Lufthansa

[newscaster]

The airline will be starting their own service to DOH from FRA via KWI from January with an A330, which version? and what about the code share on QR?

[mmeteesside]

A330-300 surely??

mmeteesside

[GroundScot]

Just heard rumours eminating out of Jakarta that Lufthansa have bought a 50% stake in Garuda ??

Does anyone know if this true - or have any more details ??

thanks...........

[ScootCargoOps]

I heard that the Indonesian government was opening up Garuda to foreign investment but I do think that LH would be able to purchase an equal share.

Qantas are looking at investing in a Low Cost Indonesian carrier.

[cheekycapt]

'Garuda executives have discussed partnership programs with international carriers but the talks are not about selling Garuda's shares,' State Minister for State Enterprises Sugiharto was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

[Buster the Bear]

German airline Lufthansa is considering operating services from more UK airports, including Bristol, Cardiff and Southampton.

Speaking to Travel Weekly, the airline's UK and Ireland general manager Dieter Grotepass said that Lufthansa was looking at operating flights from other hubs to ease congestion caused by the recent security alert at Heathrow.

Lufthansa's passenger traffic at airports outside London has been steadily growing, he noted.

"Growth from regional airports has been up ten per cent to twelve per cent since July and is increasing, especially from Manchester and Birmingham," he said, although the carrier did suffer a 17 per cent drop in business class passengers at Heathrow a week after the alert.

[682ft AMSL]

One wonders whether this interest in UK regional flying will see them taking a more relaxed approach to bmi regional's attempts to open up LBA-German routes. I've lost track of the slot applications put forward for LBA-MUC, FRA, DUS, CGN over the years, none of which have ever made it any further. The view has always been this is because of interference from LH who fear a negative impact on their MAN based operations. But it's obvious that bmi are desperate for things to do with their Embraers, so desperate in fact that the last 3 proposed route launches never made it off of the ground. LBA-MUC/FRA feels a much tighter strategic fit than LTN-BRU or SOU-AMS so let's hope the bigwigs at Lufthansa finally allow them a bit of scope to progress it.
682

[OltonPete]

As I have posted several times on the Birmingham thread about the
dismal summer at BHX, indeed Lufthansa (& possibly Bacon) have bucked
the trend. The CAA stats are as follows: -

Dusseldorf - BHX

April 14103 +11%
May 12378 +19%
June 12685 + 9%
July 9916 - 7% (whoops) LH reduced to 2 a day for July & Aug

Frankfurt - BHX (BA reduced from 5 to 4 a day from 2005 and all ERJ's)

April 25915 +19%
May 25161 +20%
June 24130 + 8%
July 25513 + 8%

Munich - BHX

April 11889 +10%
May 11320 +15%
June 11286 + 8%
July 12785 +15%

Also we know from BHX press releases all Midlanders stayed at home
and watched the World Cup - so nothing to do with the increases:*

I am sure there is quite a bit of low yielding connecting traffic on
Munich and Frankfurt but still a good performance.

Bring on LH to BRS, SOU, I say :D

BTW the Saturday afternoon Munich tomorrow should be a CRJ900
but as with LH at BHX you can get anything from a 321 down
these days.

Pete

BTW

[11Fan]

Wednesday in Frankfurt should be interesting.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-12-05T210904Z_01_N05314508_RTRIDST_0_BOEING-LUFTHANSA-UPDATE-2.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna (http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-12-05T210904Z_01_N05314508_RTRIDST_0_BOEING-LUFTHANSA-UPDATE-2.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna)

[vapilot2004]

According to the Seattle Times, Lufthansa will order 20 of the Boeing 747-8 or 747 Intercontinental.

Lufthansa plans to buy about 20 Boeing 747-8 planes worth $5 billion at list prices, a setback to Airbus, people familiar with the order said.

Lufthansa would be the first airline customer to purchase the passenger version of Boeing's newest 747. The carrier may announce the order tomorrow, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions haven't been made public.

The decision lets Lufthansa upgrade and expand its long- haul fleet and brings Boeing's backlog for the 747-8 to 69 airliners with a list price of up to $19.5 billion. Boeing has been gaining on bigger rival Airbus this year. Lufthansa was among the earliest customers for Airbus's competing A380, now two years behind schedule.

"Lufthansa is one of the leading international carriers and this kind of order illustrates Boeing's growing lead in the wide-body aircraft market," said Craig Fraser, a Fitch Ratings analyst in New York. "They are pulling away from Airbus and taking advantage of Airbus's problems with the A380."

