Lufthansa
To Commence Bangalore Flights In September
By
Lakshman V /Bangalore
In
an attempt to cash in on the growing leisure and corporate segment
from the state, the German carrier Lufthansa with the Airbus 340
aircraft will be commencing three weekly flights from Frankfurt
to Bangalore, beginning September, this year. Informing about
the latest initiative to Express Travel & Tourism, Harald
Hahn, general manager-south Asia, Lufthansa, said, “Bangalore
being the country’s IT capital, there is tremendous potential
for the air travel market. With the commencement of our three
new services to the city and our existing three flights a week
to Chennai, we are in effect offering our customers almost daily
connections to South India. We will be operating Frankfurt-Bangalore
flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while Bangalore-Frankfurt
flights will operate on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.” The
decision assumes strategic importance and comes close on the heels
of the German government’s recent efforts in initiating some
policy changes to attract IT professionals and business visitors
from India. Incidentally Lufthansa, is the third international
airlines to enter Bangalore, after Royal Nepal Airlines and Malaysian
Airlines. Moreover, it is the first major player to connect Bangalore
to the west and hence holds enormous potential. “Lufthansa
also plans to extend its ‘e-check-in’ facility to Bangalore.
So, travellers can now buy tickets on-line, make the payment with
a credit card and check-in or block a seat of their choice via
the Internet. It is also possible to check-in using a Wap phone.
To facilitate entry at the airport, Lufthansa will send out a
list of e-ticket passengers to the security personnel posted at
the airport gate giving the airport authorities advance information
regarding the passengers. The passengers, however, will have to
check-in baggage using the conventional mode,” added Hahn.
Lufthansa is planning to offer an inaugural airfare for the Bangalore-Frankfurt-Bangalore
sector, at a competitive price. In order to retain its status
as one of the leading international airline operating in India,
the airline is also focussing on customers comfort and enhancement
of services. This is particularly so in case of Bangalore, as
it is the first airline flying to Europe from the city and hence
plans to retain the ‘first mover’ advantage.
Further commenting on the various marketing initiatives by the
airline that has generated plenty of interest in its Bangalore
flights, Hahn mentioned, “We plan to organise a lucky draw
for first and business class tickets purchased on the Web, with
a top-end car as a prize. We also plan to hold a ‘mind &
money’ quiz on our website, www.lufthansa-India.com, where
participants can win voucher’ coupons, which can be redeemed
against air tickets purchased, online. An advertising campaign
is also planned to be released as a run-up to the launch.”
Globally, the airline is focussing on enhancing the revenues obtained
from its top global corporate accounts by 20 per cent, this year.
e-commerce initiatives will also be of priority with the airlines
website at the forefront of all Internet activities. InfoFlyway,
the airline’s own website at www.lufthansa.com, will also
remain at the forefront of the
airlines Internet activities.
