Deutsche Lufthansa AG / Lufthansa German Airlines (German pronunciation: [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈlʊfthanzaː ʔaː

ˈɡeː]), commonly shortened to Lufthansa (German: [ˈlʊftˌhanza] ⓘ), serves as the flag
carrier of Germany.[12] When combined with its subsidiaries, it stands as the second-largest airline in
Europe in terms of passengers carried, after the ultra low-cost carrier Ryanair, largest in Europe and
fourth largest in the world by revenue.[13][14] Lufthansa is also one of the five founding members of Star
Alliance, which is the world's largest airline alliance, formed in 1997.[15][16]
Besides its own services, and owning subsidiary passenger airlines Austrian Airlines, Swiss
International Air Lines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings (referred to in English by Lufthansa as
its Passenger Airline Group), Deutsche Lufthansa AG owns several aviation-related companies,
such as Lufthansa Technik and LSG Sky Chefs, as part of the Lufthansa Group. In total, the group
has over 700 aircraft, making it one of the largest airline fleets in the world.[17][18]

Lufthansa's registered office and corporate headquarters are in Cologne.[19] The main operations
base, called Lufthansa Aviation Center, is at Lufthansa's primary hub at Frankfurt Airport,[20][21] and its
secondary hub is at Munich Airport where a secondary Flight Operations Centre is maintained.[22]

The company was founded as Luftag in 1953 by staff of the former Deutsche Luft Hansa that had
been politically connected to the government of Nazi Germany and dissolved after World War II.
Luftag continued the traditional branding of the German flag carrier by acquiring the Luft Hansa
name and logo.

History[edit]
1950s: Post-war (re-)formation[edit]
Revenue Passenger-Kilometers,
scheduled flights only, in
millions
Year Traffic
1955 78
1960 1,284
1965 3,785
1969 6,922
1971 8,610
1975 13,634
1980 21,056
1989 36,133
1995 61,602
2000 94,170
Source: ICAO Digest of Statistics for 1955, IATA World Air Transport Statistics 1960-2000
 Lufthansa's first aircraft, a Convair 340 (type pictured), was
delivered in August 1954.
Lufthansa traces its history to 1926 when Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. (styled as Deutsche
Lufthansa from 1933 onwards) was formed in Berlin.[3] DLH, as it was known, was Germany's flag
carrier until 1945 when all services were terminated following the defeat of Nazi Germany; it has
since been demonstrated that Deutsche Luft Hansa relied on the use of forced labor and housed
forced laborers on the site of Tempelhof airport.[23][24] In an effort to create a new national airline, a
company called Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf (Luftag),[1] was founded in Cologne on
6 January 1953, with many of its staff having worked for the pre-war Lufthansa; this included Kurt
Weigelt, a Nazi convicted of war crimes, who served on the board on the new Lufthansa, and Kurt
Knipfer, a member of the Nazi party from 1929 who led Luft Hansa from 1933 to 1945.[25][26]

West Germany had not yet been granted sovereignty over its airspace, so it was not known when
the new airline could become operational. Nevertheless, in 1953 Luftag placed orders for
four Convair CV-340s and four Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations and set up a maintenance
base at Hamburg Airport.[1][2] On 6 August 1954, Luftag acquired the name and logo of the liquidated
Deutsche Lufthansa for DM 30,000 (equivalent to €41000 today),[2] thus continuing the tradition of a
German flag carrier of that name.

Lufthansa Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation operating a

transatlantic scheduled service from Hamburg to Montreal and Chicago in May 1956
On 1 April 1955 Lufthansa won approval to start scheduled domestic flights,
[2]
linking Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Munich.[27] International flights started on 15
May 1955, to London, Paris, and Madrid,[27][28] followed by Super Constellation flights to New York
City from 1 June of that year,[27] and across the South Atlantic from August 1956. In August 1958
fifteen Lufthansa 1049Gs and 1649s left Germany each week to Canada and the United States,
three 1049Gs a week flew to South America, three flew to Tehran and one to Baghdad. In parallel,
the airline also initiated a marketing campaign to sell itself and West Germany. The challenges
involved encouraging travelers to consider visiting the country in the wake of World War II, as well as
offering services to other nations via the Frankfurt airport hub. More specifically, Lufthansa's efforts
shaped and reflected the development of a modern form of consumerism and advertising through
the sale of air travel. By 1963, the airline, initially limited in its public relations efforts, had become a
major purveyor of West Germany's image abroad.[29]

The special status of Berlin meant that Lufthansa was not allowed to fly to either part
of Berlin until German reunification in 1990. Originally thought to be only a temporary matter (and
with intentions to move the airline's headquarters and main base there once the political situation
changed),[1] the Division of Germany turned out to be longer than expected, which gradually led to
Frankfurt Airport becoming Lufthansa's primary hub.

East Germany tried to establish its airline in 1955 using the Lufthansa name, but this resulted in a
legal dispute with West Germany, where Lufthansa was operating. East Germany instead
established Interflug as its national airline in 1963, which coincided with the East German Lufthansa
being shut down.[30]

1960s: Introduction of jetliners[edit]

In 1960, Lufthansa joined the jet age with the Boeing 707. The
image shows a 707 at Hamburg Airport in 1984, shortly before the type was retired.

A Lufthansa Boeing 727-100 approaching Heathrow

Airport in 1978
In 1958 Lufthansa ordered four Boeing 707s and started jet flights from Frankfurt to New York City in
March 1960. Boeing 720Bs were later bought to back up the 707 fleets. In February 1961 Far East
routes were extended beyond Bangkok, Thailand, to Hong Kong and Tokyo. Lagos, Nigeria,
and Johannesburg, South Africa were added in 1962.

Lufthansa introduced the Boeing 727 in 1964 and that May began the Polar route from Frankfurt to
Tokyo via Anchorage. In February 1965 the company ordered twenty-one Boeing 737s that went into
service in 1968. Lufthansa was the first customer for the Boeing 737 and was one of four buyers of
the 737-100s (the others were NASA, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, and Avianca – while the NASA
airframe was the first built, it was the last delivered and originally intended for delivery to Lufthansa).
Lufthansa was the first foreign launch customer for a Boeing airliner.

1970s–1980s: The wide-body era[edit]

The wide-body era for Lufthansa started with a Boeing 747 flight on 26 April 1970. It was followed by
the introduction of the DC-10-30 on 12 November 1973, and the first Airbus A300 in 1976. In 1979
Lufthansa and Swissair became launch customers for the Airbus A310 with an order for twenty-five
aircraft.

The company's fleet modernization programme for the 1990s began on 29 June 1985, with an order
for fifteen Airbus A320s and seven Airbus A300-600s. Ten Boeing 737-300s were ordered a few
days later. All were delivered between 1987 and 1992. Lufthansa also bought Airbus A321, Airbus
A340, and Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

In 1987 Lufthansa, together with Air France, Iberia, and Scandinavian Airlines, founded Amadeus,
an IT company (also known as a GDS) that would enable travel agencies to sell the founders and
other airlines' products from a single system.

Lufthansa adopted a new corporate identity in 1988. The fleet was given a new livery, while cabins,
city offices, and airport lounges were redesigned.