Boeing spokesman Tim Bader declined to comment. "No decision has been made yet," said Stefanie Stotz, a spokeswoman in Frankfurt for Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa.

The carrier's supervisory board will meet tomorrow and approve an order for a minimum of 20 jetliners, one of the people said.

A second person said Lufthansa will announce an order tomorrow and that the size would be similar to what the Wall Street Journal reported earlier today. The newspaper said the carrier will buy 20 747s and take options for 20 more.

The 747-8 will be built using the more-efficient engines and wing design from Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, and the plane will cost 21 percent less to operate than Airbus's A380, according to Boeing's Web site.

The 747-8 lists for up to $282.5 million each for passenger versions. The Airbus model lists for about $300 million.

Since Boeing introduced the 747-8 in November 2005, it has won a total of 49 firm orders. Boeing Business Jet has ordered three of the passenger version and Lufthansa would be the first outside airline client.




Expansion Plans

Lufthansa is still considering further purchases and is weighing Boeing's 787 model and Toulouse, France-based Airbus's A350 as the company aims to grow 4 percent to 6 percent a year.

The carrier ordered five 335-seat Airbus A330-300 aircraft in September for its long-haul fleet and 30 short-haul Airbus planes, worth $3.12 billion at list prices.

Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Mayrhuber said in October he wanted to wait until he saw the final form of the A350 before deciding between that and the 787 for other orders to come in 2007.

Airbus is redesigning the A350 after complaints from potential customers. The planemaker won approval for the new project Dec. 1 from EADS, and the A350 XWB is now scheduled to enter service in 2013, five years after the 787. The program was in jeopardy because of cost overruns with the new 555-seat A380.

Lufthansa will have the world's second-largest A380 fleet, behind Emirates, once it receives all 15 on order, the first of which is now due to arrive in 2009.

Lufthansa will also probably decide in the next six months on an order for a "double-digit" number of regional aircraft, the company's fleet manager, Nico Buchholz, said Nov. 12.

The carrier has said it's in talks with Bombardier Inc. and Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA, or Embraer. Bombardier executives said in October that the German airline is considering buying 12 CRJ900 aircraft, which can carry 75 to 90 passengers and have a list price of $35.2 million each.

Lufthansa currently operates 236 passenger aircraft, 61 percent of which are Airbus models. The rest are single-aisle 737 and twin-aisle 747 airliners made by Boeing.

[Taildragger67]

Here's a story from Bloomberg:

Lufthansa Plans to Order 20 Boeing 747 Jetliners, Journal Says
2006-12-05 13:24 (New York)

By Cesca Antonelli

Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG may announce as soon as tomorrow that it is buying 20 Boeing Co. 747 jetliners worth more than $5 billion at list prices, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The airline would be the first to buy the passenger version of the plane and also will take options for 20 more, the Journal said, citing unidentified people familiar with the order.

The decision is a blow to Boeing's bigger rival, Airbus SAS. Lufthansa in 2001 was among the first customers for the A380 jet, which Airbus is selling as an alternative to the 747, the Journal said.

Boeing spokesman Jim Condelles didn't immediately respond to a voicemail message from Bloomberg today seeking comment.

"No decision has been made yet," said Stefanie Stotz, a spokeswoman in Frankfurt for Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa.

--With reporting by Susanna Ray in Frankfurt and James Gunsalus in New York. Editor: Antonelli

[11Fan]

We'll have 20, beginning in 2010.

[Ignition Override]

These ads have appeared at least twice in "USA Today" and other media.

Is it political, as a result of public accusations about which production facility (no secret there, based upon previous media articles...) caused the most problems building the new A-380?

It appears to me to be a total surprise. Just for the record, initial training on 'my' first Airbus aircraft begins January 3rd, just in case somebody decides to read into these straight-forward questions, between the lines.

But I eat my pommes frites (French fries) with ketchup, not mayonnaise, fietspad or no fietspad.

[vapilot2004]

In our current climate of free trade, surely Lufthansa decides acquisitions according to economics and not politics. The Boeing Intercontinental must have been very attractive to them or they would not have made the order.

Lufthansa will soon operate both the longest (748) and largest (A380) prestigious jumbos in the world with this dual purchase.


USA Today is clearly biased - publishing anti-Airbus material - similar but opposite in tack from Flight Global which is often pro-Airbus. Editorial concerns aside, an ad is an ad and is paid for by someone outside of the publication in question.

