Lufthansa | News, deals and offers from Lufthansa

Lufthansa passengers now have a choice of four new codeshare destinations in Africa. The increase in services is due to the expansion of the German carrier’s partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, which with immediate effect will operate several onward flights from Ethiopia under a Lufthansa flight number.

As crude oil and kerosene prices have decreased, Lufthansa will further reduce its fuel surcharge on its flights.

Lufthansa is launching its new “Lufthansa Italia“ brand in Italy this week. The new airline blends traditional Lufthansa values, notably reliability and high quality, with Italian flair. With an initial fleet of six aircraft, Lufthansa will be offering the best of connections from major European destinations to northern Italy from February 2009, including a new non-stop, four times daily service from London Heathrow to Milan Malpensa, operating from the end of March 2009.

The Lufthansa Group increased its offer and sales during the first nine months of the year, defying the difficult economic environment. The Group achieved an operating profit of 984 million euros after the third quarter. This was equivalent to a lesser result of 101 million euros in comparison with the same period the previous year.

British chef Chris Staines will provide the culinary introduction to the new year for Lufthansa passengers, creating innovative menus for First and Business Class passengers on long-haul flights during the months of January and February.

Lufthansa is slightly increasing its flight services this winter. Its expanded route network will encompass 194 destinations in 79 countries, compared with 188 destinations in winter 2007. Capacity, measured in seat-kilometres offered, will be increased by 2.4 per cent across Lufthansa’s route network in the 2008 winter timetable. Broken down the European traffic will rise by 1.9 per cent and the long-haul offer by 2.7 per cent.

Lufthansa is now offering passengers flying Business Class on many European routes an even more varied and enjoyable dining experience. Eight newly created menu variations will be offered as part of the "Discover Flavour" concept – each based on a specific theme and changing weekly. The enticing culinary delicacies await Business Class travellers from mid- October until the changeover to the summer timetable in April next year.

"My cooking is a melting pot of different cultures," says Susur Lee, a Chinese master of fusion cooking, explaining his culinary skills. Born in Hong Kong, the new Lufthansa Star Chef will be treating First and Business-Class passengers to the finest onboard cuisine on long-haul flights from Germany in November and December.

Bookings are now being taken for new Lufthansa direct connections from Milan. Their inclusion in the timetable allows passengers from and to northern Italy an even wider choice of flights in an expanded route network from Milan-Malpensa.

As crude oil and kerosene prices have decreased, Lufthansa will reduce its fuel surcharge on its flights. The fuel surcharge on domestic German and intra-European routes will lower by 3 euros to 24 euros per flight segment. On long-haul routes the corresponding fuel surcharge will be decreased by 5 euros to 92 euros per flight segment. The reduction will apply to all Lufthansa tickets issued on or after 20 October 2008.

Lufthansa has selected the UK as a key launch market outside Germany for its pioneering mobile boarding pass. Effective 13th October 2008, Lufthansa passengers flying from London Heathrow can now use mobile boarding passes on all Lufthansa non-stop flights to Germany as well as to most onward destination in Europe. The service will be gradually introduced from additional UK and European departure points over the coming months.

Lufthansa is the first German airline to receive an official certificate of approval for the transparent pricing of its online booking system lufthansa.com. The certificate was issued by TÜV Rheinland, a leading group for the provision of technical services worldwide, headquartered in Cologne. TÜV Rheinland rated the correspondence between the expected, advertised and final price of a Lufthansa ticket positively. At Lufthansa the final airfare always includes all taxes, charges and surcharges.

Lufthansa has been voted the best airline in Europe in the 2008 World Airline Awards. More than 15 million passengers took part in the survey, conducted by the UK-based aviation research agency Skytrax over an eleven-month period from August 2007 to June 2008. With no outside sponsorship or external influence applied to any aspect of the survey the World Airline Awards is the most respected passenger survey of its type in the world.

Lufthansa passengers can now use mobile boarding passes on all flights from Germany to any destination in Europe. Following the successful pilot scheme conducted in the spring and the across-the-board introduction of mobile boarding passes on all domestic German routes in the summer, this innovative service has gained widespread acceptance among travellers.

Brussels Airlines is embarking on a new future with Lufthansa. Lufthansa Chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber and SN Airholding Chairman Eitienne Davignon have signed an agreement, which initially envisages a strategic stake in SN Airholding SA/NV and, in a second step, the full integration of the Belgian carrier in the Lufthansa Group. The agreement still requires the approval of the regulatory authorities and the Lufthansa Supervisory Board as well as the Board of Directors and shareholders of SN Airholding SA/NV.

Commencing summer 2009, Lufthansa will offer UK passengers flying from London a new, non-stop service to Milan Malpensa. At the same time, new non-stop flights will be introduced from Lisbon to Milan, with both new services following on from the earlier introduction in February 2009 of the first non-stop flights to operate from Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest and Paris to Milan.

In September and October Lufthansa is inviting its First and Business Class passengers on a culinary journey through the realm of haute cuisine. For eight weeks, Lufthansa Star Chef Alfred Friedrich will be offering passengers on long-haul flights from Germany a modern take on French-Mediterranean delicacies.

German National Tourist Board (GNTB) and Lufthansa Airlines have together announced a competition for travel tour operators across the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia.

Lufthansa has been voted the best airline in Europe in the 2008 World Airline Awards, beating 59 other carriers. More than 15 million passengers took part in the survey, conducted by the UK-based aviation research agency Skytrax over an eleven-month period from August 2007 to June 2008.

Lufthansa’s latest travel deals and lower fares are an enticement to explore foreign shores worldwide. Anyone who has yen to travel far afield this coming autumn or winter should take advantage of Lufthansa’s "Special" fares to more than 50 interesting and exciting long-haul destinations. A round-trip flight to the United States can be booked for as little as 399 euros, while return fares to Asia start at 549 euros.

Lufthansa is expanding the services it offers to customers flying to Brazil and launching code share flights in partnership with the Brazilian carrier TAM. From 18 August, Lufthansa and TAM passengers will be able to book any of the flights operated jointly by either carrier between Frankfurt or Munich and São Paulo. Customers will then have a choice of 21 codeshare flights per week between Germany and Brazil.

Lufthansa and the ver.di trade union reached a new agreement today at their pay negotiations. From 1 July 2008, the 34,000 on the ground staff are to receive a pay rise of 5.1 per cent and a further increase of 2.3 per cent from 1 July 2009. Additionally, the employees are to get a one-off payment, including a performance-related component depending on their business segment, of up to 2.4 per cent of their annual remuneration.

Lufthansa remains on course with an improved operating result - during the first six months of 2008, the Group increased its offer and sales. The Group improved its operating result to 705 million euros, which marked an increase of 219 million euros in comparison with the first six months of 2007. The newly consolidated SWISS contributed a share of 157 million euros.

In recent weeks, crude oil and kerosene prices have continued to rise. In response to this development, Lufthansa is adjusting its fuel surcharges on its flights. The fuel surcharge on domestic German and intra-European routes will increase by three euros to 27 euros per flight segment. On long-haul routes the corresponding fuel surcharge will be raised by five euros to 97 euros per flight segment. The increases will apply to all Lufthansa tickets issued on or after 17 July 2008.

Lufthansa has this month published a new issue of its "Balance" sustainability report giving a broad sweep of the Group’s activities, the advances it has made and its future objectives in the environmental, business, societal and social fields.