Lufthansa focusing on Indian market

Berlin: German carrier Lufthansa, which currently operates 45 weekly flights from six destinations in India, is all set to launch a direct Mumbai-Munich flight by early next year. This, according to its executive vice-president, Thierry Antinoiri, is "…part of Lufthansa's strategy to become the most Indian European airline."

"India is an important market for us and since 2003 we have doubled our capacity in India," Antinori said addressing the media on the sidelines of the five-day ITB in Berlin, one of the world's largest travel fairs, which opened for public display and participation last week.

The airline added Kolkota to its growing network in India on December 1 last year. Pointing out the airlines commitment to the Indian market, Antinori said that it had employed Hindi-speaking staff at the Berlin and Munich airports to assist its Indian customers. Also, its in-flight entertainment programmes had a very good mix of Hollywood and Bollywood films.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa has also announced a record net profit and revenue for 2006 of 19.8 billioneuros, up 10% over last year. The group profit after tax climbed to a new peak at 803 million euros and its operating profit was up by 46% to 845 million euros.