Lufthansa adds Pakistan to its world map

Starting October the Airline will serve the city of Karachi and for the first time Lahore. Flights will begin on 28th October with the flight numbers LH 658/659 with three weekly flights from Karachi via Lahore onto Frankfurt.

Connecting the commercial and industrial cities of Karachi and Lahore to the Lufthansa network will strengthen bilateral economic ties as well as the position of Lufthansa in the growing markets of the Middle East. 'Pakistan as a growing market with a highly mobile population offers Lufthansa excellent opportunities', says Joachim Steinbach, Vice President Sales and Services Southeast Europe, Africa & Middle East/ Pakistan, heading one of the strategically most important regions of the Lufthansa network. 'Our passengers will have access to the extensive route network of Lufthansa connecting through the Lufthansa hub Frankfurt to other European destinations as well as to the US.'

Steinbach further added that passengers would benefit from the new Lufthansa flights since the nonstop connection from Pakistan to Germany would reduce travel time by up to three hours compared to current connecting flights from the Gulf to Europe. 'This is a great advantage for the business traveler.' Over the years direct investments into the economy of Pakistan, also from the U.A.E., has considerably increased and in recent times the country has witnessed the physical presence of many multinational companies in Karachi and Lahore.

Lufthansa also announced appointments for Pakistan. Effective August 1st the new Lufthansa country manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan based in Lahore will be Mr. Ian Patrick, who will in the near future also take over the Swiss sales matters for Pakistan. 'Ian Patrick has a long and varied airline experience, consulting for numerous carriers in the field of marketing, revenue enhancement and route feasibility. We are proud to have him in the team', says Peter Pollak, General Manager Sales U.A.E. & Director Gulf & Pakistan. 'At the same time we would like to thank Mr. Kamal Syed, the current Lufthansa country manager Pakistan for his commitment and contribution of bringing Lufthansa back to Pakistan.'

He will manage all operational and launching activities for the inaugural flight in October. At the peak of his career and having seen his dream of a Lufthansa flight coming back to Pakistan Mr. Syed has decided after nearly 33 years with Lufthansa to put his feet up in Canada with his family.

The aviation industry remains a dynamic growth sector. Lufthansa is well-equipped for the future: 45 new jets will complement the regional fleet boosting European routes and feeder flights. Besides being the launch customer for the B747 stretched version, Lufthansa has ordered 15 A380 aircraft which represents more than any other European airline.

In line with global trends Lufthansa's unique private jet service remains popular with an increase of 13 per cent of operated flights recorded in 2006. Interestingly enough the majority of passengers booking a private jet use the service for point-to-point connections to European and Russian Federation destinations.

Further investment for the future is the 100 million Euros set aside for lounge refurbishments. Two lounges with the new design were recently opened in Berlin. Lounges will be refurbished successively and new buildings at numerous airports around the globe are in the pipeline. Currently Lufthansa has over 600 lounges worldwide. For its First Class passengers Lufthansa offers an exclusive First Class Terminal in Frankfurt also providing transfers in limousines up to the apron.