Lufthansa

1950s: Post-war (re-)formation

Lufthansa traces its history to 1926 when Deutsche Luft Hansa was formed in Berlin by the merger of Deutscher Aero Lloyd, the world's sixth-oldest airline, and Junkers Luftverkehr. Deutsche Luft Hansa was Germany's flag carrier until the outbreak of war when it came under the command of the Luftwaffe. During the war, the airline was focused mainly on aircraft maintenance and repair in which forced labour was employed on the site of Berlin Tempelhof Airport. Following the surrender of Germany and the ensuing Allied occupation of Germany, all aircraft in the country were seized and Deutsche Luft Hansa was dissolved. The remaining assets were liquidated on 1 January 1951.

In an effort to create a new national airline, a company called Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf (Luftag) was founded in the city of Cologne in West Germany on 6 January 1953, with many of its staff having worked for the pre-war Deutsche Luft Hansa.

West Germany had not yet been granted full sovereignty over its airspace, so it was not known when the new airline could become operational. Nevertheless, in 1953, Luftag placed orders for four Convair CV-340 and four Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations aircraft and set up a maintenance base at Hamburg Airport. On 6 August 1954, Luftag acquired the name and logo of the liquidated Deutsche Lufthansa for DM 30,000 (equivalent to €41,000 today), thus continuing the tradition of a German flag carrier with that name.

On 1 April 1955, Lufthansa won approval to commence operation of scheduled domestic flights. The airline's initial network linked Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Munich. International flights started on 15 May 1955, to London, Paris, and Madrid, followed by Super Constellation flights to New York City from 1 June of that year, and across the South Atlantic from August 1956.

However, the political realities of the time presented challenges for the airline. The United States, Soviet Union, Britain and France did not allow Lufthansa to fly to any part of the divided Berlin during the division of Germany. The airline had hoped this would only be a temporary matter and planned to move its headquarters and primary hub back to the German capital once the political situation changed, plans that ultimately never came to fruition, even after the lifting of these restrictions owing to German reunification in 1990 and the opening of the new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport in 2020. Instead, Lufthansa turned Frankfurt Airport into its primary hub in 1958.

The airline also embarked on a marketing campaign to encourage travelers to consider visiting West Germany as it rebuilt in the wake of World War II and to use its hub to connect to other locations across Europe. By 1963, the airline, initially limited in its public relations efforts, had become a major purveyor of West Germany's image abroad.

During this time, East Germany attempted to establish its own "Lufthansa" airline in 1955, but legal challenges from the West German carrier led to its abandonment. East Germany subsequently launched Interflug as its national carrier in 1963.

1960s: Introduction of jetliners

Lufthansa embraced the jet age in 1958 by ordering four Boeing 707 aircraft. This marked a significant leap forward, allowing them to launch jet flights between Frankfurt and New York City in March 1960. To further bolster their jet fleet, Boeing 720B aircraft (a 707 derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways) were later acquired.

Lufthansa's network continued to expand throughout the early 1960s. In February 1961, their Far East routes extended beyond Bangkok to include Hong Kong and Tokyo. Africa saw additions in 1962 with Lagos, Nigeria, and Johannesburg, South Africa joining the network.

Innovation continued with the introduction of the Boeing 727 in 1964. This enabled Lufthansa to launch a pioneering Polar route from Frankfurt to Tokyo via Anchorage in May of that year. Further expansion plans were solidified in February 1965 with the order of twenty-one Boeing 737 aircraft, entering service in 1968.

Lufthansa's role in Boeing's history is noteworthy. They hold the distinction of being the first customers for the Boeing 737 and one of only four buyers of the initial 737-100 model (alongside NASA, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, and Avianca). While NASA technically had the first built 737 airframe, it was ultimately delivered last and originally intended for Lufthansa, making them the first foreign launch customer for a Boeing airliner.

1970s–1980s: The wide-body era

The wide-body era for Lufthansa started with a Boeing 747 flight on 26 April 1970. It was followed by the introduction of the DC-10-30 on 14 January 1974, and the first Airbus A300 in 1976. In 1979, Lufthansa and Swissair became launch customers for the Airbus A310 with an order for 25 aircraft.

The company's fleet modernisation programme for the 1990s began on 29 June 1985, with an order for fifteen Airbus A320s and seven Airbus A300-600s. Ten Boeing 737-300s were ordered a few days later. All were delivered between 1987 and 1992.