The Lufthansa Magazin iPad app has been around for more than a year. It contains interesting reportages about the world of flying that can not only be viewed on board but can also be accessed on the ground. The app is available in German and English and can be downloaded free from the app store.

More information:

http://itunes.apple.com/en/app/lufthansa-magazin/id405521885?mt=8

The realignment reflects the growing political and strategic importance of human resources and labour relations policy in the Lufthansa passenger business. It is additionally intended to underline the importance of infrastructure providers and services for the airline.  Moreover, the exercise of responsibility for human resources and infrastructure services as well as for finance and information management in two own divisions will increase the autonomy of Lufthansa German Airlines within the Lufthansa Group.

Peter Gerber began his career at Lufthansa in the human resources area and legal department in 1992. From December 2004 to May 2009, he was in charge of corporate industrial relations and social security at the Lufthansa Group. Since 1 June 2009, he has been responsible for Finance and Human Resources on the Executive Board of  Lufthansa Cargo AG.

In line with the strengthening of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board, the previous Finance and Human Resources Division headed by Dr. Roland Busch (48) will take over responsibility for the Business Development area and be renamed ”Finance and Information Management“.

“We are looking forward to welcoming the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental to our long-haul fleet. In future we will offer our passengers on board this completely newly developed long-haul aircraft an exclusive travel experience and the comfort of our new Business Class. The Boeing 747-8 is characterised by lower noise emissions, lower fuel consumption and significantly reduced CO2 emissions. That enables us to combine maximum comfort with sustainability,” Lufthansa Executive Board member Carsten Spohr said at the large reception held at Frankfurt Airport.

When the new 747-8 enters scheduled service on 1 June 2012, Lufthansa passengers will have their first opportunity to experience the new Business Class. With the new Business Class, the exclusive First Class and the refined design of the Economy Class seat, the new Jumbo offers passengers in all classes the ultimate in travel comfort. The Boeing 747-8 is 76.3 metres long, 5.6 metres longer than its predecessor, the Boeing 747-400. The new Lufthansa Jumbo can seat 362 passengers: eight in First Class, 92 in Business Class and 262 in Economy Class.

Lufthansa will take delivery of 20 Boeing 747-8s up until 2015. The first five aircraft are due to be delivered to Lufthansa this year. They will be deployed on routes from Frankfurt to Washington D. C, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The 747-8 Intercontinental will bring double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions per passenger over its predecessor, the 747-400. It is also much quieter, and generates a 30 per cent smaller noise footprint. A wealth of information about the “Queen of the Skies” is available at www.lufthansa.com/747-8. The website also features a competition with the chance to win two flights with the Boeing 747-8.

Rotterdam, which has a population of 600,000, is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and is the world’s third-largest port. The airport is also the gateway to The Hague, the country’s third-largest city. Lufthansa’s new service will connect this strong economic region via Munich to 70 further destinations in Europe and worldwide.

Round-trip flights from Munich to Rotterdam can be booked now for as little as 99 euros. This fare applies in Economy Class and is inclusive of all taxes, fees and the Lufthansa Ticket Service Charge for online bookings made through www.lufthansa.com. Miles & More members can earn miles on these flights. More information about the new direct connection is available on the Lufthansa website. Reservations can be made online or via the Lufthansa Call Center on 01805 805 805 (€0.14/min). Customers can also book their flights through Lufthansa travel agency partners or at Lufthansa sales counters at airports.

Lufthansa Supervisory Board Chairman Jürgen Weber said: “With Stephan Gemkow, Lufthansa is losing an excellent manager, who has given very valuable service in a long career at the airline. I must thank him expressly for that on behalf of the Supervisory Board and indeed the whole of Lufthansa. Lufthansa is today Number One in Europe and one of the soundest airlines financially in the world. We owe that to a competent management team headed by an outstanding CFO and Board Member responsible for the service companies of the Group. That Stephan Gemkow is now to take over as chairman in managing a large group manifests the repute held by the managerial qualities of Lufthansa executives beyond the Group’s confines.“

The new building, which is due to go into operation in 2015, will offer all important services in a total area of more than 125,000 square meters (over 1.3 million square feet), including two Lufthansa Service Centers with 24 transfer desks and 42 passport control stations for passengers entering and leaving the country. The five Lufthansa lounges in the satellite will double the number of lounges available in and around Terminal 2. To be set up at the center of the satellite on both passenger levels are attractive marketplaces, built around the existing ground traffic control tower. Here passengers will find a broad range of shops and restaurants covering a total area of more than 9,000 square meters (100,000 sq.ft.).

More information:

konzern.lufthansa.com/en/themen/satellite-muc.html

As price adjustments have been agreed as part of the transaction structure, the net purchase price will be determined at the end of the second quarter 2012, at which point the final amount will be transferred. It continues to be expected that the net purchase price will be negative. However the costs of the transaction for Lufthansa will amortise within one year. The gross purchase price is expected to be reduced by a number of items including agreed deductions for not selling bmi regional and bmibaby prior to the completion of the transaction.

bmi’s underfunded Pension Scheme is to be transferred to the UK Pension Protection Fund. The pension shortfall for the members of the bmi Pension Scheme will be offset to a large extent by a one-off contribution from Lufthansa of GBP 84 million to a supplementary pension scheme.

On 4 November 2011, Lufthansa and IAG agreed in principle to the sale of bmi to IAG, prior to a legally binding purchase agreement being signed by both parties on 22 December 2011. The validity of this contract was subject to regulatory approval by the European Commission, which was received on 30 March 2012. By carrying out this transaction, Lufthansa is selling a consistently loss-making company.

The Lufthansa Group is anticipating an operating profit in the mid three-figure million euro range for the current financial year. Franz expects all the business segments to contribute towards this result, with operating profits forecast across the board. However, he added that further developments in the business environment – and fuel prices in particular – would determine precisely how high the Group’s operating profit would be at year-end. Franz emphasised: “We are determined to keep positioning ourselves at the forefront of the competition in the future. We have the resources to do this on our own. We have paved the way to take the necessary steps and have already seen some initial results. The Executive Board is determined to carry on consistently working towards success.”

The 2011 annual report is available on the internet at www.lufthansa.com/investor-relations.