Deutsche Lufthansa AG (German pronunciation: [ˌdɔʏtʃə ˈlʊfthanzaː ʔaːˈɡeː] ), or simply Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it ranks second in Europe for passengers carried, largest in Europe and fourth largest in the world by revenue. Lufthansa is also one of the five founding members of Star Alliance, which is the world’s largest airline alliance, formed in 1997. Lufthansa was founded in 1953 and commenced operations in April 1955.
Besides operating flights under its own brand, the Lufthansa Group also owns several other airlines, including Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines, Eurowings and Swiss International Air Lines. The group also owns several aviation-related companies, including Global Load Control, Lufthansa Consulting, Lufthansa Flight Training, Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik.
The company was founded as Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf (often shortened to Luftag) on 6 January 1953 by staff of the former Deutsche Luft Hansa, Germany’s national airline founded in 1926. While Deutsche Luft Hansa played a significant role in the development of commercial aviation in Germany, it was liquidated in 1951 due to its association with the Nazi regime during World War II. Luftag adopted the branding of the former flag carrier by acquiring the Luft Hansa name and logo in 1954.
Lufthansa’s corporate headquarters are in Cologne. The main operations base, called Lufthansa Aviation Center, is located at Frankfurt Airport, the airline’s primary hub. It also maintains a secondary hub at Munich Airport, along with its Flight Operations Centre.