The Lufthansa Group is the largest foreign aviation group in Israel (according to the Israel Airports Authority, October 2018).

Here is a list of of Lufthansa’s achievements in Israel:

• From two weekly flights in Israel, in 1968 to more than 80 weekly flights offered by the four airlines in the group, which operate flights to Tel Aviv
• Opening of a new line – Frankfurt / Eilat
• Edelweiss, part of the Lufthansa Group, launched a new flight on the Zurich-Eilat route
• The Lufthansa Group offers its customers in Israel more than 11,111 weekly flights to 271 destinations in 105 countries
• The fleet includes 728 aircraft (as of December 2017) and the Group will continue to add new aircraft by 2025.
• As of 2017, the Lufthansa Group employed approximately 130,000 employees, hosted more than 130 million passengers on its flights and generated € 35.6 billion in sales

Lufthansa Group – a success story in Israel

The establishment of full diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Israel on May 12, 1965, constitutes a significant milestone in the history of both countries and has led to unique and ongoing political and economic relations in the fields of culture, art and trade. “For Lufthansa, the establishment of diplomatic relations led to the launch of the route to Israel on November 3, 1968, which gradually evolved into one of the company’s most successful and vibrant routes with customers from all over the world, both in the business and tourism sectors,” noted Ofer Kish, CEO of the Lufthansa Group In Israel.

Lufthansa’s first years in Israel were modest. As of November 3, 1968, two weekly flights from Frankfurt via Munich to Lod Airport, now known as Ben Gurion Airport, began operating at the beginning of the 1970s and began offering four weekly flights.

“Lufthansa currently includes the following airlines in Israel: Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. According to the Israel Airports Authority, this is the largest foreign airline group in Israel with more than 80 weekly flights connecting the world to Tel Aviv via five ports “We are proud that Lufthansa Airlines is expected to show a 4% growth in the number of passengers to 2018 compared to 2017, despite the competition from low-cost companies,” said Kish.

“At the international level, over the last five years, the growth rate of the aviation industry is double the growth rate of the global economy, and flights in Europe alone grew by 50% between 2008 and 2017, from 250 million passengers to 780 million,” he added.

“The Lufthansa airlines flew more than 108 million passengers in the first nine months of 2018 and with a seat occupancy of 82%, a record figure for this period, but we can not afford to” relax,” Kish said. “In order to remain competitive and current, the company focuses on innovation and digitization, for example, in the field of distribution, we initiated the use of the New Distribution Channel (NDC) technology, which connects travel agencies and private travelers directly into the inventory of seats in our reservation system. “Another example is our innovation incubator in Berlin, which investigates digital opportunities in the interface between the travel and tourism start-ups industry and the Lufthansa Group, for example, mytaximatch venture for commuter taxi trips launched at the Munich airport.”

Background

• Lufthansa is the only airline in Europe to win a five-star rating. The company operates 35 weekly flights on lines from Frankfurt and Munich to Tel Aviv and another 2 weekly flights on the Frankfurt-Eilat line
• SWISS operates 14 weekly flights on your Tel Aviv route and Edelweiss, which is also a member of the group, operates 2 weekly flights on the Zurich-Eilat route.
• Austrian Airlines operates 18 weekly flights on the Vienna-Tel Aviv line
• Brussels Airlines operates 11 weekly flights on the Brussels-Tel Aviv route

In addition to its wide track offerings, Lufthansa continues to invest in product development, both in medium and long term objectives. The Tel Aviv route was the first to offer Lufthansa entertainment for short-to-medium-term destinations, using the award-winning Board Connect platform. On most flights to and from Tel Aviv, passengers can watch thousands of hours of video and audio right on their mobile phones, tablets and even on their laptops.

The Lufthansa Group is the largest aviation group in the world in terms of turnover, and it also leads the European aviation market. The group invests an average of €1 million a day in improvements to aircraft passenger classes, for example, the furniture and refurbishing of more than 100 of the company’s planes.

“We thank our loyal customers, our partners in the tourism and aviation industry and the employees who helped with the pioneering spirit of building the success of the Israeli airline,” added Kish.