In the coming summer flight schedules, Lufthansa is serving an almost unchanged number of destinations with virtually the same number of flights as in the previous year.
Seating capacity will be slightly higher. On average, Lufthansa will be operating 12,853 flights weekly in the summer schedules compared with 12,860 last time round.
Despite a smaller fleet, available seating capacity is higher than the year-earlier level following successive fleet renewal and the replacement of older aircraft by larger types. This effect is evident in both the continental and intercontinental fleet.
"More seats with roughly the same number of flights - we are achieving that and better productivity with larger, more modern aircraft. Simultaneously, we are moving a step nearer our goal of improving our results sustainably by one billion euros by the end of 2011," said Lufthansa executive vice president marketing and sales Thierry Antinori. The summer timetable is valid from Sunday, March 28, to Saturday, October 30, 2010.
"With more than 200 destinations this summer, including six newcomers, we are offering passengers an attractive timetable of outstanding quality in respect of flight connections," said Thierry Antinori. "We have adapted flight schedules to demand, notably on European routes. However, customers affected by the cuts can in most cases fall back on alternative connections, which we offer with partners. We are also laying on more than a dozen new connections in Europe enabling our passengers to profit from more non-stop flights."
Lufthansa has included a new destination in a virtually unchanged timetable of flights in the long-haul network. Starting on 28 March, the airline will be operating thrice-weekly flights with its PrivatAir partner ex Munich to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Furthermore, thrice-weekly flights with an Airbus A330 are to be resumed ex Munich to Miami in addition to the existing connections from Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. Non-stop flights from Munich to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia will be increased from two to three weekly, alongside the daily flight from Frankfurt. Lufthansa is also considering several new flight connections to Iraq (Baghdad, Erbil). More details on flight times and fares together with the start of bookings for the new connections will be disclosed at a later date.
One of the highlights in the summer flight schedules are Lufthansa's inaugural services with the Airbus A380. According to current planning, the world's biggest passenger aircraft will commence scheduled flights in the airline's intercontinental route network from June 2010. The first A380 destinations will be named at the beginning of April. Bookings can then commence for the first flights with the new Lufthansa flagship.
Lufthansa has optimised its timetable in Germany and Europe with four new destinations and 15 additional connections. Daily flights from the Munich hub to Chisinau, the capital of Moldavia in south-eastern Europe, will be available from 22 April. Also new in the timetable are Rostock/Mecklen burg-Vorpommern as well as Zadar/Croatia and Bari/Italy on the Adriatic. These destinations will be served non-stop from Munich - Bari with daily flights, Zadar with flights on Saturdays, Rostock with flights on Saturdays and Sundays.
Some European destinations will be served in summer with flights from further German airports in addition to the existing connections. Tallinn, capital of Estonia, for example, will be served for the first time non-stop from Munich.