1990s–2000s: Further expansion[edit]

Lufthansa was the launch customer of the Boeing 737, the

best-selling jet airliner for long time until replaced by Airbus A320 in late 2019. The image
[31]

shows an original 737-100 at Hannover Airport in 1968.

Lufthansa operated the high-capacity Airbus A300-600 on domestic and European routes until
2009. The image shows an aircraft of that type on final approach at Frankfurt Airport in 2003.
On 28 October 1990, 25 days after reunification, Berlin became a Lufthansa destination again. On
18 May 1997, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International, and United
Airlines formed Star Alliance, the world's first multilateral airline alliance.

At the beginning of 1995, Lufthansa made some structural changes aimed at creating independent
operating companies of the aviation group, such as Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa
Cargo and Lufthansa Systems. Three new companies who joined later in the Lufthansa Group
were LSG Sky Chefs, Condor and Lufthansa CityLine.[32]

In 1999, Lufthansa participated in the German Business Foundation initiative addressing class action
lawsuits against German companies for World War II-era misdeeds, including the use of forced
labor, by reportedly paying tens of millions German marks.[33] The same year, Lufthansa
commissioned the scholar Lutz Budrass to investigate the use of forced labor by its predecessor
company, Deutsche Luft Hansa, during World War II; it declined to publish Dr. Budrass's resulting
study for more than a decade.[33]

In 2000, Air One became a Lufthansa partner airline and nearly all Air One flights were code-shared
with Lufthansa until Alitalia purchased Air One. Lufthansa has a good track record for posting profits,
even in 2001, after 9/11, the airline suffered a significant loss in profits but still managed to stay 'in
the black'. While many other airlines announced layoffs (typically 20% of their workforce), Lufthansa
retained its current workforce.[34]

On 6 December 2001, Lufthansa announced an order for 15 Airbus A380 superjumbos with 10 more
options, which was confirmed on 20 December. The A380 fleet would be used for long-haul flights
from Frankfurt exclusively.

In June 2003, Lufthansa opened Terminal 2 at Munich's Franz Josef Strauß Airport to relieve its
main hub, Frankfurt, which was suffering from capacity constraints. It is one of the first terminals in
Europe partially owned by an airline.

On 17 May 2004, Lufthansa became the launch customer for the Connexion by Boeing in-flight
online connectivity service.[35]

In autumn 2003, the implementation of a new sales strategy initiated by then-incumbent Executive
Vice President Thierry Antinori to make the company fit for the digital era led to the abolition of
commission payments for travel agencies and led to a revolution in the German travel business with
many travel agencies disappearing from the market on the one hand, and the rise of
new digital distribution platforms on the other hand.[36]

On 22 March 2005, Swiss International Air Lines was purchased by Lufthansa's holding company.
The acquisition included the provision that the majority shareholders (the Swiss government and
large Swiss companies) be offered payment if Lufthansa's share price outperforms an airline index
during the years following the merger. The two companies will continue to be run separately.

On 6 December 2006, Lufthansa placed an order for 20 Boeing 747-8s, becoming the launch
customer of the passenger model. The airline is also the second European airline to operate
the Airbus A380 (after Air France). The first A380 was delivered on 19 May 2010, while the first 747-
8 entered service in 2012.[37]

In September 2008, Lufthansa Group announced its intent to purchase a stake in Brussels
Airlines (SN). In June 2009, the EU Commission granted regulatory approval and Lufthansa
acquired 45% of SN.[38] In September 2016, Lufthansa announced it would purchase the remainder of
Brussels Airlines for €2.6 million euros.[39] The transaction was completed in early January 2017.
[40]
The decision was partially taken after the Brussels airport bombings of March 2016, which caused
SN to lose almost €5 million per day until 3 April.

In September 2009, Lufthansa purchased Austrian Airlines with the approval of the European
Commission.[41]

On 11 June 2010, Airbus A380 service between Frankfurt and Tokyo (Narita) started.[42]

2010s: Belt-tightening[edit]

A Boeing 747-8I and Airbus A380-800 of Lufthansa at

Frankfurt Airport. The A380 and 747-8, together with the Airbus A350, formed the backbone for
Lufthansa's long-haul routes in the 2010s.
After a loss of 381 million euros in the first quarter of 2010 and another 13 million loss in the year
2011 due to the economic recession and restructuring costs, Deutsche Lufthansa AG cut 3,500
administrative positions or around 20 percent of the clerical total of 16,800.[43] In 2012, Lufthansa
announced a restructuring program called SCORE to improve its operating profit. As a part of the
restructuring plan, the company started to transfer all short-haul flights outside its hubs in Frankfurt,
Munich, and Düsseldorf to the company's re-branded low-cost carrier Germanwings.[44]

In September 2013, Lufthansa Group announced its biggest order, for 59 wide-body aircraft valued
more than 14 billion euros at list prices. Earlier in the same year, Lufthansa placed an order for 100
next-generation narrow-body aircraft.[45]

The group has had a long-standing dispute with the Vereinigung Cockpit union which has demanded
a scheme in which pilots can retire at the age of 55, and 60% of their pay be retained, which
Lufthansa insists is no longer affordable. Lufthansa pilots were joined by pilots from the group's
budget carrier Germanwings to stage a nationwide strike in support of their demands in April 2014
which lasted three days. The pilots staged a six-hour strike at the end of the summer holidays in
September 2014, which caused the cancellation of 200 Lufthansa flights and 100 Germanwings
flights.[46]

During the course of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, part of the fleet was branded "Fanhansa".[47]

In November 2014, Lufthansa signed an outsourcing deal worth $1.25 billion with IBM that will see
the US company take over the airline's IT infrastructure services division and staff.[48]

In June 2015, Lufthansa announced plans to close its small long-haul base at Düsseldorf Airport for
economic reasons by October 2015. At the time, the base consisted of two Airbus A340-
300s rotating between Newark and Chicago. As a result, service to Chicago from Düsseldorf was
first made seasonal, suspended for the winter 2015 season, and then canceled altogether.[49] Service
to Newark, however, was initially maintained. From the winter 2015 schedule through the end of the
winter 2016 schedule, Düsseldorf was served by aircraft which also flew the Munich-Newark route.
The Düsseldorf-Newark route ended on 30 November 2018, which was operated with an Airbus
A330-300 aircraft.[50] Their base was officially closed in March 2019.[51][52]

On 22 March 2016, Lufthansa ended Boeing 737-500 operations.[53] The airline's last Boeing 737 (a
737-300) was retired on 29 October 2016, after a flight from Milan to Frankfurt. Lufthansa operated
the 737 in several variants for almost 50 years, the first aircraft having been delivered on 27
December 1967.[54]

On 4 December 2017, Lufthansa became the first European airline to receive the Skytrax 5 star
certification.[55] As stated by Skytrax, a key factor in the positive rating was the announcement of a
new Business Class cabin and seating that was expected to be introduced in 2020.[56] While this
makes Lufthansa the 10th airline to be holding this award, in reality the 5th star was given to a
product that was supposed to be introduced two years after the evaluation.[57] In celebration,
Lufthansa painted an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 747-8 in the "5 Starhansa" livery.[58]

