Lufthansa, the national carrier of Germany, began as one of the world''s early giants. Deutsche Luft Hansa began in 1926 and soon after was flying the largest regional services in Europe. Luft Hansa was the pioneer of the long haul flights to Central and South America. The official name was Deutsche Luft Hansa Akeiengesellschaft, which was shortened to Lufthansa in 1933. After WWII, the Allies liquidated Lufthansa, and the German government was not allowed to fly domestically or internationally. The German government fought to regain their right to fly and in 1950 was allowed to operate flights regionally and internationally.
In 1953 the German Government set up a new carrier name Luftag that eventually was renamed Deutsche Lufthansa. In 1954 Lufthansa resumed flying regular scheduled routes. The first fleet type was the Douglas DC-3 and a small flying bird and the new German flag was painted on the plane. In 1977 Lufthansa was finally given the right to start flying domestically again.
In 1997 Lufthansa, Air Canada, SAS, Thai Airways and United Airlines created the first alliance between large carriers called the Star Alliance. As a result all participating carriers have increased their reach with Lufthansa offering direct flights to 90 countries and servicing 300 cities throughout the world.
Today Lufthansa is the second largest European airline and one of the top ten largest airlines in the world, carrying 47 million passengers in 2003. They focus on safety with one of the youngest fleets of any carrier and the average plane being only 7 years old. Lufthansa is also one of the most punctual European airlines. 81% of its flights both take off and land on time.
Other airlines that offer flights to Germany include American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines, US Air, and United Airlines. The main points of entry into Germany are Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf. Most carriers require a layover but US Air, United Airlines, Delta, Continental and of course Lufthansa offer direct service from selected US cities.
