Lufthansa German Airlines

　　Deutsche Lufthansa AG (German: Deutsche Lufthansa AG, abbreviated: Lufthansa), commonly referred to simply as Lufthansa or German Airlines. It is one of the largest airlines in Europe and is an airline identified by the German flag. In terms of passenger volume and scale, Lufthansa is the fifth-largest airline in the world, reaching 209 destinations in 81 countries worldwide, and through code-sharing with its partners, offers as many as 410 destinations globally. Lufthansa currently has a total of 531 aircraft, including those on order.

　　The Lufthansa Group is a world-leading air transport company. It consists of more than 400 subsidiaries and affiliated companies, with an extremely broad range of business activities, including passenger services, logistics, maintenance and overhaul, catering, leisure travel, and IT services.

　　Lufthansa's headquarters are located in Cologne. Its passenger and cargo service operations centers are located in Frankfurt. The main hub airports within Germany are Munich, Berlin, and Hamburg.

　　Deutsche Lufthansa is also one of the founding airlines of the world's largest airline alliance, “Star Alliance”. Star Alliance was founded in 1997 with Thai Airways, United Airlines, Air Canada, and Scandinavian Airlines. In 2008, 705,000 passengers flew with Lufthansa to Germany.

　　Lufthansa Cargo
　　Lufthansa Cargo AG (IATA code: LH; ICAO code: GEC) was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. It is an independent subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. In 2006, Lufthansa Cargo carried more than 1.76 million tons of cargo and mail, making it one of the largest cargo airlines in the world.
　　Official website: http://lufthansa-cargo.com
　　In addition to owning a freighter fleet consisting of 19 MD-11 full freighters (as of December 2006), Lufthansa Cargo also uses the belly space of Lufthansa passenger aircraft and Madrid Airlines for cargo transport.
　　Lufthansa's air cargo, passenger, and truck service network covers more than 500 cities. Most air cargo operations are handled at the company's main airport, the Lufthansa Cargo Center in Frankfurt, with the other two airports being Cologne and Munich.
　　Lufthansa's cargo services: general cargo with time-priority application, express shipments with accelerated time application, and special cargo with customized value-added services.
　　Lufthansa Cargo's global network employs more than 4,768 people.
　　Destinations: Lufthansa Cargo operates scheduled cargo flights to 39 destinations in 23 countries. In addition to its own cargo routes, Lufthansa Cargo also uses the cargo holds and flights of more than 300 passenger aircraft from Lufthansa and Thomas·Cook (including Condor and SunExpress) for transport.
　　The Lufthansa Group has always been committed to developing the Chinese market, and its investment in the Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal (PACTL) is an important step toward achieving this long-term goal.
　　In China
　　On October 21, 2004, Shenzhen Airlines of China, Lufthansa Cargo of Germany, and Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) signed an agreement to establish “Jade International Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd.”. Shenzhen Airlines will hold 51% of the joint venture, Lufthansa Cargo will hold 25%, and the remaining 24% will be held by DEG.
　　Jade Cargo Airlines plans a total investment of US$90 million, with an initial investment and registered capital of US$30 million. The three shareholders will contribute in cash in RMB, US dollars, and euros respectively, with Shenzhen Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo, and DEG investing the equivalent of US$15.3 million, US$7.5 million, and US$7.2 million respectively.
　　The general manager of Jade International Cargo Airlines will be Thomas Weber, a German who has been a senior executive with the Lufthansa Group for nearly 20 years. This therefore also makes it China's first joint venture airline with direct foreign participation in management, and it will introduce advanced foreign talent, technology, management, and operating models in all respects.
　　The new air cargo company will be headquartered in Shenzhen, an important transportation hub city in South China that has China's fourth-largest airport. Jade International Cargo Airlines will begin operations after the 2005 Chinese Spring Festival. In addition to serving domestic Chinese cities, Jade International Cargo Airlines will also expand its services to multiple Asian countries through its two Airbus A300-600 freighters and through intra-Asia routes, including India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. In the near future, it will also expand its route network to destination cities outside Asia.
　　The company is named “Jade” because jade has a very important historical status in Chinese culture. Jade was highly revered as early as 5000 BC, and no other material in Chinese history has been cherished as much as it. Jade is also known as yu, symbolizing happiness, prosperity, and prestige.