Hamburg was at fault regarding a central but ,in the end, minor part of the 'wiring' snafu. It is my opinion that the ultimate blame for the A380 delays should rest on the shoulders of the two-headed beast that is Airbus management and nowhere else. Engineers seem to be the convenient and decidedly undeserving scapegoats in this case.

Good luck with the Airbus training. My experience with the latest generation of Airbii has to date been very positive.

[In trim]

Totally agree with the above post that LH will make decisions based on economics, not politics.

There are also some strong arguments for larger carriers to still mix their fleets as:

- Better buying power in the future being able to play one manufacturer off against another for the next wave of purchases in years to come.

- Not having "all your eggs in one basket" from a risk management point of view.

- Whilst the A380 will undoubtedly be best for some routes, the sector length combined with slightly lower passenger and probably slightly higher cargo carrying capacity (and revenue) on other routes will undoubtedly favour the 747-800.

With a large carrier such as LH they would have a large enough fleet of each type to still make each fleet viable in terms of economics, flexibility, crewing, training, etc. Yes there will inevitably be some disadvantages compared to a single manufacturer, but no doubt these are outweighed by the points above.

[Whitehatter]

Can't see the issue here.

They will have gotten a decent price as launch customer, and are to replace some GE powered 747s with newer GE powered 747s. For the same reason I would expect Air France to dip their toe into the 748I pond before much longer.

I still think if Boeing had offered to build it with a Trent derivative offered as well they could have picked up additional sales by now. That's a whole new debate though and probably won't have much effect in the long term on eventual units shifted.

[ManfredvonRichthofen]

Correct me if i am wrong but the ads are Boeing ads which state that LH is the launch customer etc

I am certain LH didn't pay anything towards the ad. In which case it is just standard marketing practice. Which when it concerns airliners is always gonna be political.

[ExSimGuy]

Does the above indicate that Boeing don't offer RR engines these days? (or maybe GE-only on the new 74s?)

I find it rather surprising if they don't give a RR option on the 74 as there must be a lot of their "loyal customers" who have the Trent on (say) their 777s

Isn't that a bad marketing move? Or maybe it's just the first "batch" of 748s that can't be had with Trents?

[captainyonder]

With BA recently annoucing their new LGW-DRS service does this mean that LH will finally lower their fares from the mad price of £250 that they charge at the moment to fly via MUC, FRA or DUS?

[Ignition Override]

Are they unable to wait for the delayed deliveries of the A-380, or is it a 'tran-European' political reaction to recent public statements to the press?

[StarAllianceGold]

From a Lufthansa press release...

"Wolfgang Mayrhuber continued: “With the orders for the highly modern B747-8, Lufthansa is setting standards. The Boeing B747-8 is more than just a derivative of the successful Boeing B747 series.“ The airline will be the world’s first carrier to operate services with the new wide-body – the longest passenger jet in the world. In the Lufthansa configuration, the B747-8 will be capable of carrying around 400 passengers. “The B747-8 underlines our strategy of graded market-specific services and capacity expansion. It fits perfectly in our intercontinental fleet structure and slots neatly capacity-wise between the A380 with around 550 seats and the A340-600 with around 300 seats.“

The full press release is available on the Lufthansa website

[fatboy slim]

Since when are LH going to cram 550 aboard their 380s when they only put 300 on their 340-6s?

[DozyWannabe]

I expect it is as the press release says - there's an upcoming gap in their fleet and projected business model that the 748 could fill quite handily.

Given the chance the EU can be as protectionist as anyone else, but making business sense is still the overriding concern. I'm sure it's the same over the pond - I don't see anyone surprised that some US airlines have Airbii in their fleets! :)

[Hurkemmer]

Since when are LH going to cram 550 aboard their 380s when they only put 300 on their 340-6s?


Dunno but I think they cram more than 300 on the 346...

http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Lufthansa/Lufthansa_Airbus_A340-600_C.php

[bomarc]

Why did Lufthansa order Boeing jets?

Because Douglas no longer exists and they went with their second choice.

;-)

[tornadoken]

LH launched 737-100, 757-300, A310-200, A340-200; they were early Users on 727-100, 747-100, 720B, BAe.RJ85, DC-8/73F, MD11F and are able to rationalise concurrent operation of 737-500, CRJ900 and A319. State-owned or not, seems the only wholly political order was A300B2. They see room for A330, A340/various, A380 and 747/8. I doubt it's a deep plot, more likely a sweetheart deal.

[The SSK]

AFX News is reporting that the Lufthansa CEO is quoted in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as saying LH could shift flights from Frankfurt to Zurich in reaction to EU plans to introduce emissions trading. ‘We would have to think about relocating’ said Wolfgang Mayrhuber.

