What you need to know about Lufthansa
Lufthansa is the largest German airline. IATA code: LH, ICAO code: DLH. It is the co-founder of Star Alliance with bases at Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airport. Düsseldorf Airport is the base for Germanwings (Eurowings). Lufthansa's slogan is Nonstop You. The main building is located in Cologne. Lufthansa itself already owns 260 aircraft. These fly to more than 220 destinations, all over the world. The Lufthansa Group carried some 145 million passengers in 2019, making it the seventh-largest airline in the world (measured in passengers).
The frequent flyer program of Lufthansa is Miles & More. It is the same frequent flyer program as Austrian Airlines, Adria Airways, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Luxair, Swiss Air Lines, and Brussels Airlines.
History of Lufthansa
Lufthansa was founded in 1926. At the time, it was a merger between Deutsche Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr. These two companies were merged as Deutsche Luft Hansa Aktiengesellschaft. In 1945 the airline went under with the fall of the German Third Reich.
The name Lufthansa was picked up in 1953 by the Federal Republic of the Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf, or LUFTAG. This company bought the brand name Lufthansa, in 1954 it continued under that name. At that time, West Germany did not yet have the right to fly through its airspace, so it was not known whether the newly founded airline could ever fly. Despite this, 4 Convair CV-340s were purchased, and 4 Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations. A maintenance base was set up in Hamburg. Fortunately, Lufthansa was able to start from April 1, 1955, with flights within Germany. A month and a half later it also flew to London, Paris, Madrid, and New York. Berlin remained the notable absentee from the network, as the airline was not from the United States, United Kingdom, or France. As a result, Lufthansa was not allowed to fly to Berlin.
In 1958, Lufthansa bought four Boeing 707s. The jet engine era had begun. Routes to Hong Kong and Tokyo could be opened. In 1965, the German national airline ordered 21 Boeing 737s. Lufthansa was thus the first customer of the Boeing 737. The company started to become a good customer of Boeing, because the Boeing 747 was put into service on April 26, 1970. It was also the first widebody aircraft for Lufthansa. Other widebody models were DC-10s (1973) and the Airbus A300 (1976). Lufthansa also started to buy more Airbuses, it was the so-called launch customer for the Airbus A310.
Back to Berlin, other crises survive 25 days after German reunification, Lufthansa flew back to Berlin. Seven years later, Lufthansa founded the airline alliance Star Alliance with Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways, and United Airlines. This alliance was the first, and today it is still the largest airline alliance in the world.
Classification at Lufthansa
Lufthansa has four different classes. The very best is in First Class. It is available on most long-haul aircraft. The seats can be converted to a full-flat bed, meals are available on request, you can use First Class lounges and there are many other benefits. With the introduction of the cost-saving program SCORE, the number of First-Class seats on most routes will decrease. Nowadays everything revolves around occupancy.
Business Class is offered on all long-haul aircraft. Also flatbeds, you can charge your laptop, there are several lounges that you can use. Of course, there are many other benefits as well, such as free snacks and drinks throughout the flight.
Premium economy is a fairly new class on Lufthansa aircraft. It was rolled out in 2014. You have a bit more legroom and the service on the plane is a lot better. Premium economy is just a bit more comfortable than economy class. It is not yet offered on all aircraft.
The economy class is the standard class. It is available on all long-haul aircraft, as well as on all short-haul aircraft.
Lufthansa fleet
Lufthansa has had many aircraft in the past, such as the Boeing 707, the Convair CV-340, the McDonnell Douglas DC3, DC4, DC8, DC10, the Fokker F27 Friendship, the Lockheed Super Constellation, the Vickers Viscount, and especially many types of Airbus.
A lot of Airbus, a bit of Boeing Even today, a large part of the fleet of the Franco-German aircraft manufacturer is Airbus. Lufthansa has many aircraft from the Airbus A320 family in its fleet (this ranges from A319 to A321. It also has outstanding orders for the Airbus A320-neo and the A321 neo. It continues to fly both A330s and A340s and also has 25 orders outstanding for the A350-900, with an option for a further 15, which Lufthansa expects to join the fleet from 2016. Lufthansa also owns 14 Airbus A380s.
Boeing is also represented in the Lufthansa fleet. Lufthansa no longer has Boeing 737s but does have Boeing 747s (including the B747-8). It has outstanding orders for 20 Boeing 777-9X units (with 7 options).
Dimensions of luggage at Lufthansa
At Lufthansa, bringing (free) hold luggage with you depends on, among other things, the destination and the ticket. For intercontinental flights, you can take hold baggage with you for each travel class, the amount and weight differ. In Economy Class, it is also allowed to take 1 item of checked baggage of 23 kg in addition to the hand baggage of 8 kg. You may also bring a personal item on board – for example, a laptop – or a handbag up to 30 x 40 x 10 cm.
Please note: if you are flying in Europe, you are not allowed to take hold luggage with you with the new basic fare ticket (Economy Light). You will then fly a little cheaper.
This ticket can also be booked on some flights to the US and Canada. In Business Class and First Class, you can take 2 items of hand luggage with Lufthansa, each weighing 8 kg, and up to 2 pieces of checked baggage, each weighing up to a maximum of 32 kg. Are you flying First Class? Then you can even take 3 pieces of checked baggage of 32 kg.
At Lufthansa, the permitted dimensions of the suitcase, length x width x height, are max. 158 cm. For hand luggage, the maximum size is 55 x 40 x 23 cm.
At Lufthansa, the following is allowed as hand luggage: a bag or trolley + an accessory (for example a laptop or a handbag). Lufthansa hand luggage has a maximum weight per item of hand luggage of 8 kg. In terms of size, it may be a suitcase/bag of max 55 x 40 x 23 cm. Unless it's about foldable clothes bags, then it can be up to 57 x 54 x 15 cm. You may also take a personal item on board with a maximum size of 30 x 40 x 10 cm.
If you are flying Business Class or First Class, you are allowed to take 2 pieces of hand luggage (+ an accessory) on board.
On almost all Lufthansa flights you can take your hand luggage on board, in very rare cases it may still have to be checked in the hold. For Business and First Class, it may also be the case that the 2nd piece of hand luggage has to be checked in, and will go into the hold.
