48-419: A national airline is a country's flag carrier . The National Airlines name has been used by several United States airlines: Flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state , enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Historically,
96-574: 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
144-644: A public company or a state-owned enterprise , while others have been completely privatized . The aviation industry has also been gradually deregulated and liberalized, permitting greater freedoms of the air particularly in the United States and in the European Union with the signing of the Open Skies agreement. One of the features of such agreements is the right of a country to designate multiple airlines to serve international routes with
192-476: A travel ban because of the COVID-19 pandemic . 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. On 14 May, Lufthansa Group announced that it planned to operate 1,800 weekly flights by
240-413: A 16 euro surcharge on Global Distribution System bookings. The surcharge is payable unless tickets are purchased from the airline's website, or its airport service centres and ticket counters. Amadeus 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." For the period between 1–14 September,
288-414: 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
336-468: A historical study was commissioned to shed light on this aspect of the company's past. However, Lufthansa was criticized for not publishing the resulting study for more than a decade. The early 2000s witnessed Lufthansa demonstrate remarkable resilience in the face of industry challenges. Despite significant industry losses following the 11 September attacks, the airline maintained profitability and strategically avoided workforce reductions. Lufthansa became
384-523: A long-standing dispute with the Vereinigung Cockpit union, which has advocated for a system in which pilots can retire at the age of 55, and 60% of their pay be retained. 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
432-403: A loss of 298 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 in 2012. Lufthansa announced a restructuring program called SCORE to improve its operating profit. As a part of the restructuring plan,
480-628: A maintenance base at Hamburg Airport . On 6 August 1954, Luftag acquired the name and logo of the liquidated Deutsche Lufthansa for DM 30,000 (equivalent to €41,000 today), thus continuing the tradition of a German flag carrier with that name. On 1 April 1955, Lufthansa won approval to commence operation of scheduled domestic flights. The airline's initial network linked Hamburg , Düsseldorf , Frankfurt , Cologne, and Munich . International flights started on 15 May 1955, to London , Paris , and Madrid , followed by Super Constellation flights to New York City from 1 June of that year, and across
528-462: A major purveyor of West Germany's image abroad. During this time, East Germany attempted to establish its own " Lufthansa " airline in 1955, but legal challenges from the West German carrier led to its abandonment. East Germany subsequently launched Interflug as its national carrier in 1963. Lufthansa embraced the jet age in 1958 by ordering four Boeing 707 aircraft. This marked
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#1732791401239576-450: A new corporate identity in 1988. The fleet was given a new livery, while cabins, city offices, and airport lounges were redesigned. Following German reunification on 3 October 1990, Lufthansa swiftly reintegrated Berlin into its network, marking the city's return as a key destination within 25 days. The mid-1990s saw a period of strategic restructuring for Lufthansa. This involved the establishment of independent operating companies within
624-587: A new national airline, a company called Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf ( Luftag ) was founded in the city of Cologne in West Germany on 6 January 1953, with many of its staff having worked for the pre-war Deutsche Luft Hansa. West Germany had not yet been granted full 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-340 and four Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations aircraft and set up
672-466: A result, service to Chicago from Düsseldorf was first made seasonal, suspended for the winter 2015 season, and then canceled altogether. 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
720-569: A significant leap forward, allowing them to launch jet flights between Frankfurt and New York City in March 1960. To further bolster their jet fleet, Boeing 720B aircraft (a 707 derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways) were later acquired. Lufthansa's network continued to expand throughout the early 1960s. In February 1961, their Far East routes extended beyond Bangkok to include Hong Kong and Tokyo. Africa saw additions in 1962 with Lagos , Nigeria, and Johannesburg , South Africa joining
768-559: Is government-owned. Flag carriers may also be known as such due to laws requiring aircraft or ships to display the state flag of the country of their registry . For example, under the law of the United States, a U.S. flag air carrier is any airline that holds a certificate under Section 401 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (i.e., any U.S.-based airline operating internationally), and any ship registered in
816-463: Is located at Frankfurt Airport , the airline's primary hub. It also maintains a secondary hub at Munich Airport , along with its Flight Operations Centre . Lufthansa traces its history to 1926 when Deutsche Luft Hansa was formed in Berlin by the merger of Deutscher Aero Lloyd , the world´s sixth-oldest airline , and Junkers Luftverkehr . Deutsche Luft Hansa was Germany's flag carrier until
864-511: Is the flag carrier of Germany . When combined with its subsidiaries, it ranks second in Europe by passengers carried, as well as largest in Europe and fourth largest in the world by revenue . Lufthansa is also one of the five founding members of Star Alliance , which is the world's largest airline alliance , formed in 1997. Lufthansa was founded in 1953 and commenced operations in April 1955. Besides operating flights under its own brand,