[gofer]

What makes the CEO think that the Swiss won't be there before the Germans ???:mad:

[warmkiter]

that would be nice.

please relocate the company to switzerland....

saves big bucks

[gofer]

Yes less tax:cool:

[FIMbar the Furious]

Bet Lufthansa are glad they bought Swiss International now. Swiss governement are very happy to receive relocating foriegn nationals that bring in good revenue(see Johny Haliday vrs La Republic Francaise)

Not as daft as it sounds

[warmkiter]

unfortunately the german gov got a new taxlaw out.

but if DLH would be based in ZRH instead of CGN that would stop them pissing in my cornflakes.....

[Charlie Roy]

http://euronews.net/index.php?page=eco&article=407970&lng=1

Spain's Iberia is a takeover target from Germany's Lufthansa according to a report in the French economic daily newspaper La Tribune.

[newscaster]

Apparently also planning to resume flights to Pakistan from this winter http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/3479393/?searchid=3479393&s=Bolu340#ID3479393 service was suspended in 1998.

Lahore will be a semi new destination as its been served by LH Cargo since early 90's.

[AKAAB]

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Deutsche Lufthansa (LHA.XE) is in talks to buy a stake of just under 25% in JetBlue Airways (JBLU), The New York Times reported Thursday on its DealBook blog, citing people briefed on the matter.

The Times said an announcement could be made as early as Thursday after the markets close.

By limiting its stake to 20%, Lufthansa would remain below federal limits on foreign ownership of a domestic airline, the Times said.

The Times' sources said the investment will be passive, though it opens up an opportunity for Lufthansa to make a bigger deal down the road, possibly some kind of partnership.

Spokespeople from both Lufthansa and JetBlue declined to comment on the report to Dow Jones Newswires.

Shares of JetBlue were recently up 82 cents, or 13.1%, at $7.07, with nearly four times the average daily volume of shares traded.

-By Steven Russolillo, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2205, [email protected]

> Dow Jones Newswires

12-13-07 1335ET

[fruitbat]

And with BMI in their sights as well, they really are speading their wings...

[hetfield]

It's 19%, 300 Million USD.

[flying brain]

Most significantly, they get a seat on the board with real power and influence.

Not sure Aer Lingus will still get the focus they want.

Congratulations WM and the whole DLH team - great buy, good price, great quality partner.

[Zoner]

Lufthansa buys into US
17-Dec-2007 : LUFTHANSA will buy a 19 per cent stake in US airline JetBlue Airways in a deal worth US$300 million.

It is the first time a European carrier has invested in a US point-to-point airline.

The deal has the potential to bolster trans-Atlantic operations for Lufthansa.

JetBlue chief executive Dave Barger said the deal is “simply a financial transaction” at present.

http://www.aircargonews.net/article.asp?art_id=2916

A response to Virgin America?

[Intruder]

I suspect it's a way to get additional JFK slots...

[GBALU53]

Will this change things when Sir M of Midland wants to sell his shares within the next year? With Lufthansa getting a good share of Jetblue Lufthansa would not be in a position to buy some of Sir Ms shares that would be on the market?:ok:

[en2r]

I very much doubt it. $300 million (about €200 million) is a drop in the ocean for a huge company like lufthansa. They hve plenty more money to spend if/when they takeover BMI

[Dentist]

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) continues its shopping spree with its available cash looking for airline bargains. It is negotiating to acquire a 51 percent share of LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw). It will apparently not settle for less than a majority share of the Polish flag carrier. The last time LOT was sold was to Swissair (Zurich) which later went bankrupt (the SR receiver still controls 25.1 percent of the LOT shares).

:ugh: Now Now, Lot was trying to expand its wings, but under LH, they will be just another small operator....

[jewitts]

Bloomberg.com: Germany (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=a0g7G3_0Dd3Q&dbk)
Bussels airlines, Austrian, Alitalia..... Soon to be known as Air Europe?

[VAFFPAX]

Never. Ve vill not give up ze name Lufthansa! Never!

Good on Lufthansa for having a good balance sheet to be able to afford these purchases.

Whether it's prudent business sense in the current climate (they've probably made some sums) and whether they'll be required to keep the brands (similar to AirFranceKLM), is another question...

S.

[akerosid]

I think it will actually be very good for SN; the RJ85/100 isn't the most attractive acft to a business traveller and hopefully LH's involvement will give them access to larger aircraft.

