Sat, Jun 11, 2005
German Line Rose From The Ashes Of War To Build Enviable
Reputation
On June 8, 1955, Lufthansa resumed
flights from Germany to the United States. In those days before
jets, the plane of choice was the Lockheed Super Constellation
model L1049G, which the German carrier used on its long-haul
routes.
Until 1957, when the 1049s were replaced by faster- and
higher-flying L1649Gs, the trip to the United States from Hamburg
was a twenty-hour adventure (or ordeal) with stops at Dusseldorf
and Shannon.
Lufthansa now offers seven round trips daily between Germany and
New York, and modern jets reduce travel time to 8 hours. While it's
true that the elegance and exclusivity of 1950s air travel is gone,
so is the Jay Gatsby price tag. In 1955, flying to New York would
cost three months' salary for the average worker. Today, coach fare
is about 500 Euros (about $615).
The original Deutsche Luft Hansa pioneered long-range flight in
the twenties and thirties, and before the outbreak of war operated
to the New World with Focke-Wulf 200 Condor and Junkers Ju90
airliners. After the war, the company was broken up by occupation
authorities, with a successor only forming after Germans were
permitted to resume aviation activities in the fifties. The new
company took the name Deutsche Lufthansa in 1954.
None of the Deutsche Luft Hansa airliners of the prewar years
still exist; all were destroyed in or after the war. But at least
three ex-Lufthansa Constellations, model 1649s, are still in
existence, and owner Maurice Roundy is working on returning them to
airworthiness. Another ex-DLH Connie is proudly displayed at
Munchen-Riem airport in Munich.
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