912-531: The "main national airline" and often a sign of their country's presence abroad. The heavily regulated aviation industry also meant aviation rights are often negotiated between governments, denying airlines access to an open market. These Bilateral Air Transport Agreements similar to the Bermuda I and Bermuda II agreements specify rights awardable only to locally registered airlines, forcing some governments to jump-start airlines to avoid being disadvantaged in
960-460: The French Alps, killing all 150 aboard whereas Spohr had misleadingly said the co-pilot "was 100% airworthy without any restrictions, without any conditions". 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
1008-560: The Lufthansa Group also owns several other airlines, including Austrian Airlines , Brussels Airlines , Discover Airlines , Eurowings and Swiss International Air Lines . The group also owns several aviation-related companies, including Global Load Control , Lufthansa Consulting , Lufthansa Flight Training , Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik . The company was founded as Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf (often shortened to Luftag ) on 6 January 1953 by staff of
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#17327914012391056-475: The Lufthansa Group, specializing in areas like maintenance ( Lufthansa Technik ), cargo ( Lufthansa Cargo ), and information technology ( Lufthansa Systems ). Over time, the group further expanded through the addition of LSG Sky Chefs (catering), Condor (leisure travel), and Lufthansa CityLine (regional operations). Lufthansa joined Air Canada , Scandinavian Airlines , Thai Airways International , and United Airlines to form Star Alliance on 18 May 1997,
1104-446: The March 2015 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. Nonetheless, damage control by Spohr and his team was poor according to several sources. It was revealed that Lubitz suffered from a severe case of depression and mental disorders and had intentionally crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 into
1152-539: The South Atlantic from August 1956. However, the political realities of the time presented challenges to the airline. The United States, Soviet Union, Britain and France did not allow Lufthansa to fly to any part of the divided Berlin during the division of Germany . The airline had hoped this would only be a temporary matter and planned to move its headquarters and primary hub back to the German capital once
1200-510: The United States is known as a U.S. flag vessel . The term "flag carrier" is a legacy of the early days of commercial aviation when governments often took the lead by establishing state-owned airlines because of the high capital costs of running them. However, not all such airlines were government-owned; Pan Am , TWA , Cathay Pacific , Union de Transports Aériens , Canadian Pacific Air Lines and Olympic Airlines were all privately owned, but were considered to be flag carriers as they were
1248-587: The airline announced it would sell six A380 aircraft back to Airbus, beginning in 2022. Pro-migration activists from Germany have criticised Lufthansa for performing deportation flights on behalf of the German government. In 2019, 4,573 people were deported on their planes, while their subsidiary Eurowings performed 1,312 deportations. This totals more than 25% of deportations in Germany in 2019. At least two deportees perished during transport. On 19 March 2020, Lufthansa cancelled 95 percent of all flights due to
1296-469: The airline experienced a 16.1% drop in revenue, indicating to some that the new fee backfired, although the airline maintains that the decrease was due to the pilot strike, and "other seasonal effects". In October 2017, Lufthansa took over 81 aircraft from the insolvent Air Berlin . The total purchase price for the shares acquired by Lufthansa from the insolvency estate of Air Berlin amounted to around 210 million euros. On 4 December 2017, Lufthansa became
1344-489: 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 . 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. The group has had
1392-485: The distinction of being the first customer for the Boeing 737 and one of only four buyers of the initial 737-100 model (alongside NASA , Malaysia-Singapore Airlines , and Avianca ). While NASA technically had the first built 737 airframe, it was ultimately delivered last and originally intended for Lufthansa, making them the first foreign launch customer for a Boeing airliner. The wide-body era for Lufthansa started with
1440-674: The end of June. The company's recovery plans involved high-density cargo to replace paying customers. All Lufthansa Group required all passengers to wear a mask while aboard. 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 . The measures, which passed after initial opposition by principal shareholder Heinz Hermann Thiele , gave
1488-541: The end of the 2000s, Lufthansa made a large commitment to very large aircraft, introducing the first of 14 Airbus A380 in 2010 and becoming the becoming the launch customer for the Boeing 747-8I in 2012, eventually purchasing 19 of the type. In 2011 Lufthansa planned significant growth at Berlin Brandenburg Airport for the originally planned opening in 2012 with many new connections from Berlin. After
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1536-436: The evaluation. In celebration, Lufthansa painted an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 747-8 in the "5 Starhansa" livery. 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. 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,
1584-421: The face of foreign competition. Some countries also establish flag carriers such as Israel 's El Al or Lebanon 's Middle East Airlines for nationalist reasons or to aid the country's economy, particularly in the area of tourism. In many cases, governments would directly assist in the growth of their flag carriers typically through subsidies and other fiscal incentives. The establishment of competitors in
