Lufthansa to offer private jets in India, China

Frankfurt: Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa, Wolfgang Mayrhuber has said that the airline recently launched 16 new destinations, and has no plans to cut any of its current routes despite the rising jet fuel prices.

''Though it is becoming difficult to keep pace with increasing prices of jet fuel, some part of our requirement of fuel is also obtained through hedging. We have to see elasticity of market, depend on different markets, strategise our flexibility and fleet capacity and at the same time meet ecological challenges,'' Mayrhuber said.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Lufthansa has 762 weekly frequencies to 63 destinations in 20 countries, which include 58 frequencies to India. The airline sees growth markets in China, India and Russia, and betting on entering the market of private jets to Indian and Chinese industrialists and private companies, and said that both India and China are very important markets. Lufthansa is adding Pune as the seventh destination in India soon to its network, and plans to launch an all business-class flight on the Pune-Frankurt sector.

The airline is hopeful of accepting the delivery of its Airbus A-380 super jumbo by 2009, behind schedule by a year. ''By the summer of 2010 we plan to induct four A-380s and most probably put them on two routes to the Far East and two to the North Atlantic from Frankfurt. Our A-380s will have the capacity to carry 545 passengers in three class configurations – first, business and economy,'' Mayrhuber said.

He said the airline has put in place adequate infrastructure to induct the A-380 into its fleet, and showed the visiting media around the massive A-380 hangar at Frankfurt airport which can hold two A-380 super jumbos or four Boeing 747-400 at a time. Lufthansa is also scheduled to get the new generation Boeing 747-800 around the same time as the induction of A-380.

Lufthansa presently offers 7,112 weekly frequencies to 207 destinations in 81 countries.