Deutsche Aero Lloyd (DAL) and Junkers Luftverkehr merged on January 6, 1926, to form Lufthansa Airlines, in Berlin. The airline was originally named as 'Deutsche Luft Hansa Aktiengesellschaft'. The name Lufthansa was first used in 1933 and since then, the airline is known by the name. Prior to the Second World War, Lufthansa excelled in its business, operated services on the routes to the Far East and covered a number of destinations in North Atlantic and South Atlantic parts, with a fleet of German designed aircrafts including Dornier, Junkers, Heinkel and Focke-Wulf.
Lufthansa is one of the premier airlines of the world and one of the largest in Europe, in terms of the number of passengers carried by it. The flag carrier of Germany derives its name from Luft (the German word for 'air') and Hansa (the Hanseatic Trade Organization that was active in Northern Europe, during the medieval period). Headquartered in Cologne, the major hub of the airline is located at Frankfurt Airport, in Frankfurt am Main. The airline boasts of having the third largest passenger airline fleet in the world and consists of modern aircrafts. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, one of the leading airlines alliances in the world.
Lufthansa Airlines fleet consists of aircraft like Embraer E-190, Boeing 747-400, Boeing 737-500, Boeing 737-300, Airbus A340-600, Airbus A340-300, Airbus A330-300, Airbus A321-200, Airbus A321-100, Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A319-100.
Along with its subsidiaries, Lufthansa Airlines currently flies to as many as 18 domestic destinations and 185 international destinations across 78 countries in Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe. It covers three South American countries - Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina. The airline and its subsidiaries fly to a number of cities in the United States of America and Canada, while the only destination covered in Mexico is Mexico City. As many as 36 countries are covered in Europe. In Southwest Asia, the airline group flies to 12 countries. Lufthansa Airlines flies to five countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore in Southeast Asia. In South Asia, Lufthansa Airlines flies to India (to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune). The airline covers three countries - Japan, South Korea and China in East Asia. In Central Asia, it flies to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The countries, to which the airline flies in Africa, include Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria. They are planning to further expand their operations.