In March 2018, Lufthansa and other airlines like British Airways and American Airlines accepted a
request from Beijing to list Taiwan as part of China.[59]

In March 2019 Lufthansa ordered 20 Boeing 787-9 and an additional 20 Airbus A350-900 for its own
and the group's fleet replacement and expansion. Also, the airline announced it would sell six A380
aircraft back to Airbus, beginning in 2022.
 15 aircraft of Lufthansa that are parked at Berlin Brandenburg
Airport on 21 March 2020 due to the cancellation of 95 percent of all flights of the airline on 19
March 2020
2020s: COVID-19 pandemic and recovery[edit]
On 19 March 2020, Lufthansa cancelled 95 percent of all flights due to a travel ban because of
the COVID-19 pandemic.[60] Consequently, the airline incurred losses of 1 million euros per hour by
April 2020. While Lufthansa reduced its costs throughout 2020, continuing health risks and travel
restrictions still caused hourly losses of approximately 500,000 euros on average at the beginning of
2021.[61]

On 14 May, Lufthansa Group announced that it planned to operate 1,800 weekly flights by the end of
June.[62] The company's recovery plans involved high-density cargo to replace paying customers.
[63]
All Lufthansa Group required all passengers to wear a mask while aboard.[63]

On 25 June, Deutsche Lufthansa AG shareholders accepted a €9,000,000,000 bailout, consisting of

capital measures and the participation of the Economic Stabilisation Fund (WSF) of the Federal
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.[64][65][66][67] The measures, which passed after initial opposition
by principal shareholder Heinz Hermann Thiele, gave the government a 20% stake in the airline.[68][69]
[70]

In January 2021, Lufthansa CEO Spohr announced that the entire currently stored Airbus A340-
600 fleet will be retired with immediate effect and not return to service anymore.[71] This decision was
later overturned with several A340-600 aircraft returning to service in 2021 after several months in
storage.[72] In June 2021, Lufthansa said it wants to repay state aid it received during the pandemic
before Germany's federal election in September 2021 if possible.[73] Also in June 2021, Lufthansa
said it would change its communications to adopt a more gender-neutral and inclusive language. It
will remove greetings such as "Ladies and Gentlemen".[74]

In January 2022 Lufthansa admitted it had operated over 18,000 empty flights to keep airport slots
during the pandemic.[75]

In March 2022, Lufthansa originally confirmed that its entire Airbus A380 fleet would be retired,
having been in storage since early 2020.[76] This decision was reversed in June 2022, with plans to
now return up to five aircraft from storage by 2023 to be based at Munich Airport. There is also an
option to return all remaining eight A380 back to service by 2024, as six of formerly 14 have already
been sold.[77]

In May 2022, Skytrax demoted Lufthansa from its aforementioned 5 star rating which it held since
2017 as the first European carrier to do so, to an overall 4 star rating.[78]

In 2023, the airline was affected by an IT glitch leaving thousands of passengers stranded around
the world. According to the German air traffic control agency, the airlines flights were redirected from
Frankfurt to other airports due to an IT glitch. The issue was reportedly caused after construction
work cut through fiber optic cables in the city.[79][80]
In May 2023, Lufthansa Group announced an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Economy and
Finance (MEF) for the acquisition of a 41 per cent stake in ITA Airways. Additionally, as part of the
agreement the MEF and Lufthansa agreed on options to allow a potential acquisition of the
remaining shares by Lufthansa at a later date.[81]

Corporate affairs[edit]
Ownership[edit]
Lufthansa was a state-owned enterprise until 1994.[82] Deutsche Lufthansa AG shares have been
publicly traded on all German stock exchanges since 1966. In addition to floor trading, it is also
traded electronically using the Xetra system. It is a DAX index share and is listed in the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange's Prime Standard.[83] At the end of 2019, the shareholders' register showed that
German investors held 67.3% of the shares (previous year: 72.1%). The second-largest group, with
10.4%, was shareholders from Luxembourg. Investors from the US accounted for 8.1%, followed by
Ireland and the United Kingdom, each with 3.6%. This ensures compliance with the provisions of the
German Aviation Compliance Documentation Act (LuftNaSiG). As of the reporting date, 58% of the
shares were held by institutional investors (previous year: 53%), and 42% were held by private
individuals (previous year: 47%). Lansdowne Partners International Ltd. and BlackRock, Inc. were
the largest shareholders in the Lufthansa Group at year-end, with 4.9% and 3.1% respectively. All
the transactions requiring disclosure and published during the financial year 2019, as well as the
quarterly updates on the shareholder structure, are available online. During the 2020 COVID
crisis Heinz Hermann Thiele increased his stake to more than 12%; he died a few months later.
The free float for Lufthansa shares was 67% in 2020, as per the definition of the Deutsche Börse.

German government bail-out[edit]

The German government offered a €9 billion bailout to support the airline through COVID-19 induced
economic issues. With this bailout, the government's stake in the airline increased to 20%, and also
granted it board seats, while diluting existing shareholder stakes.[84] The shareholders of the
company approved the bailout on Thursday, 26 June, offering the airline a fresh lease of life.[85]

Business trends[edit]
Key business and operating results of the Lufthansa Group for recent years are shown below (as at
year ending 31 December):[86]

200 201 201 201 201 201 201 201 201 201 201 202 202 202
9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2

Turnover 27. 30. 30. 30. 32. 31. 35. 35. 36. 13. 16. 32.
22.2 28.7
(€ b) 3 1 0 0 0 6 5 5 4 5 8 7

Net
−0.0 −0.0 0.9 0.3 0.0 −6. −2. 0.7
profit/loss 1.1 1.6 1.7 2.3 2.1 1.2
4 1 9 1 5 7 1 9
(€ b)

Number 117 117 116 117 118 118 120 124 129 135 138 110 105 109
 of
employee
s (k at
year end)

Number
of 91. 36. 46.
77.3 100 103 104 106 107 109 130 141 145 101
passenge 2 4 9
rs (m)

Passenge
79. 78. 79. 80. 80. 79. 80. 81. 82. 63. 61. 79.
r load 77.9 77.6
3 8 8 1 4 1 9 5 6 2 6 8
factor (%)

Cargo
68. 66. 69. 69. 66. 66. 69. 66. 61. 69. 71. 60.
load 60.6 66.8
0 9 1 9 3 6 3 6 4 6 4 3
factor (%)

Number
of aircraft
722 710 636 627 622 615 602 617 728 763 763 757 713 710
(at year
end)

Notes/ [87] [87] [87] [87] [87] [87] [87] [87][88] [87] [87] [87] [a][19] [89] [90]
sources

1. ^ 2020: Activities and income in fiscal 2020 were severely reduced by the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic

The key trends for the airline Lufthansa are (as at year ending 31 December):[86]

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Turnover (€ b) 15.4 16.4 15.8 16.6 4.1 5.0 13.1

Operating profit[a] (€ b) 1.6 2.1 1.7 1.1 −4.7 −2.5 −0.43

 Number of employees (at year
34,126 33,779 34,754 39,582 37,741 35,738 34,408
end)

