Lufthansa grows Manchester operation
INTERNATIONAL airline Lufthansa is bucking the downturn in the industry by expanding its operation at Manchester Airport.
The German carrier is putting larger aircraft on several of its 83 weekly flights out of Manchester which will increase its passenger capacity by 12%.
The move follows a 3.2% increase in passengers flying with Lufthansa from Manchester in the first eight months of this year.
However it comes as the airport saw a 4.54% drop in passenger numbers in August, down by 112,800 compared to the same month in 2007.
And British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has warned that the aviation industry is in its worst crisis since mass air transport began more than 30 years ago.
Worldwide around 30 airlines have failed so far this year and Mr Walsh has predicted there will be more to come.
Lufthansa currently flies 18,000 passengers a week from Manchester to Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf and Hamburg with around 55% transferring to onward connections to 207 destinations in 81 countries with the most popular international destinations Hong Kong, Beijing and Johannesburg.
Marianne Sammann, general manager of Lufthansa UK & Ireland, said: “Against a backdrop of the credit crunch and general doom and gloom we are expanding in Manchester.
“We carry 18,000 passengers a week from Manchester and that is predominantly for business travel. We aim to develop our presence further.”
Lufthansa has added Airbus 319 aircraft on its route from Manchester to Munich which are larger than the Boeing 737s previously used.
“Munich is our second largest hub after Frankfurt. All the facilities at Munich are absolutely top notch and it has the shortest connecting times,” said Ms Sammann.
The expansion comes in the week that Lufthansa has been named best airline in Europe in the 2008 World Airline Awards.
The award came after a survey of 15m passengers over an 11-month period by UK-based aviation research agency Skytrax.
Ms Sammann added: “Winning an award voted for purely by fare-paying passengers is a major achievement in today’s competitive market. It proves once again that the majority of air travellers still demand the product offered by a full service long established airline that they can use with confidence.”
Lufthansa has being flying from Manchester since 1956.
