German carrier Lufthansa Airlines will increase the frequency of its flights to and from India to 64 per week from January 16, the group’s senior director for South Asia, George Ettiyil, said. Currently, the per week frequency is 56 flights. Ettiyil said that the airline will start its Frankfurt-Hyderabad flights on Boeing 787–900 aircraft from January 16, with 5 weekly frequencies. The airline recently added a new Bangalore-Munich flight service.
“We are re-introducing the Airbus A380 on our Delhi-Munich route. This represents a capacity increase of 25% and is Lufthansa Group’s greatest expansion in any major market worldwide since the pandemic,” he said. According to Ettiyil, by increasing the Frankfurt-Chennai flight services to a daily operation in June this year, the airline returned to its pre-pandemic level of frequencies in India.“ With the introduction of the new routes, India will exceed pre-pandemic levels in terms of our capacity offer. In fact, India is the first major market globally to grow beyond pre-pandemic levels. It reflects the strong confidence of Lufthansa Group in Indian market,” he said.
By the middle of 2024, the airline’s per week frequency will go up to 68, Ettiyil stated. Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi, are important for it to connect its three hubs of Munich, Zürich, and Frankfurt, to India. Ettiyil mentioned that for the next couple of years, the airline will maintain this level of growth.
He said that Lufthansa Technik, the maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for aircraft, engines, and components arm of the group, continues to explore possibilities to increase its MRO footprint in India.
