Lufthansa to launch Business Jet service to Pune, India

From 1 July 2008, Lufthansa will launch a new Business Jet service from Frankfurt to Pune in western India. Passengers will be able to reach Pune non-stop, six times a week in an Airbus A319 which has been refitted as a Business Jet.

"The Lufthansa services are increasing in line with the ongoing, very dynamic economic development in India," said Dr. Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht, Senior Vice President Hub Management Frankfurt. "With seven non-stop destinations and 55 flights per week, Lufthansa remains the leading European airline in India. We have almost quadrupled our flights to India since 2001, when we operated 15 flights per week to three destinations."

Lufthansa will operate services to Pune as all-Business Class flights. The Airbus A319 has been refitted as a Business Jet and is operated by PrivatAir, a VIP and business aviation specialist. The aircraft has 48 modern lie-flat seats which, when fully reclined, provide an almost horizontal sleeping surface measuring two metres (6’6”) in length. Bigger seat pitches, more generous table-top areas, power ports for notebooks as well as a reading lamp that is integrated into the seat provide ideal conditions for business travellers to work during the flight. 

Pune lies about 200 kilometres south-east of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and is one of the most up-and-coming industrial cities in India. The greater Pune metropolitan area has a population of just under five million. Pune is home to many large international firms in the IT, biotechnology and biochemistry sectors. The region is also regarded as the centre of the automotive industry and a key manufacturing base for numerous international car manufacturing companies in India. European carmakers like Mercedes, Volkswagen, Renault, Fiat, Skoda and Audi as well as the large Indian automobile companies Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto manufacture cars in their plants in Pune mainly for the Asian market.

Pune, which is twinned with Bremen, has become an important location for German companies. About 200 German companies are currently represented there. This, the second-largest city in the state of Maharashtra is also a major cultural centre for the region and home to the reputed Film and Television Institute of India. Pune has several universities and is a key centre of education. The hilly city, which used to be called Poona, has many historic sites and in the 1970s became a place of pilgrimage for thousands of people from all over the world.

The return fare in the Lufthansa Business Jet from Frankfurt to Pune can be booked at the special introductory fare of 2,199 euros from today, 24 April until the end of June 2008. This includes all taxes, fees and the Lufthansa Ticket Service Charge.

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