Lufthansa Cargo has inaugurated its first direct transpacific freighter service from Asia to North America with the recent start of the winter flight schedule.

The first direct freighter flight departed from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to Los Angeles (LAX), marking Lufthansa Cargo’s expansion into transpacific operations.

The flight — operated by its joint venture subsidiary AeroLogic — took off on October 27.

The aircraft with the identification D-AALO had previously taken off from Frankfurt (FRA) for Vietnam on October 26. It then flew back from Los Angeles the next day and arrived at the carrier’s home hub on October 28.

"This new freighter connection highlights our commitment to connecting economies by responding to the demand of the rapidly growing economy in Vietnam, which can now be seamlessly connected to the US even faster," said Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.

"This service reinforces our purpose of enabling global business, which is why we are continuously examining the possibilities of establishing new routes and growing in dynamic market environments," he added.

With the new flight schedule, Lufthansa Cargo is now offering its customers 89 weekly B777F freighter connections worldwide.

This includes 50 frequencies to 17 destinations in Asia, reflecting the strong demand in the region.

Lufthansa Cargo noted that the growing e-commerce industry, in particular, is driving this development.

With its own A321 freighter fleet for short—and medium-haul routes and additional cargo capacities marketed on the extensive network of Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines and SunExpress, Lufthansa Cargo noted that it is able to offer its customers capacities to over 350 destinations in 100 countries in its winter flight schedule.