Lufthansa Boeing 737
In January 1926, the cash-strapped German government forced the merger of two independent airlines, Deutscher Aero Lloyd (owned by German shipping company Hamburg-America) and Junkers Luftverkehr (owned by aircraft company Junkers) rather than bail them out of bankruptcy. The two airlines chose the name Deutsche Luft Hansa, combining the German name for “air” and the name of the Hanseatic League, a trading group that had linked northern Europe during the medieval era. Operations began from its base at Berlin-Templehof with Fokker F.IIs on domestic routes in northern Germany.
Luft Hansa rapidly expanded by investing in and starting up other airlines. This included Deruluft, owned jointly with the Soviet government and the forerunner of Aeroflot, allowing Luft Hansa a long-range flight to Moscow; Iberia in Spain; and Syndicato Kondor in Latin America (forming the basis for a number of later South American airlines). The airline was on the forefront of airliner development in the 1920s and 1930s, introducing at the time unheard-of long-distance flights to North America with flying boats, to China (albeit with a number of stops along the way), and inflight meals. Larger and more efficient airliners were introduced, with Luft Hansa taking advantage of its relationship with Junkers: this included the massive Junkers G.38, allowing nonstop service between Berlin and London, and the Junkers Ju 52, a remarkably reliable aircraft that became the airline’s mainstay. In 1939, the introduction of the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor allowed for nonstop transatlantic flights from Spain to South America, flights to Tokyo with only one stop in Moscow, and nonstop service between Berlin and New York, though the outbreak of World War II ensured that only a few experimental flights were made.
Luft Hansa also benefited from an early relationship with the Nazi Party, and the airline served as cover for many secret Luftwaffe projects, including bombers like the Heinkel He 111 and the Dornier Do 17. Most of its aircraft were nationalized and absorbed into the Luftwaffe at the beginning of World War II, though a few scheduled services continued until 1944, by which time the Allies achieved air superiority over Germany and anything that flew was subject to being shot down. Luft Hansa ceased to exist with the Third Reich it supported in 1945.
In 1953, with the creation of West Germany, a number of former Luft Hansa employees founded a new airline, Luftag, which they hoped would become the new flag carrier; the new airline placed an order for Convair CV-340s and Lockheed L-1049 Constellations, even though the Allies had not yet granted Luftag the right to fly over its own territory. This was granted soon enough, and in 1954, Luftag bought the rights to resurrect both the Luft Hansa name and its soaring eagle logo, changing its name to the more simple Lufthansa. The new Lufthansa used its CV-340s on domestic routes and the Constellations on transatlantic routes to New York. Unable to operate from its former base in Berlin due to postwar Allied restrictions, Lufthansa moved its main base to Frankfurt, which would spur that airport’s growth to eventually become Europe’s largest.
Lufthansa grew alongside West Germany, becoming a beneficiary to the German economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s. Vickers Viscount turboprops replaced the CV-340s, and in 1960, Lufthansa entered the jet age when it replaced the Constellations with Boeing 707s. Such was the demand for air travel that the airline adopted an all-jet fleet, becoming the launch customer for the most-produced postwar airliner, the Boeing 737, in 1965. Soon Lufthansa’s distinctive blue tails and golden eagles were becoming a regular sight worldwide, and by 1970—when Lufthansa received its first Boeing 747s—it was serving every continent.
By the mid-1980s, Lufthansa had become Europe’s largest airline, and second only to British Airways in destinations served. Moreover, it was well-run, allowing Lufthansa to survive rocky times for airlines in the mid-1990s and after 9/11. The reunification of Germany in 1989 allowed the airline to return to Berlin for the first time since 1945. Lufthansa also owned its own charter airline, Condor, until it was sold to Thomas Cook in the late 1990s.
Today, Lufthansa maintains its status as Europe’s largest airline by fleet size and passengers carried. It has expanded considerably over the past two decades, and owns outright seven other airlines operating under their own names, and controlling interests in five others. It is the only airline to operate both the Airbus A380 and the stretched Boeing 747-800, and was one of the founding members of the Star Alliance codesharing airline alliance. Though it experienced an uncommon series of loss years recently, Lufthansa’s size, reputation and extensive network guarantees its survival for the foreseeable future.
