Lufthansa Italia cleared for take-off

The first scheduled service to be operated by the new Lufthansa Italia airline is scheduled for take-off at 6.15 hours on 2 February 2009. The maiden LH1790 flight is from Milan to Barcelona. A second flight, LH1770, will take off for Paris 35 minutes later. Customers from Milan and the Lombardy region will in future have a choice of eight new non-stop connections within Europe from Malpensa.

The initial first two flights will be followed in early March by others to Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest and Madrid. London (Heathrow) and Lisbon will be added to the network in the 2009 summer flight schedules at the end of March.

Following the discontinuation of a number of flight connections in Milan-Malpensa, Lufthansa decided to lay on a range of new services ex Milan with its new Lufthansa Italia airline as soon as possible. All the requirements for the start of flight operations by the new carrier were met in very short time, allowing Lufthansa Italia to make a major contribution towards keeping the region on the air traffic map.

Karl Ulrich Garnadt, Executive Vice President Services and Human Resources at Lufthansa Passenger Airlines: “Lufthansa is for the first time launching a new airline outside Germany. That underscores our confidence in the strength of the Italian market and shows how great our support and customer base is in this important market. Simultaneously, it demonstrates Lufthansa’s capability to stay on its successful course even in the present difficult operating conditions in the airline industry and further strengthen its position in the European home market”.

The first two Airbus A319 aircraft in the fleet were today named Milan and Varese. They are configured to seat 138 passengers in Business and Economy Class. Awaiting passengers on board are in-flight services labelled “Sentirsi a casa“, which have been specially developed for Lufthansa Italia and designed to help customers feel at home. Cornetti filled with vanilla cream will be served for breakfast. During the day, tramezzini sandwiches with cheese and pesto will be offered as snacks.

On lunch-time flights and in the evening, the menu in Business Class includes ravioli stuffed with gorgonzola with pumpkin sauce or veal cutlets with gnocchi and lemon sauce. Aside from the usual juices and wines, the Italian-speaking flight attendants will offer passengers in both Business and Economy Class typical Italian drinks like spumante, grappa or averna. A wide choice of free Italian newspapers and magazines will keep the news-hungry entertained.

In the coming weeks, Lufthansa will in cooperation with the Milan SEA Airport company be successively improving the infrastructure at Malpensa to make the flight experience for passengers faster and more comfortable on the ground. The existing Lufthansa lounge will shortly re-appear in a splendid new and modern design, equipped with improved amenities.

Dedicated check-in counters and more Quick Check-in terminals as well as refurbished gate and baggage reclaim areas in the Lufthansa design will be available from February. The passage from the multi-story car park to the gate will also be shortened to help passengers get more quickly to their departure gate.

Flights with Lufthansa Italia can already be booked from 99 euros for the round-trip, including taxes and fees. Special inaugural fares are available to Lufthansa customers at lower cost to mark the start of the new connections. From now up to 10 February, passengers can book two tickets for the price of one from 99 euros to all Lufthansa Italia destinations. These flights, which are tied to a limited number of seats, can be taken on dates of a passenger’s choosing. The inaugural specials can be booked at Lufthansa.com or at a travel agency.