"The demand for Cape Town as a top leisure destination is the reason for adding two additional flights during South Africa's summer season effectively increasing the seat offer by almost 20%," explains Schulz. The expanded operations with an Airbus A340-600 will also offer local business and leisure travelers a growing network of European and Trans-Atlantic flights from Lufthansa's Bavarian Hub.
Munich Terminal 2 is celebrating over a decade of operations and is a joint venture between Lufthansa and Munich Airport's operators. At the start of 2015, the airport received its 5-Star award from Skytrax, the first non-Asian airport to be bestowed the honor. The airport will open a satellite to Terminal 2 in April 2016, boosting capacity by 11 million passengers annually.
Furthermore, Lufthansa is upgrading its service on the Johannesburg - Frankfurt route. Commencing in October, the carrier will operate the Boeing 747-8, the next generation of the iconic Jumbo Jet. Known as the "Queen of the skies," Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental (passenger version) will be the first of this type of new "new Jumbo" to serve the African Continent.
"South Africa continues to play a significant role in our African as well as intercontinental network. The four-class Boeing 747-8 is our most advanced long-haul aircraft, bringing unparalleled comfort and premium service to our customers with the most advanced, fuel- efficient long-haul aircraft in the Lufthansa fleet," said Schulz.
Speaking to media about the Group's strategy, Goudarzi-Pour, vice president, Sales and Services for the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Europe for Lufthansa German Airlines presented the attributes of the next generation Boeing 747-8 and Lufthansa's raft of new onboard products. Beyond its technical superiority, the aircraft's seat configuration fits in with the South Africa's most discerning travelers and market demands.
"We are investing 1 million euros daily in our onboard products, retrofitting over 100 long haul aircraft including those serving South Africa, with Lufthansa's award-winning first class, business class as well as new premium economy cabin," added Goudarzi-Pour. Lufthansa, which ordered 19 of the stretched Boeing 747, will operate the aircraft on the Johannesburg route in a four-class cabin configuration (eight first class, 80 business class, 32 premium economy class and 244 economy class).
Retrofitting of Lufthansa's long-haul fleet with the new first and business class cabins will be completed by July, with premium economy available on many routes including Johannesburg. This new class of service for Lufthansa creates a fresh travel experience that combines affordability with greater comfort. The seats offer up to 50 percent more room than Economy Class and positions Lufthansa as a leader in offering premium service in all four classes of service.
Lufthansa's first class passengers flying from South Africa already enjoy the highest quality of service and luxury available on board, the superb comfort of the award-winning first class cabin with its ergonomically contoured seat that converts into a fully flat, two-metre long bed has won a 5-star award from Skytrax, the travel industry's independent quality institution.
In addition, the new business class offers a fully-flat bed, upgraded meal service and a 15" inch TV monitors with one of the most advanced in-flight entertainment systems in existence.
Onboard product advances are, of course, only one facet of the Lufthansa Group's multi-year investment programme. Currently, Europe's largest aviation group has over 260 aircraft on order for delivery until 2025 worth 36 billion euros at list price. These include 34 Boeing 777-9x and 25 Airbus A350s, the latter of which will commence service from Munich during 2016.
"With these investments, Lufthansa is well on its way to becoming the first Western airline to receive a 5-star ranking from Skytrax," noted Goudarzi-Pour.
Southern Africa is also being served by Swiss International Air Lines with daily flights between Johannesburg and Zurich. The Swiss carrier and Lufthansa Group subsidiary operates the Airbus A340 between these two cities and intends to upgrade its product in the first half of 2016 with one of Swiss's new Boeing 777-300.
For the fifth year running, Edelweiss, Switzerland's leading leisure carrier and a subsidiary of Swiss, will connect Cape Town with Zurich non-stop twice a week during South Africa's high season operating flights from 26 October 2015 until 25 March 2016. Edelweiss has also recently completed a major refurbishing programme of their cabin, now offering three classes, namely the flat bed business class, the economy max and the normal economy class.
The African Continent remains one of the Lufthansa Group's top regions with new routes being planned for Nairobi as well additional gateways for Brussels Airlines in Accra(Ghana) Kigali (Rwand)' Lomé (Togo) Cotonou (Benin) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).
