The Hindu Business Line : Lufthansa mulls flights to more cities in South

LUFTHANSA is examining the possibility of operating flights to more cities in the South, according to Mr Werner Heesen, General Manager, Passenger Sales (India) and Director, South Asia.

"Lufthansa is evaluating the situation of flying to another point in the South. Hyderabad is a candidate, although a decision has not yet been taken. The market survey is being done right now," he added.

Officials said that the new flight to another destination in the South would be from Frankfurt and not Munich.

The airline has already announced the launch of a thrice-a-week flight between Delhi and Munich from the end of this month.

Currently, the airline offers a daily flight from Delhi and Mumbai, apart from flights Bangalore and Chennai. Lufthansa also plans to increase the frequency of the Delhi-Munich service from the current three-a-week to a daily service within the next 18 months, Mr Heesen said.

On the co-operation between Air India and Lufthansa, officials indicated that teams from the two airlines are scheduled to meet this summer to take the co-operation forward.

Meanwhile, Delta, an American airline, hopes to expand its presence in India through the global alliance, Skyteam, for the moment.

"While India is an important market for us, Delta has no plans to touch Delhi for the time being," said Mr Dieter Hofele, General Manager, India.

The airline has a presence in India, with Air France code-sharing with Delta on the Mumbai-Paris sector twice a week.