Lufthansa is this winter adding more destinations and frequencies to its existing network. An average of 12,218 flights per week are scheduled, compared with 11,803 flights (+3.5%) in the 2009/10 winter period.

From 31 October, when the new timetable goes into effect, Lufthansa will offer flights to 197 destinations in 85 countries (previous year: 191 destinations in 78 countries). The three latest additions to the route network are Bogotá, Pointe Noire and Luxembourg. “We are not only giving our customers access to an extended network to South America and Africa,” says Lufthansa German Airlines Board member Karl Ulrich Garnadt. “From now on, we will also be flying a number of seasonal routes, such as Munich–Montreal or Dusseldorf–Venice, in the winter months, making those cities all-year-round destinations for the first time.”

Available seat capacity in the forthcoming winter timetable will be increased by 9.1 cent year-on-year. This increase is attributable to Lufthansa’s ongoing fleet renewal programme, under which existing aircraft are gradually being replaced by larger and more fuel efficient aircraft.

The other four carriers in the Lufthansa Airline Group – Austrian Airlines, bmi, Brussels Airlines and SWISS – are also launching their winter schedule on 31 October. Together, the five airlines will then serve 258 destinations in 107 countries on four continents from their hubs at Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Munich, Vienna and Zurich, and also augment each other’s frequencies with numerous codeshare flights.