Number of passengers (m) 62.4 65.8 69.8 72.4 17.9 23.5 51.7

Passenger load factor (%) 79.1 81.6 81.3 82.5 62.1 60.3 79.9

Number of aircraft (at year

350 357 351 364 421 389 386
end)

Notes/sources [87][88] [87] [87] [87] [b][19] [89] [90]

1. ^ "EBIT"
2. ^ 2020: Activities and income in fiscal 2020 were severely reduced by the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic

Headquarters[edit]

Lufthansa's headquarters in Deutz, Cologne

Lufthansa's corporate headquarters are in Cologne. In 1971, Lawrence Fellows of The New York
Times described the then-new headquarters building that Lufthansa occupied in Cologne as
"gleaming".[91] In 1986, Left-wing terrorists bombed the building.[92] No one was injured.[93] In 2006,
builders laid the first stone of the new Lufthansa headquarters in Deutz, Cologne. By the end of
2007, Lufthansa planned to move 800 employees, including the company's finance department, to
the new building.[94] However, in early 2013 Lufthansa revealed plans to relocate its head office from
Cologne to Frankfurt by 2017.[95]

Several Lufthansa departments are not at the headquarters; instead they are in the Lufthansa
Aviation Center at Frankfurt Airport. These departments include Corporate Communications and
Investor Relations.[96][97] The innovative high-tech and low-energy Aviation Center with a transparent
facade and several indoor gardens was designed by Christoph Ingenhoven.[98]

Airline subsidiaries[edit]
 Lufthansa Group passenger fleet size, including subsidiaries
and excluding cargo (wholly owned)The Lufthansa Aviation Center at Frankfurt Airport by

architect Christoph Ingenhoven The hangar of Lufthansa

Technik at Frankfurt Airport A Lufthansa advertisement

in Lisbon
In addition to its main passenger operation, Lufthansa has several airline subsidiaries, including:[19]

Wholly owned by Lufthansa[edit]

 Lufthansa German Airlines[99]

o Lufthansa Regional – regional feeder entity
 Lufthansa CityLine – German regional airline headquartered in Munich and part
of Lufthansa Regional
 Air Dolomiti – Italian regional airline headquartered in Villafranca di Verona and part
of Lufthansa Regional
 City Airlines – New regional airline headquartered in Munich focused on strengthening
Lufthansa's presence in Europe[100]
o Discover Airlines German long- and medium-haul leisure airline, originally known
as Eurowings Discover
 Network Airlines[99]
o Austrian Airlines – the flag carrier airline of Austria based at Vienna International Airport
 o Swiss International Air Lines – the flag carrier airline of Switzerland based at Zurich Airport
 Edelweiss Air – Swiss leisure airline subsidiary
o Brussels Airlines – the flag carrier airline of Belgium based at Brussels Airport[101]
 Eurowings Group (low-cost or hybrid point-to-point airlines)
o Eurowings – German low-cost airline headquartered in Düsseldorf
o Eurowings Europe – low-cost airline registered in Austria
 Lufthansa Cargo – German cargo airline headquartered in Frankfurt, formerly German Cargo
Partly owned by Lufthansa[edit]

 AeroLogic – German cargo airline owned by a joint-venture of Lufthansa (50%) and DHL (50%)
 SunExpress – Turkish leisure airline jointly owned by Lufthansa (50%) and Turkish
Airlines (50%)
Former[edit]

 British Midland International (2009–2011, stake owned since 1999) – British airline subsidiary
sold to International Airlines Group and merged into British Airways in 2012
 Condor Flugdienst (1959–2004, stakes owned from 1955 until 2006) – former leisure subsidiary,
shares gradually acquired by Thomas Cook AG, later owned by Thomas Cook Group
 German Cargo (1977–1993) – cargo subsidiary, reorganized into the current Lufthansa Cargo
 Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter – German low-cost regional airline integrated into Eurowings in
October 2017, sold to Zeitfracht in 2019
 Lufthansa Italia (2009–2011) – Italian airline subsidiary established, sharing IATA, ICAO, and
callsigns with the main Lufthansa
 SunExpress Deutschland (2011–2020) – German subsidiary of SunExpress[102][103]
 Team Lufthansa (1996-2004) – An alliance of regional airlines from 4 countries
(Germany, Denmark, Austria, and France), which flew niche routes on behalf of Lufthansa. It
was replaced with Lufthansa Regional in 2004[104]
Other subsidiaries[edit]
In addition to the airlines mentioned above, Lufthansa maintains further aviation affiliated
subsidiaries:[19]

 Global Load Control, a world leader in remote weight and balance services.
 LSG Sky Chefs, the world's largest airline caterer, which accounts for one-third of the
world's airline meals.
 Lufthansa Consulting, an international aviation consultancy for airlines, airports, and related
industries.
 Lufthansa Flight Training, a provider of flight crew training services to various airlines and the
main training arm for the airline's pilots.
 Lufthansa Systems, the largest European aviation IT provider.
 Lufthansa Technik, aircraft maintenance providers.
 Lufthansa City Center International, a network of independent travel agents who are Lufthansa
franchisees
 Lufthansa AirPlus Servicekarten GMBH, (AirPlus International) travel payment company via
UATP and Mastercard.
Branding[edit]
 A Lufthansa Airbus A320-200 in the old livery used since

1988 A Lufthansa Airbus A320neo in the livery adapted since

2018
The Lufthansa logo, an encircled stylized crane in flight, was first created in 1918 by Otto Firle. It
was part of the livery of the first German airline, Deutsche Luft-Reederei (abbreviated DLR), which
began air service on 5 February 1919. In 1926, Deutsche Luft Hansa adopted this symbol, and in
1954, Lufthansa expressed continuity by adopting it and later in 1963 – a variant thereof as
redesigned by Robert Lisovskyi.

The original creator of the name Lufthansa is believed to be F.A. Fischer von Puturzyn. In 1925, he
published a book entitled "Luft-Hansa" which examined the options open to aviation policymakers at
the time. Luft Hansa was the name given to the new airline, which resulted from the merger
of Junkers' airline (Luftverkehr AG) and Deutscher Aero Lloyd.[105]

After World War II, the company kept blue and yellow as its main colours and the crane logo. Since
the beginning of the 1960s, Helvetica was used for the company name in the livery. The 1970s retro
livery featured the top half of the fuselage painted in all-white on top and the lower fuselage (bottom
half, including the engines) was gray/silver aluminium, below a blue cheatline window band and a
black painted nose. The crane logo was painted blue on the engines, on the bottom half of the
fuselage just below the cockpit windows, and a yellow circle inside a blue band on the tail.

German designer Otl Aicher created a comprehensive corporate design for the airline in 1967. The
crane logo was now always displayed in a circle which, on the livery, was yellow on an otherwise
blue tailfin. Helvetica was used as the main typeface for both the livery and publications. The blue
band and general paint scheme of the aircraft were retained from the previous livery.

Aicher's concept was retained in the 1988 design. The window band was removed and the fuselage
was painted in grey.

