LH - Different to BA
Ringwayman,
Interesting observation. Germany is a very diffferent animal to the UK, and LH a different business model to BA.
As a federal country, Germany does not suffer a Frankfurt or Berlin "centric" system. Germany has a hat full of cities of pretty well equal importance - Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Hannover, Berlin, Stuttgart to name but six. Each is the main city in their repective Bundeslaender (states which have considerably more power and influence than, for example British counties, or French departements - in some respects more power than even the Welsh or Scottish administrations have). LH has historically served longhaul points direct from many of these and offers a good range of European services from these and many other German airports because power, influence, and money is not concentrated in one city, or area of the country it is probably more viable to do so.
Conversely, the British (and French) systems revolve arround the respective capitals - with the result that the respective national airlines have little interest or incentive to serve other cities with Long Haul services - though I recall their are leisure services to the French Caribbean from Marseilles and Lyon.
If Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle, for example were capital cities of a federal UK then, I think, over time, BA and other UK based carriers might have to think more broadly about the airports they serve with meaningful bases.
Just my thoughts.