German carrier Lufthansa has cut down on its losses and is currently losing around $1.2 million every two hours, according to its chief executive officer Carsten Spohr. At one stage last year, the carrier was recording twice the losses, which means it has made significant improvements.
It is also reported that Lufthansa is gearing up to operate a 15-hour charter flight from Hamburg to Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands on 1st February, 2021. The carrier will operate one of its Airbus A350s aircraft to cover the 13,700 kilometres journey.
Flight LH 2574 will depart from Hamburg with 92 passengers onboard which includes scientists that will be working on the upcoming expedition on the Polarstern research vessel. The passengers group also include the ship’s crew working on the trip.
Thomas Jahn, Lufthansa’s Fleet Captain told the media, “We are pleased to be able to support a polar research expedition during these difficult times… We have been active in this field for more than 25 years and have equipped selected aircraft with measuring instruments. Since then, scientists all around the world have been using the data collected during the voyage to make climate models more precise and improve weather forecasts.”
Last year, Lufthansa accepted a $9.8 billion rescue deal from Berlin. With the new deal, Berlin’s government would become a shareholder with a 20 percent stake in the airline. It was reported that the government’s share could increase to 25 percent plus one share in an attempt to acquire the airline.