Lufthansa Private Jet on course for success

Two years after the introduction of the Lufthansa Private Jet (LPJ), demand for individual, flexible air travel is so strong that Lufthansa is expanding its premium service. The company is investing in its own private jets to augment the existing Lufthansa Private Jet service.

The new aircraft will be purchased next year and fitted with exclusive interiors. Lufthansa’s own jets are expected to go into service in spring 2008.

By building up its own Private Jet fleet, Lufthansa will be in a better position to tailor the product to customer requirements and also offer a more flexible service. “Customer demand for the Lufthansa Private Jet has risen steadily in 2007 and at times outstripped capacity,” said Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Lufthansa Passenger Airlines.

“The continued growth in demand shows us that our customers want a top-quality Lufthansa service. By creating our own Private Jet service, we are broadening our product portfolio, and we will thus be able to offer customers a full range of services from one source: from reasonably priced fares such as betterFly through to flexible, exclusive trips with the Lufthansa Private Jet.”

Based on the excellent market response, Lufthansa anticipates steady growth in this segment. Today 70 per cent of all LPJ passengers fly point-to-point within Europe. Thirty per cent of customers use the LPJ service to connect directly with onward long-haul flights operated by Lufthansa or SWISS via Frankfurt, Munich or Zurich.

With its innovative approach to linking scheduled flights and Private Jet flights, Lufthansa has increased its ability to attract potential customers, particularly in the premium segment. Customer satisfaction ratings for this premium service remain consistently high at over 90 per cent.

Product innovations – such as the introduction of the worldwide limousine service to and from the departure airport or access to the First Class facilities at Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich - have guaranteed constantly high customer satisfaction levels. Equally, customers appreciate the intensive and customer-oriented service provided by Lufthansa’s special service teams.

As Lufthansa is setting up its own LPJ service, cooperation with the previous provider NetJets Europe will cease in February 2008. Until the fleet has reached the required size for 2008, individual LPJ flights will be operated by partners certified by Lufthansa.

In March 2005, Lufthansa became the first international carrier to offer a private jet service in the premium segment. Point-to-point flights between as many as 1,000 destinations within Europe and the Russian Federation plus individual, seamless connections to Lufthansa’s international route network complement the extensive scheduled services operated by Lufthansa and Swiss.

Flights are offered at a fixed, all-inclusive price. Members of the Lufthansa Miles & More frequent flyer programme are awarded 10,000 miles per flight leg. For detailed information, visit lufthansa-private-jet.com.