Lufthansa Cargo has record year in Malta

Lufthansa German Airlines is celebrating its 20th anniversary of operations in Malta.

In April 1984, the airline inaugurated its first weekly direct flight between Frankfurt and Luqa Airport, which, over the last two decades, has increased to a daily service, said Joachim Steinbach, vice-president South-East Europe, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan. Mr Steinbach was in Malta for the anniversary celebrations.

From April and for the summer season, Lufthansa will also operate four weekly direct flights to Stuttgart, offering a welcome contribution to tourism in Malta and a further link for the Maltese with Germany.

The new service would promote tourism, meeting the increased demand from both sides, said Lufthansa Malta managing director Valdis Dombrovskis.

German tour operators have been looking to Malta for a while to offer a Mediterranean destination a short distance from Germany, he said. Eight German tour operators are currently in Malta to give it a push in the German market, while local tour operators have expressed an interest in the Stuttgart destination.

The new service would also be meeting the demands of Maltese businessmen, Stuttgart being an industrial area, offering connections to major European destinations.

Stuggart was chosen to fill idle capacity and target a sunny destination, Mr Dombrovskis said. The new flight means that Lufthansa is offering an increased capacity of 60 per cent, compared to the winter timetable.

Addressing an anniversary press briefing at Hilton Malta, Mr Steinbach spoke of the excellent cooperation between Lufthansa and the Maltese authorities, congratulating Malta on its entry into the EU.

Lufthansa has developed its position as a key player in the Maltese market for international traffic, carrying passengers through its Frankfurt hub. Last year, which was considered to be a crisis year for airlines, the route still carried 50,000 passengers.

People were starting to want to travel again and hit the warm destinations, he said, adding that predictions for 2004 were "optimistic". Lufthansa expected a significantly higher operating profit and positive net result. Despite the crisis, it had managed to post an operating profit of €36 million last year.

With a 40-per cent export share of the total air cargo market, Lufthansa Cargo has a dominant role in Malta's air cargo transport. Its services are vital for the maintenance and development of the country's economy. It enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2003, surpassing the import/export target by 35 per cent.

Among the main export customers are STMicroelectronics, Dowty and Methode, while fresh tuna to Tokyo, which required two to three charter flights a week from September to December of last year, had pumped up the figures.

Among the benefits for Lufthansa passengers, the airline has ordered 10 Airbus A330-300 for top-level comfort and less impact on the environment, Mr Steinbach said.

Passengers will soon be able to surf the internet miles up in the sky with Lufthansa Flynet, using a conventional laptop. By the end of the year, about 30 aircraft will be equipped with this innovative communication facility.

With the summer timetable, Lufthansa is launching its business class concept on European routes, whereby middle seats are to be blocked to allow passengers 50 per cent more stowage room.

Lufthansa passengers would additionally be benefiting from new connections to Eastern Europe, Russia, Asia and the US over the summer.

The airline's forte is its global network - a choice of 175 destinations in 75 countries - and the Maltese could count on Lufthansa to keep the island connected to the rest of the world, Mr Steinbach said.

As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations, Lufthansa Malta is supporting various cultural events.