Lufthansa earned a double distinction at the presentation of the Airline Strategy Awards on Monday. Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Jürgen Weber received the Airline Business Award in recognition of his lifetime achievement; Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO Passenger Airlines, accepted the prize in the “Operations” category on behalf of the company. Both awards were made by the prestigious Airline Business magazine and presented during the IATA Annual General Meeting in Washington DC before an audience of 600 delegates.
The Airline Business Award pays tribute to individuals who have made a lasting strategic contribution to the air transport business. “I am the chairman, but an airline is not a one-man show,” Jürgen Weber said at the award ceremony. “The credit for this prize goes to all Lufthansa staff worldwide. It is thanks entirely to their expertise and dedication that Lufthansa has managed to achieve the top position that we now occupy. The Airline Business Award is a wonderful acknowledgement and recognition of all our efforts.”
Wolfgang Mayrhuber was honoured for his outstanding achievement in the category “Operations”. The judges` criteria were excellence in running airline operations, including the management of fleets, networks and ancillary services, the delivery of reliable, cost-effective service and also flexibility and innovation. In the wake of the crisis which followed 11 September 2001, Lufthansa had been quick to cut back capacity, but also moved surprisingly fast in getting aircraft back into the air during 2002, the jury said.

While other airlines had simply talked about the possibility of operating a scheduled business-only transatlantic service, Lufthansa had actually made it work in practice on the Dusseldorf-Newark route and, more recently, extended the service to the Munich-Newark route, the judges added.
“We will not rest on our laurels,” Wolfgang Mayrhuber said in his acceptance speech. “Above all, this award is an incentive for us, and a challenge. Quality and innovation will remain at the top of our agenda.”
Deutsche Lufthansa AG
Corporate Communications

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