Lufthansa

Air India, Lufthansa expand codeshare, add 60 routes across India, Europe

Private carrier Air India on Thursday announced the expansion of its codeshare partnership with Lufthansa Group to offer 60 additional routes across 12 cities in India and 26 in Europe. Air India, in a statement, said that as part of this expansion, it has entered into a new codeshare agreement with Austrian Airlines and expanded its existing codeshare agreements with Lufthansa, and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS). The Tata Group-owned Air India said it will now offer its customers a total of 26 destinations across Europe and three destinations in the Americas beyond its gateways in Europe (Frankfurt, Vienna, and Zurich), with the 'AI' designator code placed on certain services operated by airlines in the Lufthansa Group, including Austrian Airlines for the first time. Air India and the three Lufthansa Group carriers are members of Star Alliance. The expanded agreements increase the total number of codeshare routes between Air India, Lufthansa, and SWISS from 55 to nearly 100

German Lufthansa seals deal to get 41% of ITA Airways, full control by 2033

Germany's Lufthansa Group on Friday finalised its acquisition of Italian airline ITA Airways, closing a long period of uncertainty for Italy's former flagship carrier. Under the 325-million-euro (USD 350 million) deal, Lufthansa takes an initial 41 per cent stake in ITA, formerly Alitalia, from the Italian government, gaining full control by 2033 with a total investment of 829 million euros. The remaining 59 per cent will initially continue to be held by the Italian Treasury. This deal was originally announced in May 2023 and was approved by the European Commission following a year-long investigation and with conditions to protect competition. The commission noted that Lufthansa, ITA and its partners, for example, control most routes from Rome and Milan to North America. Under the deal, the merged company must make it possible for rival airlines to launch non-stop flights between Rome or Milan and central European airports, where competition is limited; make room for rivals on ...

Lufthansa aims to revive 'problem child' airline by 2026: CEO Carsten Spohr

Lufthansa has struggled with competition on its transatlantic and Asian routes, recently cancelling its Frankfurt to Beijing flights as Chinese carriers increased capacity

Schengen transit visa a must for connecting flights via Europe: Here's why

Indian citizens generally need a Schengen transit visa if their flight has a layover in a Schengen country

Lufthansa fined Rs 1 lakh for not informing passenger about Schengen visa

A Gujarat consumer court ruled in favour of a passenger who alleged that the German airline failed to inform him about Schengen visa rules, causing him 'mental agony'

Foreign airlines receive Rs 10,000 crore tax evasion notices from DGGI

The show cause notices, sent over the last three days, pertain to unpaid taxes on services imported by Indian branches from their respective head offices

Lufthansa forecasts lower earnings in Q3 as yields slump, costs rise

Lufthansa shares are down around 25 per cent over the last six months as it continues to struggle to recover its balance sheet

Airways major Lufthansa slashes 2024 profit target for a second time

Equity analysts said Lufthansa's decision was not surprising, given its cost challenges linked to strikes earlier this year and delivery delays from plane manufacturers

After Lufthansa-ITA deal, experts say European regulators may deter tie-ups

While the deal expands Lufthansa's footprint in the lucrative southern European market, the combined group will have to cede some routes and slots to rivals for it to proceed

Lufthansa gets EU nod for $350 million stake in Italy's ITA Airways

ITA also offers key long-haul routes to Lufthansa, which has an option to take full ownership if the Italian airline's financial performance improves

Lufthansa plane lands safely in Delhi after wheel fire upon arrival

A Lufthansa wide-body A380 aircraft from Munich experienced fire in one of the wheels during landing at the Delhi airport on Monday night, according to sources. The aircraft, which operated flight LH 762, landed safely at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). Since the plane had to undergo checks and spare parts were not immediately available, the return flight to Munich was cancelled, they added. Sources said there were around 490 passengers on board the aircraft, which made a controlled landing at the airport. "While LH762 landed safely in Delhi, a short term technical deregistration of the aircraft was required due to the lack of availability of spare parts after a controlled landing. Safety is our top priority at Lufthansa," an airline spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. The sources said the fire was noticed in one of the wheels during landing. Further, the sources said that due to the incident, the return flight LH 763 was cancelled after boarding passes we

