Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, is adding five new destinations and 61 new connections this summer, resulting in services to and from Berlin increasing fourfold.

While flight offerings, particularly from Berlin to seasonal holiday destinations in Europe, have been increased, in the long-haul sector, two new destinations will be added to Lufthansa’s network in China.

In the new summer timetable, Lufthansa will operate flights to 216 destinations in 83 countries (compared to 211 destinations in 84 countries in 2011).

“Never before have we been able to offer our customers so many connections to such a large number of destinations,” said Jens Bischof, a member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board. “From June onwards, we will massively increase our offer of non-stop connections to more than one thousand take-offs and landings per week.”

The summer timetable comes into effect on March 25 and ends on October 27.

The opening of Germany’s largest airport – Berlin Brandenburg (BER) – June 3 will mark a new chapter for Lufthansa. From that date, the airline will offer 28 new non-stop connections, thus expanding its route network to and from the German capital from eleven to 39 routes (26 to European destinations and two new routes from Berlin to the Middle East).

With the introduction of the summer timetable, services will be resumed to Shenyang in northeastern China. From there, the flight will continue on to Qingdao (formerly known as Tsingtao) on China’s eastern seaboard, linking the city for the first time to Lufthansa’s route network.

This summer, Lufthansa is focusing heavily on seasonal connections to popular holiday resorts.

The airline is adding four new, attractive holiday destinations to its network: Knock in Ireland, Montpellier in France, Odessa in Ukraine and Pula in Croatia. For leisure travellers, Lufthansa is also laying on a wide choice of new seasonal connections to European resorts, including 17 new routes from Düsseldorf, six from Hamburg, 18 from Munich and 16 from Frankfurt.

“For the ‘best weeks’ of the year, Lufthansa provides reliability, an all-round service and thus a relaxing journey for holidaymakers travelling to beach or mountain resorts,” explained Bischof.

“On the Mediterranean alone, 29 Lufthansa destinations line the coast like a string of pearls. Summer visitors can quickly reach a further ten attractive destinations on the North Sea and the Atlantic with our non-stop flights. The majority of Europe’s most beautiful cities are served several times daily, making them ideal for a short break.” – TradeArabia News Service