Also, BRU has an obvious attraction as a major hub, which - to its ultimate cost - (the original) SN never capitalised on. I think this will be very good for Belgium.

Ironic, though, that the descendants of Swissair and Sabena end up under the same umbrella!

As to where LH's shopping spree will end, hard to say? Austrian and bmi will probably be next.

[uklad007]

It is good that Lufthansa is able to afford these purchases and you only have to look at Swiss to see the good work done, but with Swiss plus SN Brussels, its looking at Alitalia, Austrian, was previously sniffing around Iberia, is keen to buy BMI, i imagine it will look at CSA in Czech, and i even heard someone mention it could look at SAS at somepoint!!! (personally id be surprised) its already got stakes in a number of other airlines and not just German is it going to get to a point where its told it has too much across Europe by the EU?. I know some of these airlines are small, but it seems every time an airline comes up for sale - of which i think several will in the coming 18 months or so - Lufthy seems to throw its hat in the ring.

[VanBosh]

Shares in SAS have been suspended as rumours of a bid by Lufthansa increase.

Also looks like they have fully given up on Alitalia and are going direct (from Ft)

The German flag carrier said it was planning to base six Airbus A319 short-haul jets at Milan’s Malpensa airport to launch a network of direct point-to-point services between Milan and leading European cities.
The move is the first by the German group to establish a base outside its national market to serve other countries rather than to feed passenger traffic into its main hubs at Frankfurt and Munich.
Lufthansa said it would begin flights in February from Malpensa to Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest, Madrid and Paris. It was planning to add flights from Milan to London and Lisbon from the summer season next year.

[Re-Heat]

FT.com Article

Why are BA not planning to grow more aggressively on business routes within Europe - they too should be planning a similar venture asap


Lufthansa plans network from Milan

By Kevin Done in London

Published: September 11 2008 19:49 | Last updated: September 11 2008 19:49

Lufthansa is moving aggressively into the north Italian market to take advantage of the parlous state of Alitalia.

The heavily loss-making Italian airline was locked in talks with the government, trades unions and potential investors about the terms for a last-ditch rescue as its operations were hit again by cancellations and industrial action.

The German flag carrier said it was planning to base six Airbus A319 short-haul jets at Milan’s Malpensa airport to launch a network of direct point-to-point services between Milan and leading European cities.

The move is the first by the German group to establish a base outside its national market to serve other countries rather than to feed passenger traffic into its main hubs at Frankfurt and Munich.

Lufthansa said it would begin flights in February from Malpensa to Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest, Madrid and Paris. It was planning to add flights from Milan to London and Lisbon from the summer season next year.

Karl Ulrich Garnadt, a director of Lufthansa’s passenger airline division, said the group would offer Italian customers a “reliable” service from Milan.

“The catchment area around Milan Malpensa stretches to the south of Switzerland and economically is one of the most important regions in Europe,” he said.

Lufthansa said the Milan-based aircraft would be operated by its Italian subsidiary Air Dolomiti, which hitherto has largely acted as a feeder airline into the group’s Munich hub.

The German group has enlarged its ambitions from its previous plan to move into Malpensa with a number of locally-based Embraer regional jets.

As the Alitalia operation shrinks amid restructuring and mounting losses, several of Europe’s strongest carriers including Air France-KLM, EasyJet and Ryanair are increasing their operations in Italy to take advantage of the vacuum.

EasyJet, the UK low-cost carrier, which opened a base at Milan Malpensa in March 2006, is increasing its presence from 11 to 15 Airbus A319s by the end of the year.

Its Milan network already includes several domestic Italian routes, but it recently announced it would begin a four times daily service between Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino from November, challenging the Italian carriers Alitalia and Air One on the biggest and most lucrative domestic Italian air route.

Ryanair, the leading European low-cost carrier, which has three operating bases in Italy at Rome Ciampino, Pisa and Milan Bergamo, recently announced plans to add two more at Bologna and Forli.

The Irish carrier will start flying seven routes into Bologna from the end of October. It is establishing the operating base at the airport in June 2010 with two aircraft, rising to five by 2012, when it forecasts it will be handling 25 routes and 2m passengers through the city.

A smaller base, with only one aircraft, will be established at nearby Forli next March.