1632-462: The first European airline to receive the Skytrax 5-star certification. 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. 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
1680-406: The form of other locally registered airlines may be prohibited or heavily regulated to avoid direct competition. Even where privately run airlines may be allowed to be established, the flag carriers may still be accorded priority, especially in the apportionment of aviation rights to local or international markets. Near the end of the 20th century, many of these airlines have been corporatized as
1728-668: The former Deutsche Luft Hansa , Germany's national airline founded in 1926. While Deutsche Luft Hansa played a significant role in the development of commercial aviation in Germany, it was liquidated in 1951 due to its association with the Nazi regime during World War II . Luftag adopted the branding of the former flag carrier by acquiring the Luft Hansa name and logo in 1954. Lufthansa's corporate headquarters are in Cologne . The main operations base, called Lufthansa Aviation Center ,
1776-431: The government a 20% stake in the airline. 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. This decision was later overturned, with several A340-600 aircraft returning to service in 2021 after several months in storage. In June 2021, Lufthansa said it wants to repay state aid it received during
1824-458: The launch customer for the Connexion by Boeing in-flight internet connectivity in 2004. Lufthansa further solidified its position as a major European airline group through strategic acquisitions. The acquisitions of Swiss International Air Lines in 2005, Brussels Airlines (staged between 2009 and 2017), and Austrian Airlines in 2009 expanded the group's reach and network capabilities. At
1872-510: The network. Innovation continued with the introduction of the Boeing 727 in 1964. This enabled Lufthansa to launch a pioneering Polar route from Frankfurt to Tokyo via Anchorage in May of that year. Further expansion plans were solidified in February 1965 with the order of twenty-one Boeing 737 aircraft, entering service in 1968. Lufthansa's role in Boeing's history is noteworthy. They hold
1920-599: The outbreak of war when it came under the command of the Luftwaffe . During the war, the airline was focused mainly on aircraft maintenance and repair in which forced labor was employed on the site of Berlin Tempelhof Airport . Following the surrender of Germany and the ensuing Allied occupation of Germany , all aircraft in the country were seized and Deutsche Luft Hansa was dissolved. The remaining assets were liquidated on 1 January 1951. In an effort to create
1968-654: The pandemic before Germany's federal election in September 2021 if possible. 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 ". In January 2022, Lufthansa admitted it had operated over 18,000 empty flights to keep airport slots during the pandemic. In March 2022, Lufthansa originally confirmed that its entire Airbus A380 fleet would be retired, having been in storage since early 2020. This decision
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2016-452: The political situation changed, plans that ultimately never came to fruition. Instead, Lufthansa turned Frankfurt Airport into its primary hub in 1958. The airline also embarked on a marketing campaign to encourage travelers to consider visiting West Germany as it rebuilt in the wake of World War II and to use its hub to connect to other locations across Europe. By 1963, the airline, initially limited in its public relations efforts, had become
2064-517: The result that there is no single "flag carrier". The chart below lists airlines considered to be a "flag carrier", based on current or former state ownership or other verifiable designation as a national airline. Minority (20.05%) in the Lufthansa Group acquired in 2020 was sold in 2022. Lufthansa Group Deutsche Lufthansa AG ( German pronunciation: [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈlʊfthanzaː ʔaːˈɡeː] ), or simply Lufthansa ,
2112-494: The summer holidays in September 2014, which caused the cancellation of 200 Lufthansa flights and 100 Germanwings flights. During the course of the 2014 FIFA World Cup , part of the fleet was branded "Fanhansa". 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. Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa's CEO, called
2160-458: The term was used to refer to airlines owned by the government of their home country and associated with the national identity of that country. Such an airline may also be known as a national airline or a national carrier , although this can have different legal meanings in some countries. Today, it is any international airline with a strong connection to its home country or that represents its home country internationally, regardless of whether it
2208-400: The world's first multilateral airline alliance . Lufthansa actively addressed its historical legacy during this period. In 1999, the airline participated in a German initiative aimed at resolving wartime misdeeds, acknowledging the use of forced labor by its predecessor, Deutsche Luft Hansa. As part of the initiative, Lufthansa also reportedly paid tens of millions German marks. Additionally,
2256-455: Was operated with an Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Their base was officially closed in March 2019. On 22 March 2016, Lufthansa ended Boeing 737-500 operations. 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. On 1 September 2015, Lufthansa implemented
2304-447: 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 eight remaining A380 aircraft to service by 2024, as six of formerly 14 have already been sold. 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. In 2023,
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