Logo Deutsche Luft Hansa AG 1926

 Logo Deutsche Lufthansa AG 1954

 Logo Deutsche Lufthansa AG since 1964

Company history

After the merger of Deutsche Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr AG on January 6, 1926, the “Deutsche Luft Hansa AG” was born. Until today, the carrier transformed to one of the world’s most renowned and successful airlines. With its Junkers F 13, Lufthansa was the first to use an aircraft specially designed for passenger flights. Back in 1926, Deutche Luft Hansa counted 162 airplanes, most of them outdated remainders of World War I. Within the 1930s, Lufthansa recognised it needed to appear as a reliable and comfortable airline in order to be successful. Thus, even experiences pilots were sent back to flight school where they learned how to fly by instruments only, as well as under adverse weather conditions to be prepared for any potential scenario. With new and bigger aircrafts, long-haul travel became possible. However, this euphoria soon ended within the 1940s, where Lufthansa found itself in war. Although the airline’s business continued as usual, Lufthansa was obliged by the German government to provide services and transport flights. However, during the years of World War II, an increasing number of routes had to be cut down and pilots now served the German air force. On April 22, 1945, the “old” Lufthansa operated its last flight before the Allied took over control and suspended all remaining passenger flights. The reestablishment of Deutsche Lufthansa happened in the early 1950s, also including the establishment of new centres in Hamburg, Cologne and Frankfurt. In 1954, the airline’s name finally changed into “Deutsche Lufthansa AG” and was accompanied by a new logo. After Lufthansa became part of the IATA in 1955, the carrier’s success started to kick-off with overseas flights. With the revolution of new jet aircrafts like the fourengined Boeing B707, Lufthansa was able to restructure its entire route network since the new airplanes flew with higher speed, increased capacities and improved ranges. Within the next decades, air space became more crowded with new airline companies starting their own operations. This development required Lufthansa to come up with a newly designed corporate identity and a more focused market orientation in order to compete for customers. When it became an official member of the “Star Alliance” in the early 1990s, Lufthansa soon became one of the industry leaders fully prepared to take off for the new millennium.

Strapline

Lufthansa - There's no better way to fly

Key people

 Dr. Christoph Franz, CEO

Dr. Christoph Franz serves as Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Lufthansa AG since January 1, 2011. As such, he is responsible for the Lufthansa Group, which comprises the Passenger Airline Group, Logistics, MRO, Catering and IT Services segments and has over 120,000 employees worldwide. From  1992  to  1994,  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  staff  team around  then-CEO  Jürgen  Weber  which  devised  and  effected  the  airline’s  corporate turnaround  following  the  upheavals  of  the  first  Gulf  War.  In 1994, Franz moved to Deutsche Bahn AG, where he held various executive functions over the next nine years.

 Stephan Gemkow, CFO

Stephan Gemkow has been Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG since 1 June 2006. As of June 2009 he is also responsible for Aviation Services. After joining Lufthansa in 1990, he then moved on to work in various management positions before serving as Area Sales Manager in Washington D.C. from 1994 to 1997. He subsequently took over as Head of Investor Relations, and in 2001, was appointed Senior Vice President Corporate Finance. In February 2004, Stephan Gemkow joined the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo AG, where he was responsible for Finance and Human Resources.

 Hubert Frach, VP Marketing

Since May 2008, Hubert Frach serves as Vice President Marketing for Deutsche Lufthansa and is responsible for the group’s brand management, as well as marketing and sales activities. He is also responsible for the marketing activities of Lufthansa’s frequent flyer programme Miles & More and the Lufthansa WorldShop.