Starting with the 2024 summer season, Lufthansa will expand its operations in Brazil by doubling the number of flights it operates from Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão Airport, increasing service from three weekly flights to six.
The announcement was made at a press event attended by Alexandre Monteiro, CEO of Galeão Airport; Chicão Bulhões, Municipal Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification; Felipe Bonifatti, Lufthansa’s General Manager for South America and the Caribbean; and Annette Taeuber, Lufthansa’s Director of Sales in Brazil.
This change in scheduling will provide an expanded network and allow for overnight service between Rio de Janeiro and Frankfurt Airport, replacing the Munich route operated on Airbus A350-900s, thus ceasing the company’s operations between the Bavarian capital and South America.
«With the route to Frankfurt Airport, we are able to expand the range of options for customers in the Rio metropolitan region, as well as for the many guests flying to Brazil’s most popular city,» said Felipe Bonifatti, General Manager for South America and the Caribbean.
The switch from Munich to Frankfurt will take place from November and will be operated on an Airbus A340-300, with plans to upgrade to a Boeing 787-9 by the end of the summer months. Rio de Janeiro will be Lufthansa’s first Dreamliner destination in Brazil and will also mark the temporary return of the A340 to the country.
«The overnight operations allow for a restful night, but also offer Lufthansa Group customers the opportunity to take advantage of several connections, both in Germany and Brazil, by arriving early in the morning,» Bonifatti added.
Frankfurt Airport is Lufthansa’s main hub, with connections to more than 200 destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as short-haul options to the group’s destinations in Germany. This service will boost Galeão Airport’s global connectivity, allowing travelers to access more cities around the world.
The reintroduction of the Rio de Janeiro-Frankfurt route will be complemented by Lufthansa’s daily flights between São Paulo and Frankfurt operated by Boeing 747-8i and SWISS International Air Lines’ daily service between São Paulo and Zurich operated by Boeing 777-300ER.
«The support of Galeão Airport has been an example in terms of partnership and shared values since Lufthansa’s first flights to Brazil in 1956. The operation of the route to Frankfurt will further strengthen the ties between the two organizations,» said Annette Taeuber, director of sales in Brazil.
Galeão Airport’s European network this winter will have nonstop services to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Fiumicino, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Porto and soon Frankfurt.
See also: Lufthansa adds more destinations from Munich and adds more routes operated on the Airbus A380