In 2018, Lufthansa changed their livery. The encircled crane was retained, and the background
changed from yellow to dark blue. The vertical stabilizer and the rear fuselage were painted in dark
blue, and the tail cone remained white. The main fuselage was painted in all white, and the brand
name "Lufthansa" was painted above the windows, also in dark blue.

The company slogan is 'Say yes to the world.'[106]

Alliances and partnerships[edit]

The Lufthansa First Class lounge at Frankfurt Airport

Commercial[edit]
Lufthansa bought a 19% stake in JetBlue Airways in December 2007 and entered a code-sharing
agreement with the airline. It was the first major investment by a European carrier in an American
carrier since the EU–U.S. Open Skies Agreement came into effect in 2008. Lufthansa sold its stake
in JetBlue in March 2015.

In late 2007, Lufthansa Cargo was forced to relocate a hub from Kazakhstan to Russia.

On 28 August 2008, Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines announced that they were negotiating a
merger.[107]

Lufthansa acquired a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines in 2009. It has an option to acquire the
remaining 55% by 2017. As a part of the deal Brussels Airlines joined Star Alliance in December
2009.[108][109][110]

On 28 October 2008, Lufthansa exercised its option to purchase a further 60% share in BMI (in
addition to the 20% Lufthansa already owned), this resulted in a dispute with the former owner Sir
Michael Bishop. Both parties reached an agreement at the end of June 2009, and the acquisition
took place with effect from 1 July 2009.[111] Lufthansa acquired the remaining 20% from Scandinavian
Airlines on 1 November 2009, taking complete control of BMI.[112]

Lufthansa completed the purchase of Austrian Airlines from the Austrian government in January
2009.

In 2010, Lufthansa was named in a European Commission investigation into price-fixing, but was not
fined because it acted as a whistleblower.[113]

In April 2012, Lufthansa completed the sale of BMI to International Airlines Group (IAG), owner of
British Airways and Iberia for £172.5 million.

In July 2012, a Qantas–Lufthansa Technik maintenance deal for Tullamarine airport fell through due
to having insufficient engine maintenance work to support the partnership. This resulted in 164
engineers being made redundant. This followed just months after the closing of heavy maintenance
operations, which resulted in 400 additional job losses. It was announced that the Lufthansa
Technik–Qantas partnership would end in September.[114]

Lufthansa also coordinates scheduling and ticket sales on transatlantic flights with Air Canada and
United Airlines (as do Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Austrian Airlines). Lufthansa (with Swiss and
Austrian Airlines) cooperates similarly with ANA on flights to Japan. Both ventures required the
approval of competition authorities.
Technology[edit]
Until April 2009 Lufthansa inventory and departure control systems, based on Unisys, were
managed by LH Systems. Lufthansa reservations systems were outsourced to Amadeus in the early
1990s. Following a decision to outsource all components of the Passenger Service System, the
functions were outsourced to the Altéa platform managed by Amadeus.

Partner airlines[edit]
Lufthansa describes Air Malta, Luxair, and LATAM as partner airlines. The partnerships mainly
involve code-sharing and recognition of each other's frequent flier programmes.

Sponsorships[edit]
Lufthansa sponsors Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.[115] The Lufthansa Group also sponsors the
German Sports Aid Foundation to promote its sociopolitical goals and the athletes it sponsors.[116]

Lufthansa Group[edit]
Lufthansa Group is a group of airlines owned by Lufthansa, namely Brussels Airlines, Swiss
International Air Lines, Edelweiss (owned by Swiss International Air Lines), Air Dolomiti, Austrian
Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa CityLine, Eurowings, Discover Airlines, Germanwings (until
2020), and, plans to take a stake in ITA Airways. Lufthansa is also considering buying SAS
Scandinavian Airlines and the Portuguese airline TAP Portugal. Lufthansa attempted to buy TAP
Portugal in 2019 but the deal fell through as a result of Covid-19. All Lufthansa Group members are
also members of the Star Alliance. Lufthansa Group is the second-largest airline group in Europe by
passengers, carrying 93 million in 2022.

Acquisition of ITA Airways[edit]

On 30 March 2023, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr visited ITA Airways headquarters in Rome to
negotiate a deal to buy the Italian airline. According to news agency Reuters, negotiations will start
at around €200 million for 40% of the airline, with Lufthansa wanting an option to buy the entire
airline from the Italian finance ministry.[117] On the 24th of April, the negotiation deadline ended
without an agreement made. Both parties stated that negotiations were nearly finished, so they
would continue negotiating until May 12.[118] This date was once again postponed with both parties
saying that negotiations are "On a good way."[119] At the meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima in May
2022, the topic was discussed between the German and Italian leaders. They had talked about
"rising the synergies between the industry of the two countries."[120] On May 25, a deal was finally
signed, with Lufthansa paying €325 million for 41% of the airline. Lufthansa also has an option to
buy the rest of the company; if this happens, this price will comply with the airline's profit. As part of
the deal, Rome becomes a hub of the Lufthansa Group, with Milan also being considered.[121]

Destinations[edit]
Main article: List of Lufthansa destinations
Lufthansa flies to 205 destinations from their hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, the second-most
destinations of any airline. Frankfurt is mostly used for intercontinental flights and Munich mostly for
European flights.

Codeshare agreements[edit]
Lufthansa codeshares with the following airlines:[122][123]
 Aegean Airlines
 Air Astana[124]
 airBaltic[125]
 Air Canada
 Air China
 Air Dolomiti LH
 Air India
 Airlink
 Air Malta
 Air New Zealand
 All Nippon Airways[126]
 Asiana Airlines
 Austrian Airlines LH
 Avianca
 Brussels Airlines LH
 Cathay Pacific[127]
 Copa Airlines
 Croatia Airlines
 EgyptAir
 Ethiopian Airlines
 Etihad Airways[128]
 Eurowings LH
 Iran Air
 ITA Airways[129]
 LATAM Airlines
 LOT Polish Airlines
 Luxair
 Scandinavian Airlines
 Shenzhen Airlines
 Singapore Airlines
 South African Airways
 SunExpress LH
 Swiss International Air Lines LH
 TAP Air Portugal
 Thai Airways International
 Turkish Airlines
 United Airlines[130]
 Vistara[131]
LH
Part of the Lufthansa Group.

Fleet[edit]
Main article: Lufthansa fleet

Aircraft naming conventions[edit]

In September 1960, a Lufthansa Boeing 707 (D-ABOC), which would serve the Frankfurt-New York
intercontinental route, was christened Berlin after the divided city of Berlin by then-mayor Willy
Brandt. Following Berlin, other Lufthansa 707 planes were named "Hamburg", "Frankfurt",
"München", and "Bonn". With these names, the company established a tradition of naming the
planes in its fleet after German cities and towns or federal states, with a rule of thumb that the
airplane make, size, or route would correspond roughly to the relative size or importance of the city
or town it was named after.

