For the first time in nearly two decades, non-stop flights to continental Europe will depart from St. Louis Lambert International Airport, connecting St. Louis directly to the world. Greater St. Louis, Inc., the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, World Trade Center St. Louis, and St. Louis Lambert International Airport brought together regional business, civic, and governmental leaders to work with Lufthansa Airlines to secure the flights from St. Louis to Lufthansa’s hub in Frankfurt, Germany.
Lufthansa plans to schedule three non-stop flights per week from St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Frankfurt beginning in June 2022. Travelers on the AirBus A330 will be able to choose from business, premium economy, and economy seating. Ticket sales for the new route will begin December 14.
Currently, Lufthansa serves more than 155 global destinations from its Frankfurt hub, with most of those destinations being served once or more a day. Furthermore, many European markets can be reached easily via train service from Frankfurt, one of the world’s leading financial centers. With the 2022 summer flight schedule, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group will offer a total of 280 destinations worldwide with around 9,000 weekly connections.
Industry research and statements from peer regions across the country indicate that non-stop service to Europe adds between $50 million and $100 million per year to a region’s economy.*
St. Louis is currently the largest American market without non-stop service to Europe. The last non-stop flight from St. Louis to continental Europe was on TWA to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris in September 2001. American Airlines ended non-stop service to London Gatwick Airport in October 2003.
The St. Louis region has strong ties to Germany, including the Seeds & Traits headquarters for the Crop Science division of Bayer, the KWS Gateway Research Center, the significant presence of MilliporeSigma, the life science business of Merck KGaA, and many others. In addition, Stuttgart, Germany, and St. Louis have maintained a vibrant sister cities relationship since 1960.
St. Louis companies and organizations that committed funding to improve the region’s global economic competitiveness and help secure the flights include: Centene, Emerson, Enterprise Holdings, Inc., Greater St. Louis, Inc. Hermann Companies, Hunter Engineering, Nestlé Purina PetCare, St. Louis County Port Authority, St. Louis Lambert International Airport, and the William T. Kemper Foundation.
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