Lufthansa Cargo Sells MD-11 Freighters to Western Global Airlines

Lufthansa Cargo made its last MD-11 flight on Sunday and has sold three of the aircraft to Florida-based Western Global Airlines.

Flight LH8161 from New York touched down just after noon local time at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany, marking the end of commercial service for the three-engine MD-11 aircraft type at Lufthansa's (DXE: LHA) cargo division after more than 23 years.

Lufthansa Cargo said the airplane will be sold to an undisclosed American cargo airline. Data compiled by aviation consultancy Ascend by Cirium shows that Lufthansa sold two MD-11s to Western Global last summer and that another aircraft sale is scheduled to be finalized in November. Western Global also purchased a couple of MD-11s from Lufthansa in 2017.

Rob Morris, the head of Ascend, said in an email that the three aircraft purchased by Western Global were all built in 1998 and that the current market value of those types of planes could range from $5.3 million to $13 million each, depending on how much maintenance they need.

Steve Dix, vice president of sales and marketing at Western Global, confirmed the company purchased MD-11s from Lufthansa.

Western Global recently asked the U.S. Department of Transportation for permission to expand its fleet. As a startup carrier seven years ago, Western Global remains under DOT oversight. 

Western Global operates 12 MD-11 and three Boeing 747 converted freighters but has permission for 19 aircraft in its fleet. The company said it has acquired six more aircraft it plans to deploy once the Federal Aviation Administration completes checks that they conform to Western's approved operating program. Customers include express carriers UPS UPS and DHL, the Postal Service, Amazon AMZN, logistics providers, government agencies, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Lufthansa Cargo has migrated to an all-Boeing 777 freighter fleet because the twin-engine planes are more fuel-efficient, quieter and emit less carbon dioxide. Lufthansa operates 11 of the wide-body aircraft and plans to lease two used Airbus A321 narrow-body planes once they are converted to cargo configuration. 

In total, Lufthansa Cargo operated 19 MD-11s, which were manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The plane has a payload of 102 tons with 26 main decks and 14 lower deck pallet positions. The 777 has 27 main deck pallet positions and 10 more in the lower hold. It has a maximum payload of 113 tons.

Cargo Facts reported in June that Western Global had reserved three Lufthansa MD-11s.

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