This tradition continued, with two notable exceptions, until 2010: The first was an Airbus A340-
300 registered D-AIFC, named "Gander/Halifax", after Gander and Halifax, two Canadian cities
along the standard flight path from Europe to North America. It became the first Lufthansa airplane
named after a non-German city. The name commemorates the hospitality of the communities of
Gander and Halifax, which served as improvised safe havens for the passengers and crew of the
multitude of international aircraft unable to return to their originating airports during Operation Yellow
Ribbon after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The other aircraft not named after a German city was
an Airbus A321-100 registered as D-AIRA, which was designated Finkenwerder in honor of the
Airbus facility in the district of Hamburg-Finkenwerder,[132] where about 40% of Airbus narrowbody
models are manufactured.

In February 2010, Lufthansa announced that its first two Airbus A380s would be named Frankfurt
am Main (D-AIMA) and München (D-AIMB) after Lufthansa's two hub airports. Subsequent A380
aircraft were named after other Lufthansa Group hub airports Zurich, Wien (Vienna)
and Brüssel (Brussels) and the major German cities of Düsseldorf and Berlin. The remaining A380s
were named after Star Alliance hub cities Tokyo, Beijing, Johannesburg, New York, San
Francisco and Delhi. However, D-AIMN San Francisco was renamed Deutschland (Germany) in
2016.[132]

As of 2016, there are several short- and long-haul aircraft in Lufthansa's fleet that do not bear any
name. They either never received one or their former one has been given to a newer aircraft, which
was the case for several Boeing 747-400s. For example, the former Bayern (Bavaria), a Boeing 747-
400 still in active service lost that name to a new Boeing 747-8I.[132]

Vintage aircraft restoration[edit]

Lufthansa Technik, the airline's maintenance arm, restored a Junkers Ju 52/3m built in 1936
to airworthiness; this aircraft was in use on the 10-hour Berlin to Rome route, across the Alps, in the
1930s. Lufthansa is now restoring a Lockheed Super Constellation, using parts from three such
aircraft bought at auctions. Lufthansa's Super Constellations and L1649 "Starliners" served routes
such as Hamburg-Madrid-Dakar-Caracas-Santiago. Lufthansa Technik recruits retired employees
and volunteers for skilled labour.[133][134]

Airbus A380[edit]
Lufthansa had initially ordered a total of 15 Airbus A380-800, of which by June 2012 ten were
delivered. In September 2011, the order was increased by two more to 17, this order was confirmed
on 14 March 2013. However, in September 2013 it was announced that the Lufthansa Supervisory
Board had approved the purchase of only twelve of the first 15 A380s. Thus, a total of 14 A380s
have been added to the fleet.

Lufthansa uses its A380s from and to Frankfurt am Main (9 aircraft) and since March 2018 to and
from Munich as well (5 aircraft). From 6 to 12 December 2011, Lufthansa already used an A380
once a day on the route from Munich to New York-JFK. This happened mainly against the backdrop
of Christmas shopping in New York City.

On 13 March 2019, Lufthansa announced that it will be removing 6 A380 aircraft from the fleet and
replacing them with Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A350-900 aircraft.[135] Those six aircraft were sold back
to Airbus for €315 million and all will have exited the fleet by November 2023. It was later disclosed
the sale price was reduced to €302 million because five of the six A380-800s sustained storm
damage which was not covered by insurance while stored.[136]

On 8 March 2020, Lufthansa announced that it would be grounding all of its A380 aircraft due to
the COVID-19 pandemic.[137][138][139]

Lufthansa announced on 27 June 2022 that the remaining fleet of eight A380s will be reactivated
and brought back into service for the 2023 summer season.[140] The stronger than anticipated
customer demand and quicker recovery of international travel from the pandemic is cited as one of
two reasons.[141] The other reason is the persistent delay of Boeing 777-9 delivery, which Lufthansa
would not receive until 2025 or later. Lufthansa is still assessing how many and which A380 will be
reactivated and which route the A380 will serve again.[142]

On 2 December 2022, Lufthansa reactivated the first of two A380s to be entered into the revenue
service beginning in the summer 2023. The first A380 to be reactivated was a nine-year-old D-AIMK,
which left Teruel Airport for Frankfurt Airport after three years of storage. Since the A380 was
inactive for a long time, the landing gears weren't retracted during the flight out of fear that they
might not be deployed again. The A380 flew at slower speed and lower altitude, lasting three hours.
After the preparatory evaluation and minor repair in Frankfurt, A380 departed for Lufthansa Technik
in Manila, Philippines for the extensive maintenance and replacement work.

Lufthansa has announced the A380 will begin its revenue flights from Munich to Boston Logan on 1
of June and to New York-JFK on 4 July as well as routes to Los Angeles and Bangkok beginning in
October.[143]

On 1 June 2023, Lufthansa's A380 made its return, with a flight from Munich to Boston, that lasted 7
hours and 22 minutes.

Services[edit]
Frequent-flyer programme[edit]
Main article: Miles & More
Lufthansa's frequent-flyer programme is called Miles & More, and is shared among several
European airlines, including all of Lufthansa's subsidiary airlines (excluding the SunExpress joint
ventures), plus Condor (formerly owned by Lufthansa), Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines,
and Luxair (previously part-owned by Lufthansa).[144] Miles & More members may earn miles on
Lufthansa flights and Star Alliance partner flights, as well as through Lufthansa credit cards, and
purchases made through the Lufthansa shops. Status within Miles & More is determined by miles
flown during one calendar year with specific partners. Membership levels include: Miles & More
member (no minimal threshold), Frequent Traveller (Silver, 35,000-mile (56,000 km) threshold or 30
individual flights), Senator (Gold, 100,000-mile (160,000 km) threshold), and HON Circle (Black,
600,000-mile (970,000 km) threshold over two calendar years). All Miles & More status levels higher
than Miles & More member offer lounge access and executive bonus miles, with the higher levels
offering more exclusive benefits.[145]

Cabins[edit]
First Class[edit]
 First Class of Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8Is in a 1-2-1 layout
First Class is offered on most long-haul aircraft (all Airbus A340-600s, the front part of the upper
deck of all Airbus A380s, and the nose of the main deck of all Boeing 747-8Is). Each seat converts
to a 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) bed, includes laptop power outlets, as well as entertainment facilities. Meals
are available on demand. Lufthansa offers dedicated First Class check-in counters at most airports,
and offers dedicated First Class lounges in Frankfurt and Munich, as well as a dedicated first-class
terminal in Frankfurt. Arriving passengers have the option of using Lufthansa's First Class arrival
facilities, as well as the new Welcome Lounge. Lufthansa introduced a new First Class product
aboard the Airbus A380 and planned to gradually introduce it on all of its long-haul aircraft.
[146]
However, with the new program SCORE, introduced to boost profits by 1.5 billion euros over the
following years, Lufthansa halted route expansion and extensively decreased its First Class offerings
on most routes.[147][148] In October 2022, a new suite style First Class product was unveiled, and will be
introduced on new A350 deliveries in 2023. In 2017 the airline announced that its first few Boeing
777-9s would not include First Class seats, however, First Class could be installed on later
deliveries.[149] As of June 2021, the only remaining First Class seats Lufthansa offered were on
its Boeing 747-8Is, with 10 Airbus A350-900s with First Class seats to be delivered starting in July
2023. [needs update][150][151]

Business Class[edit]

