Lufthansa announces daily nonstop flight from Denver to Munich

Yearly economic impact of Munich flight estimated at $108 million

Lufthansa joined Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Denver International Airport (DIA), the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) to announce the addition of a new daily nonstop flight from Denver to Munich.

The flight allows Lufthansa to double its capacity at DIA. The new flight will begin service on March 31, 2007. The yearly economic benefits of this flight to the Metro Denver region are estimated at $108 million.

"Munich is a great destination that will be highly beneficial to our companies because of its location as a gateway to southeast Europe," said Mayor Hickenlooper at the press conference announcing the new flight. "The Munich flight will create significant opportunities for new commerce and connectivity."

Flight LH 481 to Munich will be operated by an Airbus A340-300 aircraft, featuring eight First Class seats, 36 lie-flat Business Class seats, and 197 Economy Class seats. The new flight offers an additional 241 seats to the current 345 between Denver and Frankfurt, for a total of 586 daily seats between Denver and the two German hubs.

Attracting new international flights is one of the Metro Denver EDC's top economic development initiatives identified in 2003 under the "Breakthrough! Denver" campaign. "We heard from companies in our five industry clusters that one more destination into Europe-Munich in particular-was a top priority," said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver EDC.

"Lufthansa's addition of a nonstop flight from Denver to our sister airport in Munich is another important step in our effort to bring more international air service to the Rocky Mountain region," said Denver Manager of Aviation Turner West. "This flight will open new European destinations to Denver travelers, and it demonstrates the strength of our relationship with one of the world's premier airlines."