Claiming to be the rightful successor to the “old” Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. (DLH) , the East German government, employing the same flying crane logo as the West German carrier, establishes its Deutsche Lufthansa in East Berlin on July 1, 1955. The move is made with the full approval of the U. S.S. R., which had closed all civil airports to East Germans during the previous decade. Viewed as a sister organization to the East German Railways, Lufthansa-East is administered from the Transport Ministry, which largely defers to its Director General Artur Pieck, son of the DDR President Wilhelm Pieck.
A newly received East German license-built Ilyushin Il-14 inaugurates the carrier’s first route from East Berlin to Moscow in September.
Equipped with Il-14s, the airline begins operations on February 4, 1956, and on February 15 the carrier joins the “Six-Pool” league of Eastern block airlines. A route network encompassing the capital cities of the Warsaw Pact nations is inaugurated from East Berlin to Prague, Budapest, and Sofia on May 14, the same day Il-14s open domestic services over a Dresden-Karl Marx Stadt (Chemnitz) route.
Service is launched East Berlin-Bucharest on May 19. A joint agreement is signed with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) on September 22 whereby each will act as the other’s agent. East Berlin-Moscow flights begin on October 7 and service to Budapest, suspended during the Hungarian Revolution, is resumed on December 21.
Domestic frequencies begin on June 17, 1957, over a route that extends from East Berlin-Leipzig, Dresden, Erfurt, and Barth. Proposed 1958 plans to operate segments into Western Europe meet with resistance as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and associated countries prefer to recognize only one Deutsche Lufthansa, that of the Federal German Republic. Consequently, a subsidiary of the East German carrier, Interflug DDR Airlines, is created on September 13 as a marketing cover to overcome Western objections.
Ordered earlier, the VEB-152 II four-engine airliner developed by the Flugzeugwerke Dresden makes its maiden flight on December 4. The passenger jet is the product of the largest industrial project in the DDR.
Employing an Il-14 in Interflug livery, flights begin to and from Western Europe on February 27, 1959; the first service flown is Copen-hagen-Leipzig for the Leipzig Fair.
Services continue apace in 1960, during which year the carrier becomes the only one to order the VEB-152. The aircraft is proudly heralded on stamps and in the newspapers, with the propagandists proclaiming it the product of the nation’s Wirtschaftswunder.
Early in 1961, three turboprop Il-18s join the fleet. Talk of Wirtschaftswunder in the aircraft industry simultaneously ends as no more orders are received for the VEB-152, upon which the nation has so far spent DM 1.6 billion. In February, the DDR cancels production and it will be years before the carrier receives its first jetliner—and that a foreign-made unit.
One of the new Il-18s initiates a new service from East Berlin to Moscow on March 30.
In 1962, the Comecon states reduce their air fares to a point where the East German government decides that it is more cost effective to allow DDR citizens to take passage aboard East Block airliners than to further develop its own internal route network.
An Il-14 is lost near Koningbrek, E. Germany, on February 28, 1963; there is no report on casualties.
Dropping its claim to the Lufthansa title, which had been employed in parallel with the marketing title since 1958, the carrier is officially renamed Interflug on September 1; control remains with the Ministry of Transport.
By 1964, all East bloc capitals are served by Interflug with a fleet of An-2s, Il-14s, and Il-18s. Plans are put in place to cut back on domestic services, which are not seen by the government as necessary (or cost effective enough) to the national interest. In addition, the nation’s airports, like other aspects of the transport system, will not be developed, with few even provided with concrete runways.
East Berlin to Cairo flights commence on June 22, 1965. The company, which has always had a terrible service reputation, cancels or accepts delay of 10% of its domestic flights during the year.
Two new routes are started in 1966—East Berlin to Kiev on June 1 and East Berlin to Bamako via Algiers on October 27.
The first jetliner, a Tupolev Tu-124, is received in early 1967 and placed in service over the West European routes. While undergoing maintenance at Moscow, an Il-18 catches fire on January 16 and is destroyed.
Flights continue in 1968 and by 1969 passenger boardings total 809,500.
Il-62s join the fleet in 1970, making long-haul routes possible. An East German couple commits suicide when they fail on March 10 in their attempt to seize an An-24 en route from East Berlin to Leipzig. Although having had control of it for almost 15 years, the Transport Ministry only now decides to begin making improvements at Schoenfeld Airport in East Berlin.
Enplanements for the year climb to 847,600.
In 1971, frequencies are inaugurated to Bamako, Conakry, and Freetown in western Africa and passenger traffic is 923,400.
The 1972 fleet comprises 15 Il-18s, 6 An-24s, 1 Tu-124, 2 Il-62s, and 3 Tu-134s. Flights begin to Dhaka and Hanoi. The helicopter subsidiary Agraflug is formed to undertake agricultural, survey, and support missions.