Business Class in a 2-2 layout on the upper deck of a Boeing

747-8I
Business Class is offered on all long-haul aircraft. Seats convert to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) lie-flat beds
and include laptop power outlets and entertainment facilities.[152] Lufthansa offers dedicated Business
Class check-in counters at all airports, as well as dedicated Business Class lounges at most airports,
or contract lounges at other airports, as well as the Lufthansa Welcome Lounge upon arrival in
Frankfurt. As of 2014, Business Class on all wide-body aircraft feature lie-flat seats.[153] Lufthansa
released plans for a new business class set to be released in 2023 on the Boeing 787-9 and Airbus
A350, and will retrofit the rest of the fleet in the coming years.[154]

Premium Economy[edit]
 Economy Class aboard a Lufthansa Boeing 787-9
Introduced in 2014,[155] Lufthansa's long-haul Premium Economy was rolled out on all long-haul
aircraft, starting with some Boeing 747-8Is. Similar in design to Air Canada's Premium Economy
or British Airways' World Traveller Plus cabins, Premium Economy features 38-inch (970 mm) pitch
along with up to 3 inches (76 mm) more width than economy class, depending on the aircraft. The
seats also feature a 11 or 12 inches (280 or 300 mm) personal seat-back entertainment screen and
a larger armrest separating seats. Along with the planned introduction of the Boeing 777-9X, the
airline plans to add a new Premium Economy cabin with a "shell" design. These seats are also to be
installed on SWISS' Boeing 777-300ERs and Airbus A340-300s from the first and second quarter of
2021, respectively.[156]

Bus service[edit]
A bus service from Nuremberg Airport to Munich Airport was reinstated in 2021 to replace short-haul
flights between both cities.[157] Lufthansa operated a check-in point in Nuremberg and a bus service
from Nuremberg to Munich Airport in the late 1990s.[158]

Accidents and incidents[edit]

This is a list of accidents and incidents involving Lufthansa mainline aircraft since 1956. For earlier
occurrences, refer to Deutsche Luft Hansa. For accidents and incidents on Lufthansa-branded flights
which were operated by other airlines, see the respective articles (Lufthansa CityLine, Lufthansa
Cargo, Contact Air, Germanwings, and Air Dolomiti).

Fatal[edit]
 On 11 January 1959, Lufthansa Flight 502, a Lufthansa Lockheed Super
Constellation (registered D-ALAK) crashed onto a beach shortly off Galeão Airport in Rio de
Janeiro following a scheduled passenger flight from Hamburg, Germany. Of the 29 passengers
and 10 crew members on board, only the co-pilot and 2 flight attendants survived. The
investigation into the accident resulted in blaming the pilots for having executed a too low
approach, which may have been caused by fatigue.[159]
 On 4 December 1961, a Lufthansa Boeing 720 (registered D-ABOK) crashed of unknown
causes near Mainz during a training flight from Frankfurt to Cologne, killing the three occupants.
It was the first crash involving an aircraft of that type.[160]
 On 15 July 1964, another Boeing 720 (registered D-ABOP) crashed during a training flight, with
the three people, including Werner Baake, on board losing their lives (in what was only the
second crash for this aircraft type). The accident occurred near Ansbach after the pilots had lost
control of the aircraft when executing an aileron roll.
 On 28 January 1966 at 17:50 local time, Lufthansa Flight 005 from Frankfurt to Bremen, which
was operated using a Convair CV-440 Metropolitan registered D-ACAT, crashed 0.5 kilometres
(0.31 mi) short of Bremen Airport, killing all 42 passengers and 4 crew members on board. The
 pilots had tried to execute a go-around when approaching the airport, during which the
aircraft stalled and went out of control, possibly due to pilot error.[161]

