Lufthansa Plans Major Expansion in India with New Flight Routes and Collaborations

Later this year, Lufthansa plans to launch two more services, substantially expanding its presence in India. According to the company’s head of global markets and network, the new flights would begin from Bengaluru and Hyderabad, both of which are in South India. The Lufthansa Group sees India as a key market and is open to expanding its relationship with Air India as it seeks to become a major player in the region.

Harry Hohmeister, Director of Global Markets & Network at Lufthansa, announced that the airline will add two new routes to its operations departing from India later this year. One of them will run from Bengaluru to Munich, while the other from Hyderabad to Frankfurt.

There is currently no set date for the start of the Frankfurt-Hyderabad service, which will begin in the winter. According to Lufthansa, there will be three flights a week between Munich and Bengaluru beginning on November 3rd. With a daily trip, the airline already connects Bengaluru and Frankfurt. With these new services, Lufthansa’s winter schedule out of India will increase from 54 to 62 flights each week.

Hohmeister believes there would be enough passengers for these trips, even with a stronger Air India and other carriers. He said, “There is enough room for all. The travel market is growing at 10% annually. Also, India was getting out of (COVID) crisis better than other countries. Our plans for India, therefore, have to be different, too.”

The privatization of Air India and other Indian carriers’ expansion strategies have significantly altered India’s aviation industry. In order to promote the growth of Indian airlines, the Indian government is keeping a tight rein on bilateral rights, particularly for carriers in the Middle East.

Although Hohmeister agrees that India needs a strong airline, he also believes that, in the long run, easing bilateral rights would benefit consumers. He stated, “The country, and all airlines will be better off, if they release the restrictions in the long run and if we guarantee the passengers free travel. It will take some time and I guess, it will take some work.”

The consolidation of Air India, in the eyes of Lufthansa, is a step forward for international aviation, and the company hopes to work with it more in the future. Carsten Spohr, the chairman and CEO of Lufthansa Group, spoke with N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons and Air India (AI), last year about potential future synergies. Goh Choon Phong, CEO of Singapore Airlines (SIA), took part in the conversation as well.

According to recent speculations, Lufthansa Technik may team up with Air India to compete for the MRO firm AI Engineering Services Limited (AIESL). The development of the collaboration between the two carriers over time will be intriguing to watch.