Lufthansa plans to significantly expand long-haul flights in Munich
Lufthansa intends to expand its range of long-haul flights at Munich Airport next year more than ever before. "We are planning the biggest long-haul growth in Lufthansa's history here in Munich," said Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter at a press event at the airport on Tuesday evening.
"We are currently flying around 150 long-haul flights a week," said Ritter. "In summer '24, we will be offering over 190 flights a week here. That is unprecedented growth of over 20 percent." Lufthansa Airlines is the German core brand of the Group. The Group also includes 300 subsidiaries, including the airlines Swiss, Austrian, Eurowings and Brussels.
Munich is both the second-largest German airport after Frankfurt and the second-largest Lufthansa location. Seattle, Hong Kong and Johannesburg are to be added to Munich's intercontinental flight schedule next year.
Next summer there will be 105 flights per week to North America and 72 to Asia. Munich is also the base for the world's largest passenger aircraft, the A380, which the airline had already mothballed.
Lufthansa still owns a total of eight of the superjumbos. Four have already been reactivated, while the remaining four aircraft are due to return to service over the next two years. "We will then have a complete A380 fleet here in Munich," said Ritter. However, around two thirds of the more than 100 Lufthansa long-haul aircraft are stationed in Frankfurt.
Apart from air traffic, Ritter also commented on rail traffic. The Lufthansa Airlines CEO made no secret of the company's annoyance at the poor rail connections at Munich Airport. Unlike in Frankfurt, there is no ICE connection and the S-Bahn is plagued by frequent breakdowns and delays.
"If your journey into the world begins with an S-Bahn that unfortunately doesn't work, then that's no credit to the city of Munich," criticized Ritter. "Nor for the airport, and ultimately not for us either."
Lufthansa is firmly of the opinion that the airport and Munich as a location must be better connected. "We simply owe this to our guests from Munich, our guests from Bavaria, and also to the second largest hub in our country."
Lufthansa's expansion of long-haul flights will significantly increase air traffic at Munich Airport. With the addition of Seattle, Hong Kong, and Johannesburg to its intercontinental flight schedule, Lufthansa is expected to operate over 190 long-haul flights a week in summer '24, leading to an unprecedented increase in air traffic.
Source: www.dpa.com