Lufthansa Boeing 737
In January 1926, the cash-strapped German government forced the merger of two independent airlines, Deutscher Aero Lloyd (owned by German shipping company Hamburg-America) and Junkers Luftverkehr (owned by aircraft company Junkers) rather than bail them out of bankruptcy. The two airlines chose the name Deutsche Luft Hansa, combining the German name for “air” and the name of the Hanseatic League, a trading group that had linked northern Europe during the medieval era. Operations began from its base at Berlin-Templehof with Fokker F.IIs on domestic routes in northern Germany.
Luft Hansa rapidly expanded by investing in and starting up other airlines. This included Deruluft, owned jointly with the Soviet government and the forerunner of Aeroflot, allowing Luft Hansa a long-range flight to Moscow; Iberia in Spain; and Syndicato Kondor in Latin America (forming the basis for a number of later South American airlines). The airline was on the forefront of airliner development in the 1920s and 1930s, introducing at the time unheard-of long-distance flights to North America with flying boats, to China (albeit with a number of stops along the way), and inflight meals. Larger and more efficient airliners were introduced, with Luft Hansa taking advantage of its relationship with Junkers: this included the massive Junkers G.38, allowing nonstop service between Berlin and London, and the Junkers Ju 52, a remarkably reliable aircraft that became the airline’s mainstay. In 1939, the introduction of the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor allowed for nonstop transatlantic flights from Spain to South America, flights to Tokyo with only one stop in Moscow, and nonstop service between Berlin and New York, though the outbreak of World War II ensured that only a few experimental flights were made.
Luft Hansa also benefited from an early relationship with the Nazi Party, and the airline served as cover for many secret Luftwaffe projects, including bombers like the Heinkel He 111 and the Dornier Do 17. Most of its aircraft were nationalized and absorbed into the Luftwaffe at the beginning of World War II, though a few scheduled services continued until 1944, by which time the Allies achieved air superiority over Germany and anything that flew was subject to being shot down. Luft Hansa ceased to exist with the Third Reich it supported in 1945.
In 1953, with the creation of West Germany, a number of former Luft Hansa employees founded a new airline, Luftag, which they hoped would become the new flag carrier; the new airline placed an order for Convair CV-340s and Lockheed L-1049 Constellations, even though the Allies had not yet granted Luftag the right to fly over its own territory. This was granted soon enough, and in 1954, Luftag bought the rights to resurrect both the Luft Hansa name and its soaring eagle logo, changing its name to the more simple Lufthansa. The new Lufthansa used its CV-340s on domestic routes and the Constellations on transatlantic routes to New York. Unable to operate from its former base in Berlin due to postwar Allied restrictions, Lufthansa moved its main base to Frankfurt, which would spur that airport’s growth to eventually become Europe’s largest.
Lufthansa grew alongside West Germany, becoming a beneficiary to the German economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s. Vickers Viscount turboprops replaced the CV-340s, and in 1960, Lufthansa entered the jet age when it replaced the Constellations with Boeing 707s. Such was the demand for air travel that the airline adopted an all-jet fleet, becoming the launch customer for the most-produced postwar airliner, the Boeing 737, in 1965. Soon Lufthansa’s distinctive blue tails and golden eagles were becoming a regular sight worldwide, and by 1970—when Lufthansa received its first Boeing 747s—it was serving every continent.
By the mid-1980s, Lufthansa had become Europe’s largest airline, and second only to British Airways in destinations served. Moreover, it was well-run, allowing Lufthansa to survive rocky times for airlines in the mid-1990s and after 9/11. The reunification of Germany in 1989 allowed the airline to return to Berlin for the first time since 1945. Lufthansa also owned its own charter airline, Condor, until it was sold to Thomas Cook in the late 1990s.
Today, Lufthansa maintains its status as Europe’s largest airline by fleet size and passengers carried. It has expanded considerably over the past two decades, and owns outright seven other airlines operating under their own names, and controlling interests in five others. It is the only airline to operate both the Airbus A380 and the stretched Boeing 747-800, and was one of the founding members of the Star Alliance codesharing airline alliance. Though it experienced an uncommon series of loss years recently, Lufthansa’s size, reputation and extensive network guarantees its survival for the foreseeable future.