Lufthansa’s first ‘all business’ flight

The maiden Lufthansa flight from Pune to Frankfurt drew a lukewarm response today.
Although officials of the airline remained tightlipped about the numbers, it is reported that only 31 passengers were aboard the Frankfurt-Pune flight while it was much worse for the return Pune-Frankfurt trip where only seven passengers turned up. The all-business class A-319 flight has a capacity to carry 48 passengers.
Speculation had been rife about the response to a flight without an economy class — and carrying a fare of Rs 95,000 for a return ticket. This was especially the case as the city has a huge demand from students and other travellers for a connecting flight to the US, via Germany.
Asked about the monthly target of passengers from Pune, Lufthansa director (South Asia) Werner Heesen was non-committal. “We are sure the route will be profitable,” he said.
Though Heesen was unwilling to say how many passengers boarded the first Pune-Frankfurt, sources reiterated that the figure stood at seven. Airport director J P Mathur confirmed that there were less than 10 passengers.
“It generally happens for the first flight. I am sure it will rise in a few days,” he maintained. It may be recalled that the maiden Pune-Dubai flight in December 2005 had carried 185 passengers against its capacity of 201.
Asked why there was no economy class in the flight, Heesen said, “One of the limitations is the infrastructure available at Pune airport. We cannot fly big aircrafts as the runway here is not sufficiently long.”
03/07/08 SiddharthKelkar/Expressindia.com

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Categories: Foreign Jul 2008, New Jul 2008