, flight LH467, from San Diego International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany. Flight LH467 will depart from San Diego at 3:05 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt at 11:20 a.m. local time on the following day. The return flight, LH466, will depart from Frankfurt at 10:00 a.m. and arrive in San Diego at 1:20 p.m. local time. These flights will frequent between San Diego, CA and Frankfurt, Germany every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Edelweiss, Switzerland’s leading leisure airline and a Lufthansa Group passenger airline, currently operates out of San Diego with an Airbus A340-300, flight WK19 (LX8019 [codeshare flight with SWISS]). Effective from March 30 to May 4, flight WK19 will depart on Mondays from San Diego at 6:50 p.m. and arrive in Zurich at 3:20 p.m. local time on the following day. Flight WK19 will also depart on Fridays from San Diego at 10:40 p.m. and arrive in Zurich at 7:10 p.m. on the following day. These flight times and operation days will vary throughout the season.
San Jose
On March 25, Lufthansa will resume operations out of Mineta San Jose International Airport with an Airbus A340-300, flight number LH489. Flight LH489 will depart from San Jose at 3:05 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt at 11:10 a.m. local time on the following day. The return flight, LH488, will depart from Frankfurt at 10:40 a.m. and arrive in San Jose at 1:20 p.m. local time. These flights will travel between San Jose, CA and Frankfurt, Germany every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
San Francisco
Lufthansa began flying to San Francisco on May 14, 1960, with the first flight from Frankfurt arriving via Paris and Montreal. The airline currently operates out of San Francisco International Airport with an Airbus A380, flight LH455, and an Airbus A340-600, flight LH459, to Frankfurt and Munich, respectively. During the summer season, flight LH455 will depart from San Francisco at 3:00 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt at 10:55 a.m. local time on the following day. Flight LH459 will depart from San Francisco at 8:55 p.m. and arrive in Munich at 5:15 p.m. local time on the following day. These routes operate daily.
SWISS operates out of San Francisco International Airport with a Boeing 777-300ER. Flight LX039 departs from San Francisco at 7:55 p.m. and arrives in Zurich at 3:45 p.m. local time on the following day. This route is also frequented daily.
Los Angeles
Three Lufthansa Group carriers— Lufthansa, Austrian, and SWISS— operate out of Los Angeles International Airport. The latest news out of LAX is that on March 13, the Lufthansa Group, in its ongoing efforts to digitalize the travel world, launched hassle-free, one-step biometric boarding using facial recognition at this airport.
Beginning March 25 to May 16, Lufthansa will operate on a daily basis an A346 aircraft, flight LH457, to Frankfurt and an A380 aircraft, flight LH453, to Munich. Flight LH457 will depart from Los Angeles at 3:10 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt at 11:20 a.m. local time on the following day. Flight LH453 will depart from Los Angeles at 5:20 p.m. and arrive in Munich at 1:30 p.m. local time on the following day.
From May 17 to Oct. 7, Lufthansa will operate on a daily basis a B748 aircraft, flight number LH451, to Frankfurt and two flights, LH457 and LH453, to Munich. Flight LH451 will depart from Los Angeles at 7:05 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt at 2:50 p.m. local time on the following day. Flight LH457 will depart from Los Angeles at 3:10 p.m. and arrive in Munich at 11:20 a.m. local time on the following day. Flight LH453 will depart from Los Angeles at 5:10 p.m. and arrive in Munich at 1:30 p.m. local time on the following day. The earlier flight to Munich will utilize the A346 aircraft and the later flight will use the A388.
From Oct. 8 to Oct. 26, Lufthansa will revert back to the single, daily, frequented flights to Frankfurt and Munich with use of the A340-600 and A380 aircraft, respectively. Flight LH457 will depart from Los Angeles at 3:10 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt at 11:20 a.m. local time on the following day. Flight LH453 will depart from Los Angeles at 5:20 p.m. and arrive in Munich at 1:35 p.m. local time on the following day.
From March 27 until the end of the summer season, Austrian Airlines will resume its daily flight of a B777-200ER, flightOS82, to Vienna, Austria. Flight OS82 will depart from Los Angeles at 3:15 p.m. and arrive in Vienna at 12:00 p.m. local time on the following day. These departure and arrival times will hold true for the entirety of the summer schedule. From April 1 to April 7, this flight will operate from Los Angeles to Vienna on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Then, for the remainder of the summer schedule, the flight will depart every day, except Sundays.
During the summer 2018 schedule, SWISS will operate a daily flight from Los Angeles to Zurich with a B777-300ER aircraft. Flight LX41 will depart Los Angeles at 7:20 p.m. and arrive in Zurich at 3:15 p.m. local time on the following day. The return flight, LX40, will depart from Zurich at 1:10 p.m. and arrive in Los Angeles at 4:25 p.m. local time.
Lufthansa Group Airport Hub Information:
Frankfurt