 D-ABYB, the aircraft that was destroyed in the Flight 540

accident, was the second of three Boeing 747-100s delivered to Lufthansa.[162] It is seen here
during a promotional event at Nuremberg Airport in 1970.On 20 November 1974 at 07:54 local
time, Lufthansa Flight 540, a Boeing 747-100 (registered D-ABYB), lost power and crashed
shortly after take-off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in what was the first air accident
involving a Boeing 747. 55 out of the 140 passengers and 4 out of the 17 crew lost their lives,
making it the worst accident in the history of the airline.[163]
 On 26 July 1979 at 21:32 UTC, a cargo-configured Boeing 707 (registered D-ABUY) that was en
route Lufthansa Flight 527 from Rio de Janeiro to Dakar and onwards to Germany crashed into
a mountain 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Galeão Airport during initial climb, killing the three crew
members on board. A flawed communication between the pilots and the air traffic controller had
resulted in the aircraft flying on a wrong path.[164]
 In January 1984, a woman was found dead in a suitcase which was lying on
an LAXbaggage carousel for a while. The suitcase had arrived on a Lufthansa flight. The woman
was later discovered to have been an Iranian citizen who had recently married another Iranian
with UGreen card status. She had been denied a US visa in West Germany and therefore
decided to enter the US like this.[165]
 On 14 September 1993, Lufthansa Flight 2904, an Airbus A320-200 (registered D-AIPN) flying
from Frankfurt to Warsaw with 64 passengers and 4 crew members on board, overran the
runway upon landing at Warsaw-Okecie Airport, and crashed into an earth embankment,
resulting in the death of the co-pilot and one passenger.[166][167]
 On 28 May 1999, German border police suffocated to death Aamir Ageeb, whom they were
escorting aboard Lufthansa Flight 588 from Frankfurt to Cairo. During takeoff, the officers
restrained and pinned down Ageeb, a Sudanese man deported from Germany after being
rejected for asylum.[168] The aircraft made an emergency landing in Munich. The incident led to
the German interior ministry suspending its policy of forcible air deportation, and contributed to
protests over Lufthansa's role in transporting deported asylum seekers.[169][170]
Non-fatal[edit]
 On 20 December 1973 at 00:33 local time, a Lufthansa Boeing 707 (registered D-ABOT) with 98
passengers and 11 crew members on board collided with a middle marker shack upon
approaching Palam Airport in Delhi following a scheduled passenger flight from Bangkok (as
part of a multi-leg flight back to Germany). There were no injuries, but the aircraft was damaged
beyond repair. Visibility was poor at the time of the accident.[171]
 On 18 October 1983, a Boeing 747-200 freighter ran off the runway at Kai Tak airport in Hong
Kong and got bogged in the grass after an engine failure during take-off.[172]
 On 11 June 2018, one of the airline's Airbus A340-300s, registered as D-AIFA, was being towed
to its departure gate at Frankfurt Airport when the towing vehicle caught fire. Despite the quick
action of the airport fire brigade, the aircraft suffered substantial fire and smoke damage to the
nose and flight deck. Six people were treated for smoke inhalation.[173]
 On 1 March 2023, Lufthansa Flight 469, an Airbus A330 flying from Austin, Texas to Frankfurt
experienced sudden clear-air turbulence while over Tennessee, resulting in the flight being
diverted to Dulles International Airport and seven passengers hospitalized after landing.[174][175]
Hijackings and criminal events[edit]
 In 1972, the year of the Munich Summer Olympics, there were four reported hijackings involving
Lufthansa aircraft:
o On 22 February, Flight 649, a Boeing 747-200 (registered D-ABYD) with 172 passengers
and 15 crew members on board was hijacked en route from New Delhi to Athens (as part of
a multi-leg flight from Tokyo to Frankfurt) by five Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine terrorists who then pressed for a $5 million ransom from the German government.
The aircraft landed at Aden International Airport, and the hostages were released on the
following day once the demands of the perpetrators were accepted.[176][177]
o On 10 July, a similar hijacking attempt occurred on board a Lufthansa Boeing 737-
100 during a flight from Cologne to Munich.[178][better source needed]
o 11 October a Boeing 727 was hijacked on a flight from Lisbon to Frankfurt. Upon landing at
Frankfurt Airport, the perpetrator tried to flee but was captured by police forces.[179][better source needed]
o On 29 October, two men hijacked Flight 615 with 11 other passengers and 7 crew members
on board during a flight from Beirut to Ankara (and onwards to Germany), in order to liberate
the three surviving members of the Black September group responsible for the Munich
massacre. Whilst the hijacked Boeing 727 (registered D-ABIG) was forced to circle
over Zagreb Airport in danger of eventual fuel starvation, the West German authorities
decided to comply with the demands. The prisoners were handed over and the aircraft was
allowed to be flown to Tripoli, where the hostages were released.[180][181][182]
 On 17 December 1973, in the wake of the events surrounding Pan Am Flight 110, a parked
Lufthansa Boeing 737-100 (registered D-ABEY) was hijacked at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino
Airport in Rome. 10 Italian hostages that had been taken by Palestinian terrorists at the airport
were forced into the aircraft by 5 perpetrators, and the German crew (2 pilots and 2 flight
attendants) that was on board preparing the departure to Munich had to fly the aircraft instead
first to Athens and then to several other airports until the ordeal ended at Kuwait International
Airport the next day, where the hijackers surrendered.[183][184]
 On 28 June 1977, a Lufthansa Boeing 727 was hijacked during a flight from Frankfurt
to Istanbul and forced to divert to Munich.[185][better source needed]
 The hijacking of the Landshut occurred on 13 October 1977, at a time when West Germany had
come under intense terroristic pressure known as German Autumn. The Boeing 737-
200 (registered D-ABCE) was hijacked en route Flight 181 from Palma de Mallorca to Frankfurt
by 4 terrorists of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who thus wanted to force the
German government to release several RAF terrorists. The crew had to divert the aircraft with 87
other passengers first to Rome, and then onwards to Larnaca, Bahrain, Dubai, Aden (where the
captain was killed when he returned to the aircraft after negotiations with the local authorities),
and finally to Mogadishu in an ordeal that took several days. At Mogadishu Airport, the
German GSG 9 special forces stormed the aircraft in the early hours of 18 October local time,
killing 3 terrorists and freeing all hostages.[186][187]
 On 11 December 1978, Lufthansa was the victim of a major heist (robbery) at John F. Kennedy
International Airport. The Lufthansa heist led to Lufthansa losing about $5 million American
Dollars.
 On 12 September 1979, a hijacking attempt occurred on board a Lufthansa Boeing 727 on a
flight from Frankfurt to Cologne, but the perpetrator quickly surrendered.[188][better source needed]
 Three hijackings occurred in due course in early 1985:
 o On 27 February, a Boeing 727 was hijacked en route a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt
to Damascus. Two perpetrators forced the pilots to divert the aircraft (with 35 other
passengers on board) to Vienna International Airport, where they surrendered.[189][better source needed]
o On 27 March, another 727 was hijacked, this time on a flight from Munich to Athens. A man
demanded the pilots to divert to Libya. During a fuel stop at Istanbul, the aircraft was
stormed and the perpetrator arrested.[190][better source needed]
o Only two days later, a mentally ill person on board a Lufthansa Boeing 737-200 on a flight
from Hamburg to London demanded to be taken to Hawaii instead.[191][better source needed]
 On 11 February 1993, Lufthansa Flight 592 from Frankfurt to Addis Ababa via Cairo with 94
passengers and 10 crew members was hijacked during the first leg by 20-year-old Nebiu
Zewolde Demeke, who forced the pilots to divert the Airbus A310 (registered D-AIDM) to the
United States, with the intent of securing the right of asylum there. Demeke, who had been on
the flight to be deported back to his native Ethiopia, surrendered to authorities upon arrival
at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. No passengers or crew members
were harmed during the 12-hour ordeal.[192]

Criticism[edit]
Employment relations[edit]
Relations between Lufthansa and their pilots have been very tense in the past years, with many
strikes occurring, causing many flights to be cancelled, as well as major losses to the company.[193] A
major dispute between Lufthansa and the pilot's union has been settled after nearly five years and
overall 14 strikes in December 2017.[194] Without taking into account the €9 billion bailout from the
German government, Lufthansa cut 31,000 jobs in the COVID-19 years.[195] During the 2022
collective bargaining, verdi said that Lufthansa's wage offer meant real wage losses for employees
and called on around 20,000 ground workers in Germany to go on warning strikes.[196]

Germanwings crisis management[edit]

Main article: Germanwings Flight 9525
Germanwings was a subsidiary of Lufthansa. Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa's CEO, oversaw
the Germanwings Flight 9525 incident, "the darkest day for Lufthansa in its 60-year history", when
pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally flew an aircraft into a mountain, murdering 149 passengers.[197]

Nonetheless, damage control by Spohr and his team was poor according to several sources, as
compared to other CEOs in the face of a major accident, with contradictory information given about
the mental health and the airworthiness of the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. It was revealed that Lubitz
suffered from a severe case of depression and mental disorders and had intentionally crashed
Germanwings Flight 9525 into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard. Spohr had misleadingly said
the co-pilot "was 100% airworthy without any restrictions, without any conditions".[198]

GDS surcharge[edit]
On 1 September 2015, Lufthansa implemented a 16 euro surcharge on Global Distribution
System bookings. The surcharge is payable unless tickets are purchased directly from the airline's
website, or at its service centres and ticket counters at the airport. In a statement responding to
Lufthansa's strategy, Amadeus, a travel technology company, said the new model would make
"comparison and transparency more difficult because travellers will now be forced to go to multiple
channels to search for the best fares."[199] For the period between 1–14 September, the airline
experienced a 16.1% drop in revenue, indicating to some that the new fee backfired, although the
airline maintains the statement that the decrease was due to the pilot strike, and "other seasonal
effects".[200]
Deportation flights[edit]
Pro-migration activists from Germany have criticised Lufthansa for performing deportation flights on
behalf of the German government.[201][169] In 2019, 4,573 people were deported on their planes, while
their subsidiary Eurowings performed 1,312 deportations.[202] This totals more than 25% of
deportations in Germany in 2019. At least two deportees perished during transport.[168][169]

Treatment of Nazi-era past[edit]

Lufthansa has been criticized for lack of transparency about the use of more than 10,000 forced
laborers, many of them children, by its predecessor company, Deutsche Luft Hansa, during World
War II.[33][25]