German flag-carrier Lufthansa has been forced to cancel more than 500 flights today as staff take industrial action over pay and conditions. Staff are staging walk-outs at Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne airports and other locations between 05:00 and 12:00 today.

According to last year’s preliminary consolidated financial statements, Lufthansa Group posted revenues totalling 30.1 billion euros (+4.9 per cent) and generated an operating profit of 524 million euros (-36.1 per cent) in 2012. The Group had forecast an operating profit for 2012 in the mid-three digit million euro range.

More than 103 million passengers flew with airlines in the Lufthansa Group last year. In total, Lufthansa, Germanwings, SWISS and Austrian Airlines carried 2.5 million or 2.4 per cent more passengers in the January to December term than in the previous year.

Lufthansa passengers travelling on long-haul flights can now once again enjoy the full freedom of online communication. Together with its long-standing partners Panasonic Avionics Corporation and Deutsche Telekom. Lufthansa will be the first airline to offer its customers broadband Internet access on intercontinental routes. The service, which will initially be provided on selected North Atlantic routes, will be available on nearly the entire Lufthansa intercontinental network by the end of 2011.

Lufthansa has taken delivery of its fourth Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. With the registration D-ABYF, the aircraft will head to Frankfurt for final adjustments before it enters scheduled service.

Air Canada will manage its codeshare flights with SchedConnect from Lufthansa Systems. Both companies recently signed a five-year contract to this effect. The leading solution enables Air Canada to optimise its codeshare management and to lower costs and increase revenue. Lufthansa Systems will host the new system in its own data center.