Lufthansa celebrates 60 years at Heathrow
Above:
A Lufthansa Boeing 727–100 approaching London Heathrow Airport in 1978.
Copyright Steve Fitzgerald
It was on the 16th of May 1955 that Lufthansa’s first flights operated with Convair 340 aircraft arrived at Heathrow - then known simply as London Airport. First to touch down was flight LH 130 from Hamburg via Dusseldorf and this was followed soon after by the inaugural flight from Munich via Frankfurt.
Although London Heathrow was small compared to its current size, Lufthansa’s inaugural flights proved to be a big aeronautical event with the German Ambassador there to see the aircraft make history. This proved to be the starting point for Lufthansa’s rapid expansion in the UK and Ireland. Within four years the propeller aircraft era was coming to an end and Lufthansa’s first Boeing 707 was ready to be used for the increasing number of passengers travelling to and from London. In 1979, less than 25 years after the start of services, Heathrow became Lufthansa’s main traffic centre abroad by carrying its one millionth passenger - the first time this figure had been reached at any airport outside Germany.
Today Lufthansa continues to be one of the largest carriers to operate out of London Heathrow. With 2.34 million passengers travelling to and from the UK in 2014, it is now among Lufthansa’s top 5 markets worldwide. This summer Lufthansa offers 291 weekly flights from eight airports in the UK and Ireland to its Frankfurt and Munich hubs providing quick and easy onward connections to the airline’s worldwide network.
“We are proud to be celebrating sixty years of Lufthansa tradition in the UK” says Christian Schindler, Lufthansa’s Regional Director UK, Ireland and Iceland. “Throughout the last six decades, Lufthansa has provided a superior travel experience for our passengers travelling to and from the UK. Our desire to continually improve our customer’s travel experience has been key to our success and this will continue in the years to come. At Heathrow this will centre round our recent move to the new Terminal 2, the Queen’s Terminal.”
The new Queen’s Terminal, opened in June 2014, is now home to Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners. This means all Star Alliance carriers can offer their passengers a vastly improved travel experience, including shorter connecting times. The latest technology is used throughout the terminal to give passengers control of their journey. The new terminal also hosts Lufthansa’s largest lounge outside Germany, offering comfortable seating for 350 guests in 1,600 square meters featuring both a Senator and a Business Lounge.
