A Look at Lufthansa
Marked with the German flag, Lufthansa has earned a fine reputation as the largest air carrier in all of Europe. The moniker of the airline is formed by the combination of two German words. The first is luft, which translates as air, followed by Hansa, derived from a medieval group of powerful traders known as the Hanseatic League. The airline operates in 78 countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. It is the fourth-largest air company when measured by the number of travelers carried. It serves 203 destinations internationally and 18 domestically. The airline contains more than 700 aircraft in its fleet making it the second largest passenger fleet.
The largest of its airline operations takes place in Frankfurt Airport. Located in Frankfurt am Main, it serves as the largest hub for the successful airliner. The corporation that runs the operation is located in Deutz, Cologne, Germany where its headquarters and main offices are situated. Many of the people who work for the airline in various capacities make their homes in Frankfurt. The airline transported 90 million people in 2010 alone and employs more than 115,000 people across the globe.
The airline can attribute some of its success to the operation of subsidiary airlines that it owns and operates. These include Brussels Airlines, Edelweiss Air, Germanwings and Eurowings in addition to many others. They also own nearly 20% of JetBlue Airways, which operates out of New York City. The logo of the company is based on the image of a flying crane within a circle and was created by Otto Firle in the year 1918. The name of the airliner itself is attributed to F.A. Fischer von Puturzyn, publisher of a book on aviation policy, which was entitled Luft-Hansa. This book was published in 1925 and the airline adopted the name soon after.
The airliner is involved in the restoration of vintage aircraft in order for the machines to be flight worthy. Tickets to flights on these restored aircraft are then sold to flight enthusiasts. The Junkers Ju 53/3m was restored by the Lufthansa Technik maintenance team in order for it to make the flight from Berlin to Rome. The 10-hour flight across the Alps had not been performed by the plane since the 1930′s. The technical team is made up of mainly volunteers and retired employees. This branch of the operations by the company demonstrates its commitment to marking the history of flight and the rich heritage of aviation culture.
As with any airline, Lufthansa has had some disasters that resulted in a loss of life. The worst crash occurred in 1974, when a 747 crashed just after taking off from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. 55 passengers and 10 crew lost their lives. 7 crew members managed to survive along with 105 of the passengers. Other notorious events include the hijacking of four flights during the year of the Munich Summer Olympics. Overall, the track record of the airline is far better than its competitors when it comes to safety.