[br8fmr]

more from the ft
Lufthansa in takeover talks with SAS (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7bee665c-80f5-11dd-82dd-000077b07658,dwp_uuid=70662e7c-3027-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html)

By Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin and David Ibison in Stockholm
Published: September 12 2008 19:28 | Last updated: September 12 2008 19:28

Lufthansa (http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=de:LHA) is in early-stage talks with SAS (http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=se:SAS) about taking over the Scandinavian carrier, in a move that would consolidate its position as Europe’s second-biggest airline.
As a diversified airline group, the German carrier has taken the knocks on cost and demand better than most rivals. It has made no secret of the fact that it sees the airline industry crisis as a chance to pick up bargains. Europe’s airlines are struggling with high fuel prices and flagging demand, creating opportunities for stronger carriers to snap up weaker rivals.

[MUFC_fan]

LH have a link with Italy through AirDolmoti (I think thats how it is spelt!:confused::}). BA don't.

However, expanding in Rome maybe a good option whether they have links or not. Let Air One/easyJet/Lufthansa fight it out at MXP and take out Air One in FCO!

It would be a great idea but BA won't venture out of London in the UK, so I doubt we will ever see them venture to Europe (properly)

[GiveMeABreak]

So what is OpenSkies ?

[HZ123]

I believe 'Open Skies' is based in Europe.

[MUFC_fan]

Sorry.

By "properly" I meant the full BA service ie) British Airways. Not Openskies, Sunair, Cityflyer etc. but BA.

Should have been more clear.

Sorry.

[heli_port]

Lufthansa sees bmi as weapon in BA battle


Lufthansa is looking at forming an alliance involving bmi and Virgin Atlantic to take on the proposed powerhouse combination of British Airways and American Airlines.

It emerged yesterday that Lufthansa was in talks to buy SAS, the struggling Scandinavian airline, which owns 20 per cent of bmi. Lufthansa already owns 30 per cent of bmi, minus one share, and has an option to take full control of the airline this autumn. Shares in SAS were suspended yesterday after climbing 11.2 per cent following reports that it was in talks with Lufthansa.



Lufthansa sees bmi as weapon in BA battle - Times Online (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article4744715.ece)

[andrewmcharlton]

why don't you stop posting the same stories repeatedly?

You have posted the same link or story line at least 4 times today.

[luvly jubbly]

I believe the same company last tried to rule the British skies in the 1940s!:ok:

[heli_port]

The German carrier acquires 45% stake for €65m and retains right to buy remaining 55% in 2011 for no more than €250m

Lufthansa moves to buy Brussels Airlines - Times Online (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article4761237.ece)

http://img2.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/fighting/fighting0023.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-sad-smileys.php)

[HeadingSouth]

'ang on....

Some time ago worthy Swissair bought Sabena for a lot of dough.
Swissair went "hobbe" some years ago, and had to pay another lot of dough to Sabena who went into liquidation a day after Swissair.
Now Lufty has bought Swiss and dares another attempt at buying SN Brussels... Will that work better under a common german roof ?

I get the slight feeling that whatever you're doing in this business there's always one wealthy partner buying the sad pile which is not transporting passengers anymore.

Were I a swiss taxpayer, however, I'd feel I paid enough to that airline in belgium by now...

[cesare.caldi]

From February 2009, Lufthansa will open a base at Milan MXP and start 8 new european route: Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest, Madrid and Paris. From 2009 summer timetable will be added London and Lisbon.

Will be based 6 A319 operated by Lufthansa’s Italian subsidiary Air Dolomiti with 150 new jobs.

The flights from Milan can be booked from mid-October with round-trip flights available from 99 euros, including taxes and charges.

This is only the first step to make MXP a new Lufthansa hub, later will be added a lot of new european and domestic route and long haul flight operated by A330/A340.

Bye Bye Alitalia and welcome Lufthansa! :D

Lufthansa full press release: Lufthansa - Press Releases (http://konzern.lufthansa.com/en/html/presse/pressemeldungen/index.html?c=nachrichten/app/show/en/2008/09/856/HOM&s=0)

[VAFFPAX]

Considering that Lufthansa bought Swiss and not vice versa, it would have nothing to do with Swiss tax payers. Why bring them into this anyway when this is a purely German-Belgian transaction? *rolls eyes*

SRB would have something to say since he's the major shareholder in SN Brussels (because of the merger between Virgin Express and SN).

S.

[captainspeaking]

I see that the Lufthansa acquisition of Austrian is going ahead - this from DLH's press orifice:

"The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG today approved a bid to purchase up to 100 per cent of the shares in Austrian Airlines

Lufthansa will initially acquire the 41.56 per cent share in Austrian Airlines AG held by Österreichische Industrieholding AG (ÖIAG). This share package is to be acquired at a price of EUR 366,000. In addition to this, a debtor warrant will be arranged, of which Lufthansa will pay a sum of up to EUR 163m depending on Austrian Airlines' economic performance and the Lufthansa share outperforming its competitors.