'India a big market; good to have stronger Lufthansa-Air India partnership'

India is a big aviation market and a stronger partnership between Air India and Lufthansa is good, as efforts of the Star Alliance are to bring the partners together to provide a unique value proposition for the passengers, the airline grouping's CEO Theo Panagiotoulias has said. Air India and Lufthansa are part of the Star Alliance, whose 26 member airlines come together at more than 50 global hubs to offer smooth connections across a global network. A management company, based in Frankfurt and Singapore, coordinates Star Alliance projects and activities. It includes airport co-location, digital infrastructure, frequent flyer integration and joint business lounge projects to improve the travel experience. Talking to PTI on the sidelines of IATA annual general meeting in Dubai this week, Panagiotoulias was bullish about the prospects in the Indian market that offers "so much of opportunities". "The alliance is to bring the partners together to provide a unique value proposition...

Air India, Lufthansa deepen ties, expand codeshare on India-Australia route

Passengers flying with Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Munich can now seamlessly connect to Sydney and Melbourne via Delhi and Mumbai airports using Air India flights

Lufthansa, Air France-KLM plan to cut costs after tough first quarter

Air France-KLM said it would tighten spending for the rest of the year, including a freeze on hiring support staff and a vow to stabilise operations, particularly at carrier KLM

German carrier Lufthansa looks to strong summer to shake off strike costs

The airline confirmed its forecast of full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion)

Lufthansa executives seek to persuade EU regulators over ITA stake buy

Guillaume Loriot, the European Commission's deputy director general for mergers, and lawyers as well as officials from national competition agencies will also be there

Lufthansa, ITA Airways deal may lead to higher prices: EU watchdog

"The removal of ITA as an independent airline may have negative effects on competition in these already concentrated markets," the Commission said in a statement

As costs rise, Lufthansa drops 2024 operating margin target to 7.6%

Europe's airlines have benefited from unprecedented demand following the pandemic, allowing them to hike prices, but higher labour and maintenance costs have limited earnings growth

German labour union calls on Lufthansa ground staff to strike on Feb 20

A labour union in Germany has called on ground staff for Lufthansa to walk off the job at seven airports on Tuesday following a similar strike earlier this month. The Ver.di union said Sunday that the one-day strike will affect the airports in Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa's two main hubs, as well as Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart. It will run from 4 am Tuesday to 7:10 am Wednesday. A 27-hour strike at five of the same airports that started February 7 prompted the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. The union is seeking pay raises of 12.5 per cent, or at least 500 euros (USD 539) more per month, in negotiations for about 25,000 employees, including check-in, aircraft handling, maintenance and freight staff. Several-hour or one-day warning strikes are a common tactic in German contract negotiations. A round of talks on February 12 produced no agreement. More negotiations are scheduled for Wednesday.

Lufthansa cancels hundreds of flights as ground staff strike for a day

Ground staff for Lufthansa walked off the job at five major German airports on Wednesday, causing the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. The Ver.di union called on ground staff at Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa's two main hubs, as well as Berlin, Duesseldorf and Hamburg, to strike for 27 hours starting at 4 am Wednesday. Lufthansa said ahead of the strike that it expected to be able to operate around 10-20 per cent of all planned flights. It said tickets could be re-booked free of charge, and tickets for German domestic flights could be converted to rail vouchers. In Frankfurt, the company canceled 80-90 per cent of the planned 600 departures and arrivals by Lufthansa itself and subsidiary Air Dolomiti ahead of the strike, German news agency dpa reported. More than 400 departures and arrivals at Munich Airport also were canceled. All Lufthansa departures from Berlin and Hamburg were canceled, as were most domestic flights from Duesseldorf. Lufthansa anticipated that, in all, m