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Lufthansa German Airlines celebrated their first take off from Athens Airport half a century ago by saluting the crew of the Lufthansa flight leaving Eleftherios Venizelos at 14.00h. Paulo Yoshikawa, General Manager Greece and Cyprus, handed over flowers to the departing crew at the gate, where the passengers celebrated with them. “Since 50 years Lufthansa connects the Greek capital with Germany and the rest of the world”, Paulo Yoshikawa, General Manager for Greece and Cyprus stated.
On May 11th, 1959, at 12.25h Lufthansa German Airlines took off for the first time from Athens Airport. The first flight arrived from Hamburg in ATH on May 10th, and left Athens the next day, flying back to Hamburg, after stops in Duesseldorf and Frankfurt after nearly 8 hours at their final destination Hamburg Airport. The flight was operated with a Vickers Viscount 814. On board this flight LH 295 have been 21 Greek officials and journalists, such as Mr. Tricoupis (General Secretary Minister of Communication), Mr. Theodoridis (Director Minister of Labour), Mr. Carabetsos (Head of Police), Mr. Kyriakopoulos (2nd Governor National bank of Greece), Mr. Kanelopoulos (Director Economicos Tachydromos), Mr. Chronopoulos (Director National Radio) and several others.
Lufthansa started regular service on May 13th, 1959 with a Vickers Viscount D-ANUR. The return fare in Economy Class of this flight between Hamburg and Athens at that time was 1.124 DM, which equals 562 euros.
Since 1959 Lufthansa German Airlines has carried several millions of passengers from and to Greece. Throughout these years Lufthansa has contributed to the impressive growth of tourism in Greece at a large extend and played a major role in the improvement of airline network between Greece and the rest of the world. Lufthansa has always been a company relying on investment in technical innovation and high standards. Today Lufthansa has got one of the most modern fleets in the world, offering online services, electronic ticketing, a sophisticated bonus program and professional service. Since several years Lufthansa operates 6 daily flights from Athens to Germany, connecting Greece with more than 200 worldwide destinations.
Due to their 50.birthday the German carrier invites all customers to celebrate with them. On www.lufthansa.com attractive prices are to be won while joining an online game at www.50flightyears.gr, developed especially for celebrating the 50 years of Lufthansa in Greece and offering 2 tickets worldwide. In cooperation with various radio stations Lufthansa raffles flight tickets: it’,s worth listening to Radio Rythmos 94.9. But also for their regular customers, the Miles&More members, Lufthansa has created presents: Double mileage or 50% more miles for a period of 50 days are only some of the birthday presents Lufthansa wants to share with their frequent flyers. “Together with our Greek partners, such as Aegean Airlines, Bag Stories, Hellenic Duty Free, Classical Hotels, Grecotel, Parousiasi, Piraeus Bank and e-shop.gr, Lufthansa Miles&More has become the most attractive loyalty program in Greece”, Paulo Yoshikawa explained.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
