There are many airlines in Europe and Lufthansa is the largest of them all when you consider the number of passengers carried. The word Lufthansa is derived from the German word ‘Luft’ which means air, and ‘hansa’ which refers to a powerful medieval trading group.
This powerful German airline is the world’s 5th largest, operating flights to over 209 destinations and 21 countries. This airline has partnership with other airlines and therefore it services a total of 410 destinations.
Its main base and traffic hub is at Frankfurt and Munich Airport. Star Alliance which was formed in 1997 was founded by Lufthansa. This airline has employed 105,261 people from 146 nationalities and because it is multinational, 70.5 million passengers chose to fly with Lufthansa in 2008.
Lufthansa was formerly known as Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft. It was founded in 1926. Before the World War 2, Lufthansa pioneered flights to North and South Atlantic by use of German designed aircrafts.
After the war, East Germany tried to establish its own airline using the Lufthansa name but this caused problems with West Germany because the airline was already operational. In 1958, Lufthansa ordered four Boeings 707s to services the routes of Frankfurt and New York.
Two years later, Boeing 720s were bought as back up of the 707 fleet. In 1961, flights going to the Far East were extended beyond Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo. In 1962, Lufthansa now flew to Lagos and Johannesburg in Africa.
The logo of an encircled crane in flight was created by Professor Otto Firle in 1981 and is still used today. Lufthansa aircraft has a partition dividing Economy and Business Class seating. If you travel Middle Class, you will notice the seats that were in the middle have been converted to tray tables and as a result, the overall passenger number is reduced.
The airline’s fleets of narrow body aircrafts consist of Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier, a total of 154 aircrafts. The wide body aircrafts on the other hand are 104 in total.
First Class and Business Class passengers of Lufthansa have seats that convert to a two meter bed, laptop power outlets, entertainment facilities and meals. Their check-in process before departure is at First Class counters and when in transit at Frankfurt and Munich, there are First Class lounges where you can rest.
First Class terminal, arrival facilities and new welcome lounge are some of the special offers you will enjoy. Those on Economy Class are offered meals and free drinks, personal AVOD screens and in-flight entertainment for long haul flights.
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