In the course of the period specified by Austrian takeover law, Lufthansa will also make a public takeover bid to Austrian Airlines' free float shareholders. The company is applying to the Austrian Takeover Commission for an extension of the notification period to the longest permissible time. The bid price will correspond to the average weighted market price of the Austrian Airlines share over the six months preceding this announcement. Subject to an examination by the Takeover Commission, this figure will be EUR 4.44 per share. In total, some EUR 215m will be offered to private and institutional free float shareholders as part of the takeover bid.

Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chief Executive Officer Lufthansa Group, said: "Gaining the support of our Supervisory Board for the acquisition of Austrian Airlines is an important step which paves the way for ÖIAG, the government in Vienna and the European Commission to make their decisions following due consideration of the transaction. Our bid is fair. It takes the interests of all those concerned into account and shares the encumbrances and risks fairly. The consequences of the financial markets crisis and its effects on the real economy also have a major impact on the aviation industry. Structural changes increase the likelihood of Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines sharing a brighter future."

Execution of these contracts is subject, inter alia, to the conditions precedent of anti-trust approval and the approval of a EUR 500m restructuring grant to be made by the Republic of Austria, both of which must be granted by the European Commission. Furthermore, Lufthansa must hold 75 per cent of the shares in Austrian Airlines - including those transferred by ÖIAG - after the end of the regular acceptance period for the public takeover bid."

Any thoughts on which european carriers will merge next?

[boyzinblue]

Interesting to see if the EU will try to stop this merger or is the Austrian market more "open" unlike the Irish market with EI and FR?

[racedo]

LH will own SN / Swiss / Austrian and this doesn't constitute a monopoly position !!!!!!!

[racedo]

And can we avoid posts about last time Austrian entity with a vote got taken over by Germans please AND NO Sound of Music jokes either:ok:

[Hussar 54]

RACEDO / BOYZINBLUE

Quite agree....And let's also not forget BMI....And, of course, is the only potential buyer for SAS if they can't get their act together very, very soon....And, of course, AZ when Berlusconi and his mates are ready to cash-in...

I've been banging on about this LH almost Monopoly for the past six months ( check through my profile - threads about BMI, SAS, Alitalia, BA ) but nobody seems to have been interested enough to join in a discussion about why the politicos in Brussels keep turning a blind eye to LH....

Interesting to note that LH's statement makes no reference about what will happen to the Government owed debt at Austrian - will this be transferred from the Government to a private bank and then assumed by LH via Austrian, or will it be repaid directly to the Government ? The last I heard, it's about €300 million ( could now be more ) so add this to the €163 million and it's getting to be big numbers....

So how would LH ever recoup their recent outlays without exploiting their dominant position in selected markets - the investment is now getting too big ( Swiss, Austrian, BMI, SN Brussels ) to be paper profitable and cashflow positive through synergies alone without expoliting the ' monopoly ' effect...

We've run up some large liabilities down here in West Africa - do you think we could persuade LH to add us to their shopping list, or are we too far from German speaking Europe to be ' synergistic '

[luvly jubbly]

Monopoly rules seem to go out the window if you can claim there's European jobs at stake!

[Hudson Bay]

Reports from Flight International indicate that Lufthansa are acquiring German Wings from Euro Wings.

From Flight:

German flag-carrier Lufthansa is to acquire the budget airline Germanwings from its affiliated regional Eurowings operation.

Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Lufthansa describes the decision as an "organisational matter", pointing out that it will enable management to "better steer" the regional operation in its own market, and similarly for the low-fare division.

The new arrangement will come into effect from 1 January. Germanwings will be taken under an umbrella company called Lufthansa Commercial Holding.

Lufthansa is in the process of acquiring majority ownership of Dortmund-based Eurowings, although it already has management control of the carrier.

Eurowings, which developed Germanwings from its charter division in 2002, says that, with the sale, there are "no immediate changes" in the airlines' operational activities.

"After a successful start-up phase, the building work on the low-cost airline is completed," says Eurowings chief executive Friedrich-Wilhelm Weitholz.

"Eurowings can now focus increasingly on its core business in the regional segment."

Lufthansa has already agreed to acquire several Germanwings Airbus aircraft which are to be used for its new Milan-based operation Lufthansa Italia. Germanwings' fleet, as a result, has been reduced to 25 A319s.

