Lufthansa plans to name one of its Airbus A-380 aircraft “Delhi” as the German airline looks to spread its wings in India, a top official said.
“We have the highest market share of 15% between India and Europe,” said Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, Lufthansa Group.
“We are looking to improve our market share with new products, bigger planes and increased frequencies,” he said at a press conference here on Wednesday.
The German airline will also deploy its most modern long-haul aircraft, Airbus A-350, between Munich and Mumbai soon.
India was the first destination to which Lufthansa deployed its recently inducted Airbus A-350 aircraft with its first flight from Munich landing in Delhi on February 11. The Airbus A-350 aircraft is considered to be one of the most modern aircraft on long-haul routes with 25% less fuel consumption and 25% less carbon dioxide emissions, Mr. Spohr said. The airline operates 60 flights to and from India every week.
Lufthansa will also name one of its Airbus A-380 planes as ‘Delhi’. The German airline has a policy of naming its aircraft after cities. It had named its Airbus A-380 aircraft after cities like New York, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Johannesburg, among others, in the past.
“It’s a tradition for Lufthansa to name aircraft after cities. Considering we have 700 aircraft, giving few Airbus A-380 planes the name of Delhi points out to the importance of Delhi as a hub and India as a market for the Lufthansa Group,” said Mr. Spohr. However, he denied buying stake in an Indian airline company. “Lufthansa is focussing pretty much on Europe. In the last ten years, we took over Austrian Airlines, SWISS, and recently Brussels Airlines,” Mr. Spohr said.
Brussels Airlines, recently acquired by the Lufthansa Group, is likely to operate flights between Mumbai and Brussels. Lufthansa will increase the frequency of flights between Pune and Frankfurt and may also consider low-cost flight operations between Germany and Goa.
