Lufthansa To Increase Capacity

Lufthansa expects to increase seat capacity on its flights by 1.5 percent in the summer season as demand for air travel grows, but it did not give a forecast for overall capacity in 2005.The airline will probably add 2.4 percent more capacity on longhaul flights in the summer, while the amount of shorthaul seats available will drop by 0.9 percent, a spokeswoman for the company said on Friday.
Lufthansa is increasing capacity by 4 percent for the winter period, with longhaul rising 7 percent and shorthaul falling 2 percent. The summer timetable begins at the end of March."There is still no concrete figure for capacity for the full year," the spokeswoman said.
Airline chief Wolfgang Mayrhuber said last week he sees 5 to 6 percent growth in the air travel market worldwide this year, adding that Lufthansa would also take part in the growth.Lufthansa's plans for a moderate increase in capacity in the summer will help it fill seats and ease the pressure on the amount of revenue it generates per passenger, observers said.