The Hindu Business Line : Lufthansa to fly daily from Hyderabad

German airliner Lufthansa on Thursday announced the commencement of daily non-stop fights between Frankfurt and Hyderabad from March 26, up from three times a week.

It has come up with an invitation offer to European destinations and the US, which has all the trappings of kicking up a price war during the summer months. The carrier is on course to doubling the overall number of flights to India barely within three years of its promise to achieve this growth.

From 23 flights in 2003, the number of flights has gone up to 42 now, and it expects to add four more soon with another destination.

As the airport infrastructure in Mumbai and Delhi cannot take additional loads and South well connected, it is now looking to new centres.

More centres

Given the potential India as a country holds, the Lufthansa management is close to finalising plans for another centre possibly in the East (Kolkata), and is exploring options within Maharashtra, other than Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Addressing a press conference, the Director of South Asia and General Manager Passenger Sales, Lufthansa, Mr Werner Heesen, said "as a part of the invitation offer, a return ticket between Hyderabad to destinations in Europe would be priced at Rs 19,900 (plus taxes) and is valid for bookings up to April 30."

And given the fact that about 50 per cent of its travellers from India are those who fly to destinations in the North America, it is offering a return fare of Rs 38,000 to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

Expectations

Referring to the Indian market, Mr Heesen said "the performance in the sector has exceeded their expectations and given the buoyant economic scenario and increase in travel, the industry was witness to a growth of over 20 per cent in 2005, and we expect this to grow by about 10 per cent this year, which is significant."

More facilities

Referring to Lufthansa plans for India, Mr Heesen said they expect to expand their operations covering areas such as cargo, Sky Chefs and its call centre facility based out of Gurgaon.

The Sky Chefs has brought in greater flexibility with Bangalore and Hyderabad centres, which enables them to offer something that meets an individual requirement.

Flights from India will offer the entire range of its services including Flynet for net savvy travellers, private bed and delectable ethnic cuisine, he said.

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