[Davman]

Please don't flame me for this, but was there not a rumour doing the rounds a short time ago that Lufty were going to 'buy' A319's for WW.

I wonder. Could there be amalgamations of low cost carriers going to happen under the Lufty ownership. As all Germanwings aircraft are A319's, food for thought ?

Any comments please.

[Hudson Bay]

Lufthansa has listed the name "British Wings". So you could be right, but trading in a different name. Interesting times.

[keepitlit]

Hud, Who knows, you might even get to fly ATR's.........Again!

I think the mainline 144 config 319's would fit very well into baby, they are no good for mainline business class and they were stripped down, they even ripped out the plumbing at order stage to save cash, which as per the nom has back fired.

they are nice little toys


regards

Keepitlit

[runway30]

Hud,

Where have you seen this name registered?

[TwinAisle]

Registered as an internet domain in 2002, when things were rather different....

Not registered at Companies House.

I am rather more convinced by the Lufthansa CFO pronouncements about how baby does not fit their model, rather than speculating about 319s.

TA

[runway30]

Twin,

Thanks for that.

I tended to agree with you until they bought the remainder of Germanwings for completion at the same time as they acquire the majority of bmi. Building a European low cost airline, perhaps?

[cesare.caldi]

Lufthansa Italia from 30 march increase frequency MXP-LHR from 4x to 6x daily
Now LHI have more frequency then BA on MXP-LHR

[Seljuk22]

And more: MXP-BRU 3 daily (from 2 daily) and rumours about MXP-FCO and long haul are still alive. From 18th February LH Cargo MXP-JFK-ORD 2/7. This is what I call a good performance :ok:

[Count von Altibar]

Well done Lufthansa making money in what are dire times for most other operators. A good strategy to buy up what's going in the economic gloom and mould it for the future. One kitchen in Frankfurt, many restaurants I believe the LH CEO said!

[davidjohnson6]

Even the great Lufty is now rated as junk in terms of credit risk

Lufthansa?s Debt Rating Lowered to Junk by Moody?s (Update2) - Bloomberg.com (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=LHA%3AGR&sid=arFbr15JUjRU)

[tubby linton]

Where have all the DLH A300s gone??

[gofer]

Not very clear at present - suggest you get the S/N's from
planespotters (http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Airbus/A300/index.html?p=4) and that with the reg id you search things like google or Flugzeugbilder.de (http://www.flugzeugbilder.de/search4.cgi?srch=D-AIAR&stype=reg&srng=2)

:ugh: can't think of anything quicker at this time - sorry

[Kerosene Kraut]

Lufthansa's Airbus A340-600 "Essen" did the longest flight ever for the company: Nonstop from Munich to Santiago de Chile. Should be at least 7579 miles according to the great circle mapper. Don't know about winds enroute and ATC.

Airbus A340-600 stellt neuen Langstreckenrekord bei Lufthansa auf - FLUG REVUE (http://www.flugrevue.de/de/zivilluftfahrt/airlines-flugbetrieb/airbus-a340-600-stellt-neuen-langstreckenrekord-bei-lufthansa-auf.18543.htm)

[ab33t]

That is really a long flight

[racedo]

Numb Bum Syndrome for crew and pax is what springs to mind.

Kudos to Lufty:ok:

[5711N0205W]

How many hours for that?

[davidjohnson6]

For the statistics fans out there

Non-stop flight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_commercial_flight#Longest_flights)

[ara01jbb]

How many hours for that?

14 hours 43 minutes, if my German serves me correctly.

[Seljuk22]

From Monday (22nd February) 00.01 until Thursday (25th February) 23.59 there will be a pilot strike at Lufthansa, Germanwings and Lufthnsa Cargo.

flight schedules:
Lufthansa - Aktuelle Fluginformationen (http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/nonav/local?l=de&nodeid=1875150&blt_p=DE&blt_l=de&blt_t=Homepage&blt_e=Key%20Visual&blt_n=Aktuelle%20Fluginforma&blt_z=Aktuelle%20Fluginforma&blt_c=DE%7Cde%7CHomepage%7CKey%20Visual%7CAktuelle%20Fluginf orma%7CAktuelle%20Fluginforma)

http://www.germanwings.com/downloads/flight_list.pdf

[Seljuk22]

Interesting news:
4U will take over LH routes out of STR
Pressearchiv von Germanwings - Unternehmen (http://www.germanwings.com/de/Unternehmen-Pressearchiv_4UinSTR.htm)

4U will fly STR-LHR (3 daily) from 20th February and STR-MAN (5 weekly) from 29th July.