Lufthansa share in focus: Lufthansa Group history – How the crane airline became a mega fleet

• The German airlines Junkers Luftverkehr and Deutsche Aero Lloyd merge
• LUFTAG buys the Lufthansa logo and brand name
• 106 million passengers in one year

Luft Hansa becomes Lufthansa

Lufthansa was not just Lufthansa, because when the two German airlines Junkers Luftverkehr and Deutsche Aero Lloyd merged on January 6, 1926, the first thing that came into being was Deutsche Luft Hansa. It was not until six years later that the name was finally written together, and not at the request of the airline itself. The idea of ​​the changed name came from the Reich government at the time, which helped the heavily indebted company out of the crisis with large subsidies. And the airline started very small, because in the first financial year of today’s Lufthansa Group there were just 54 flight routes and 162 aircraft. In the years that followed, Lufthansa expanded its route network all the faster, not only tackling the whole of Europe, but also Africa, Asia and South America.

The airline in times of war

On August 31, 1939, Adolf Hitler started World War II with his order to attack Poland and this meant major changes for many companies. Lufthansa quickly sided with the Nazis, thereby securing both funds and government support. During the Third Reich, for example, Lufthansa employed between 10,000 and 17,000 forced laborers in its factories. Nevertheless, the war almost meant the company’s downfall, because the planes were not only used as backup bombers, but were also banned by the victorious powers after the end of the war.

Lufthansa in the post-war period

After the end of the Second World War, there were no longer any airlines in Germany, because the Allies not only ordered the liquidation of Lufthansa, but also banned the construction and maintenance of aircraft. Nevertheless, the federal government decided in 1952 to rebuild air traffic and just two years later, on January 6, 1953, the LUFTAG joint-stock company for air traffic needs was founded. With the consent of the Allies, on August 6, 1954, the company finally bought the logo and brand name from the legacy of the old Lufthansa and renamed itself Deutsche Lufthansa. But the new beginning proved difficult and so the operation began with a fleet of two aircraft and initially only domestic German routes.

The airline’s low points

On November 20, 1974, Lufthansa experienced its worst catastrophe to date when a Boeing 747-100 failed to gain altitude after takeoff from Nairobi. The machine with the registration D-ABYB crashed due to technical failure and burned out. 59 people died in this accident. This flight LH540 remained the worst accident in the airline’s history until a Germanwings plane crashed in March 2015. The co-pilot of Germanwings flight 4U9525 flew the machine against the western Alps. 150 people died.

Lufthansa today

Today, Deutsche Lufthansa, also Lufthansa or Lufthansa German Airlines, is the largest German airline and brings several million people to their desired destination every year. In 2019 alone, the airline’s turnover was around 16 billion euros. The fleet in use by Lufthansa includes aircraft of almost all sizes and, according to Statista, totaled 364 machines in 2019. This means that Deutsche Lufthansa is not only the largest German airline, but also has the largest fleet of aircraft.

Isabell Tonnius / Editor finanzen.net

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