Lufthansa has no plans to reintroduce flights to Zimbabwe

Lufthansa has no plans to reintroduce flights to Zimbabwe
Published: 25 July 2013
BERLIN - Germany's flag carrier Lufthansa says it has no immediate plans to reintroduce flights to Harare despite renewed interest and comebacks by other major airlines in recent times, a company spokesperson has said.

Luftansa group communications director for Africa Aage Dünhaupt told NewsDay yesterday that Europe's biggest airline in terms of overall passengers and fleet size would, however, remain connected to Harare through its Star Alliance partnership with South African Airways.

The Star Alliance network is the leading global airline network, with the highest number of member airlines, daily flights, destinations and countries flown to.

It was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer customers convenient worldwide reach and a smoother travel experience.

"If at one point a larger passenger volume might be available it could become an option to fly directly, but this is not foreseen right now," Dünhaupt said.

Lufthansa, together with other international airlines, including Qantas, Air France and Egypt Air, pulled out of Zimbabwe between 1998 and 2008 citing dwindling passenger volumes due to a turbulent political environment.

But with the stabilisation of the Zimbabwean economy following the introduction of a multi-currency regime in 2009, some of the airlines have resumed flights, filling the void left by the embattled flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe.

"The aviation landscape has changed over the last years and alliances between airlines have become a significant asset when it comes to efficient connectivity between countries," Dünhaupt said.

"Concerning Harare, we can say that our Star Alliance partner South African Airways is serving the route between Johannesburg and Harare and as part of a code-share deal also offers a Lufthansa flight number.

"This way we can ensure that Harare is part of our network even if it is not served directly by a Lufthansa-branded airplane. Other large European airlines, like Air France and British Airways, do the same to service the trunk routes via Nairobi and Johannesburg, respectively."
- newsday
Tags: Lafthansa, Flights,

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