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Lufthansa wins prestigious "Airline of the Year 2000" Award
For the second time in five years, Lufthansa has won the top award in Air Transport World's, annual airline analysis. The Editor-in-Chief of the renowned industry magazine, J.A. Dohoghue, stated: "Lufthansa's success is driven by an abundance of management expertise and a clear vision of the future."
The global airline industry set many challenges for international carriers in 1999, and Lufthansa met them with aplomb. The airline enjoyed high load factors on its transatlantic routes, despite increased capacities. In an industry-troubled Europe, the airline focussed on establishing itself in high potential markets, such as the former Yugoslavia. Asian routes delivered a traffic increase of 17.3% in the third quarter and during September alone, LH carried 29.3 million passengers, an increase of 8.4% over 1998. Lufthansa Group expects a 1999 profit of $700 million.
High passenger service standards remain a priority for the airline. In spite of industry trends, Lufthansa continues to offer transatlantic passengers a three-class service - First, Business and Economy Class. And passenger service innovations continue to differentiate Lufthansa: for example, a wide range of check-in options are available in Germany, from pre-night check-in which allows passengers to check baggage and receive boarding passes the night prior to a flight - to drive-through check-in, and check-in by phone or fax.
Lufthansa CEO Jürgen Weber, the first CEO to accept two Airline of the Year awards, promises that Lufthansa will not rest on its laurels during the year ahead, and predicts an increase in the group operating profit of 10% for 2000.