Interflug Hawker-Siddeley Trident 2E
After World War II and the division of Germany in Allied occupation zones, West and East Germany eventually emerged as sovereign nations. In 1955, both nations formed Deutsches Lufthansa, claiming the prewar Lufthansa name. Given that West Germany had the better claim to the name, the East German government realized it would likely lose any litigation over the name, though for five years two Lufthansas—wearing broadly similar liveries—operated on both sides of the Iron Curtain. In 1963, the East German government transferred its Lufthansa over to a charter company founded in 1958, Interflug, establishing the latter as its flag carrier.
Interflug took over East German Lufthansa’s Ilyushin Il-14s; like most Warsaw Pact nations, Interflug was forced to fly Soviet-built airliners. These were soon replaced by Il-18 turboprops, and a domestic route network was established in East Germany. The government hoped to operate its own home-grown jet airliners, the Baade 152, but after one of the prototypes crashed, the design was abandoned and Soviet Tupolev Tu-134s were bought instead. The addition of Ilyushin Il-62s in 1972 allowed Interflug to increase its international routes, and the domestic network was largely abandoned. It became second only to Aeroflot in serving Communist Bloc nations, and although relations between the two Germanies were tense, operated to West German airports as well. Given that Interflug, as a state-owned airline, did not worry overmuch about profit margins, it was able to offer very low-cost flights to Mediterranean destinations, placing Interflug in the thick of the European charter market. West Germans would fly into West Berlin, cross the Berlin Wall just opposite Interflug’s home airport at Berlin-Schonefeld, and fly Interflug to points south. This became Interflug’s primary source of income, and contributed to Pan American being undercut and driven out of the European market.
Reminders that East Germany was a closed, heavily-surveilled society were everywhere in Interflug, however. It was organized along the lines of Aeroflot, which meant its pilots were drawn from the East German Air Force, and Interflug operated as a branch of that service. Moreover, flight crews were instructed to never associate with foreign aircrews, its crews were not allowed to overnight at any non-Communist Bloc airports, and crews were screened by the Stasi secret police to ensure loyalty to the East German regime. Interflug was even the subject of East German government propaganda: a TV show was produced that showed fictional Interflug personnel constantly being barraged by foreigners (especially West Germans and Americans) to defect and give into the temptations of capitalism, though the characters heroically resisted such efforts and extolled the advantages of Marxism-Leninism.
As Mikhail Gorbachev began loosening restrictions on Warsaw Pact airlines in 1988, Interflug followed the example of LOT Polish Airlines and placed an order for Airbus A310s, the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so. This was done because Interflug’s Soviet aircraft violated Western noise abatement regulations, forcing them to pay higher landing fees. It proved to be a moot point, for a year later, the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was reunified. This left Interflug, with a fleet of older, less efficient Soviet types, to compete with the efficient monolith of Lufthansa. Though Lufthansa was blocked by monopoly laws from outright acquiring Interflug, no other airline wanted to take it on either, and Interflug was unceremoniously dissolved in 1991. Its Soviet aircraft were sold off (except the Il-18s, which became the core of Berline Air Cargo, formed by ex-Interflug employees) and the A310s were handed over to the German Luftwaffe air arm as executive transports.
Interflug (due to a Soviet-imposed embargo) never operated any Western equipment until it bought the Airbus A310s in 1988, but a Hawker-Siddeley Trident 2 is shown in Interflug colors here. At the time when Mr. Poletto built the aircraft in the late 1970s, however, there were no models available of Soviet bloc airliners available in the United States. The registration, DM-SEA, belonged to an Ilyushin Il-62; this particular aircraft was involved in the worst air crash in German history, when it crashed near Berlin in August 1972 with the death of all 156 aboard.
Interflug Hawker-Siddeley Trident 2E
After World War II and the division of Germany in Allied occupation zones, West and East Germany eventually emerged as sovereign nations. In 1955, both nations formed Deutsches Lufthansa, claiming the prewar Lufthansa name. Given that West Germany had the better claim to the name, the East German government realized it would likely lose any litigation over the name, though for five years two Lufthansas—wearing broadly similar liveries—operated on both sides of the Iron Curtain. In 1963, the East German government transferred its Lufthansa over to a charter company founded in 1958, Interflug, establishing the latter as its flag carrier.
Interflug took over East German Lufthansa’s Ilyushin Il-14s; like most Warsaw Pact nations, Interflug was forced to fly Soviet-built airliners. These were soon replaced by Il-18 turboprops, and a domestic route network was established in East Germany. The government hoped to operate its own home-grown jet airliners, the Baade 152, but after one of the prototypes crashed, the design was abandoned and Soviet Tupolev Tu-134s were bought instead. The addition of Ilyushin Il-62s in 1972 allowed Interflug to increase its international routes, and the domestic network was largely abandoned. It became second only to Aeroflot in serving Communist Bloc nations, and although relations between the two Germanies were tense, operated to West German airports as well. Given that Interflug, as a state-owned airline, did not worry overmuch about profit margins, it was able to offer very low-cost flights to Mediterranean destinations, placing Interflug in the thick of the European charter market. West Germans would fly into West Berlin, cross the Berlin Wall just opposite Interflug’s home airport at Berlin-Schonefeld, and fly Interflug to points south. This became Interflug’s primary source of income, and contributed to Pan American being undercut and driven out of the European market.
Reminders that East Germany was a closed, heavily-surveilled society were everywhere in Interflug, however. It was organized along the lines of Aeroflot, which meant its pilots were drawn from the East German Air Force, and Interflug operated as a branch of that service. Moreover, flight crews were instructed to never associate with foreign aircrews, its crews were not allowed to overnight at any non-Communist Bloc airports, and crews were screened by the Stasi secret police to ensure loyalty to the East German regime. Interflug was even the subject of East German government propaganda: a TV show was produced that showed fictional Interflug personnel constantly being barraged by foreigners (especially West Germans and Americans) to defect and give into the temptations of capitalism, though the characters heroically resisted such efforts and extolled the advantages of Marxism-Leninism.
As Mikhail Gorbachev began loosening restrictions on Warsaw Pact airlines in 1988, Interflug followed the example of LOT Polish Airlines and placed an order for Airbus A310s, the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so. This was done because Interflug’s Soviet aircraft violated Western noise abatement regulations, forcing them to pay higher landing fees. It proved to be a moot point, for a year later, the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was reunified. This left Interflug, with a fleet of older, less efficient Soviet types, to compete with the efficient monolith of Lufthansa. Though Lufthansa was blocked by monopoly laws from outright acquiring Interflug, no other airline wanted to take it on either, and Interflug was unceremoniously dissolved in 1991. Its Soviet aircraft were sold off (except the Il-18s, which became the core of Berline Air Cargo, formed by ex-Interflug employees) and the A310s were handed over to the German Luftwaffe air arm as executive transports.
Interflug (due to a Soviet-imposed embargo) never operated any Western equipment until it bought the Airbus A310s in 1988, but a Hawker-Siddeley Trident 2 is shown in Interflug colors here. At the time when Mr. Poletto built the aircraft in the late 1970s, however, there were no models available of Soviet bloc airliners available in the United States. The registration, DM-SEA, belonged to an Ilyushin Il-62; this particular aircraft was involved in the worst air crash in German history, when it crashed near Berlin in August 1972 with the death of all 156 aboard.