Deutsche Lufthansa AG (commonly referred to as Lufthansa) is the largest airline in Germany and one of the three largest airlines in the world. More than 45 million passengers take Lufthansa flights each year on a network that is spread relatively evenly around the world. Lufthansa operates a fleet of about 370 planes, most all of them owned rather than leased, and is a founding member of the Star Alliance.
The Lufthansa Group also includes Lufthansa CityLine, a regional airline. Other units, such as data processing specialist Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Flight Training, have developed into world-leading businesses. Lufthansa Cargo AG is considered the world's largest carrier of international airfreight, according to the Journal of Commerce, while LSG Sky Chefs heads the world's largest alliance of in-flight caterers. Lufthansa also holds a 50 percent interest in Thomas Cook AG, Europe's second largest travel group and majority owner of the Condor Flugdienst GmbH air charter service.
After World War I, the German government favored the development of a national airline system made up of a number of associated regional airlines. One of the largest airline companies, Deutscher Aero Lloyd, was incorporated in 1923 and centered its operations on Berlin's Temple Field. The following year, Junkers Luftverkehr was founded. Junkers built airplanes in addition to operating an airline. Together the two companies dominated German aviation.
The two companies merged with all the other German aeronautic concerns in 1926 to form Deutsche Luft Hansa Aktiengesellschaft (the name "Hansa" was taken from the north-German Hanseatic trading league, which had contributed most of the airline's private capital). Luft Hansa was a government-run private monopoly--the chosen instrument for all German air services. The company's logo was taken from Aero Lloyd and its blue and yellow colors were taken from Junkers. By May 1926, Luft Hansa served 57 domestic and 15 international airports.
In 1934, under the new name "Lufthansa," the company opened an airmail service between Stuttgart and Buenos Aires. As an instrument of state commerce and diplomacy, Lufthansa flew to numerous destinations around the world, including Beijing, New York, Cairo, Bangkok, and Tokyo. Regarded as an instrument of the state, Lufthansa increasingly came under the control of the ruling Nazi Party. Lufthansa began service to destinations in the Soviet Union during 1940. These routes provided the German Luftwaffe ("air force") with valuable strategic information used in Hitler's surprise invasion of the Soviet Union two years later. In 1941, the Luftwaffe assumed control of Lufthansa's airplanes and converted many of them for military use. As the war continued, many Lufthansa employees were drafted into military service in support of the Luftwaffe, and many lost their lives.
After the war, Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union, the United States, France, and Britain. The Soviet-occupied zone later became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), and the American, French, and British zones became the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). A general state of belligerency between the Soviet Union and the western allies further divided East and West Germany. Under the conditions of the occupation, both East and West Germany were forbidden to establish their own airline companies. British, French, and American airlines had a monopoly on air service in West Germany, while the Soviet airline Aeroflot assumed all air services in East Germany.
By 1951, the reestablishment of a national airline for West Germany was proposed. The following year, the West German government in Bonn set up a preparatory airline corporation, and on January 6, 1953, Luftag (Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf) was created in Cologne. Hans Bongers, who joined Lufthansa in 1926, was reinstated as director of the national airline. Luftag began service with four Convair 340s, later joined by
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