En route to Burgas, Bulgaria, a chartered Il-62 with 8 crew and 148 passengers loses an elevator in flight just after takeoff from Schoenfeld Airport at East Berlin on August 14; there are no survivors.
A Tu-134 is lost at Dresden on October 30; there are no other details concerning the accident.
Bookings accelerate to 925,900.
Between 1973-1979, the carrier begins an active route expansion effort, providing scheduled passenger and cargo service to some 50 cities by decade’s end. Among these are Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, Stockholm, Helsinki, Leningrad, Moscow, Warsaw, Havana, Algiers, Tunis, Malta, Tripoli, Lagos, Brazzaville, Luanda, Maputo, Cairo, Khartoum, Addis Ababa, Milan, Rome, Vienna, Zagreb, Belgrade, Split, Prague, Tatry, Bratislava, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, Burgas, Amman, Kiev, Simferopol, Sotachi, Tashkent, Karachi, and Hanoi.
Director General Dr. Klaus Henkes, who also serves as general in the East German Air Force, head of the aviation department of the Transport Ministry, and CEO of the national institute for flight control, emphasizes the importance of Interflug to the nation. Not only is it a civil transport organization, but the troop-carrying wing of the military as well. For that matter, Interflug is also in charge of the country’s airports, general aviation, and all business, agricultural, and charter flying.
During these years, a new passenger terminal is opened for Interflug at East Berlin’s Schoenfeld Airport. It has no reliable baggage transport and its air conditioning seldom works. Indeed, company staff handle baggage manually and windows are left open to let in fresh air.
Passenger boardings during these 6 years climb from 911,700 in 1973, pass the million mark for the first time in 1975 (1,139,300), and reach 1,242,600 in 1979. Director General Kurt Diederich and Managing Director Friedwald Oehlmann oversea a workforce of nearly 6,000 and suffer 3 accidents during the period (2 fatal).
While on initial approach to Leipzig on a nonscheduled flight from Stuttgart on September 1, 1975, a Tu-134A with 6 crew and 28 passengers descends below the glide path, strikes a radio mast short of the runway, and crashes (26 dead). The cockpit crew all survive and all three members are sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3-5 years.
Another Tu-134A is damaged beyond repair as the result of a bad landing at Berlin’s Schoenfeld Airport on November 22, 1977; there are no fatalities.
The failure of the No. 2 engine causes the pilot of an Il-18D freighter with four crew and six passengers, to abort takeoff from Luanda on March 26, 1979; the aircraft overruns the runway, hits the instrument landing system localizer antenna, and breaks up in flames. There are no survivors.
Domestic service is determined to be not in the national economic interest (i. e., not cost effective) and is withdrawn in 1980-1986; however, demand for internal operations by hard currency passengers leads to introduction of L-410 “Saloon Service.”
On January 30 of the former year, an Il-18, en route from Erfurt to East Berlin, is briefly taken over by a lone assailant; before the aircraft can be diverted, the pirate is overwhelmed by his fellow passengers.
Passenger traffic climbs very slowly, from 1,216,300 in 1980 to 1,446,000 in 1985. Director General Dr. Henkes’ fleet by 1986 has grown to include 8 Il-62s, 20 Tu-134s, 14 Il-14s, and 5 L-410s.
During 1987, three more Il-62s join the fleet as six Tu-134s and six Il-14s are withdrawn. Under terms of its February pact with the People’s Republic of China, an Interflug DDR Airlines Il-62 initiates weekly service on May 1 between East Berlin’s Schoenfeld Airport and Beijing; the 8,100-km. flight, completed via Moscow, requires 9 hrs. 50 min. The route is the shortest link between China and Europe, being 2,000 km. shorter than services operated by Air France and other carriers.
Enplanements reach 1,260,792.
Orders are placed in 1988 by Vice President Andreas Kramer for Airbus equipment. The U. S. government grants an export license to General Electric for CF6-80C2 engines to power the Airbus planes and an agreement is reached with Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. for engine maintenance to be performed at the West German flag line’s Hamburg base.
Bookings this year total 1.6 million.
The workforce is increased by 0.7% in 1989 to 7,611. The takeoff of an Il-62 with 113 aboard from East Berlin’s Schoenfeld Airport is aborted on June 17; the jetliner’s wing crashes into a water tank, fire breaks out, and the aircraft is destroyed (20 dead).
The first of three ordered, long-range Airbus Industrie A310-304s is delivered in a formal ceremony at Toulouse, France, on July 1. Sixteen days later, an elevator malfunction causes an Il-62 to run off the runway at Berlin’s Schoenfeld Airport; no injuries are reported.
Two more A310-304s arrive before November and replace Il-62s on services from Berlin to Havana, Singapore, Beijing, and Vietnam. Unprofitable routes to Maputo, Brazzaville, Addis Ababa, and Mexico are cut.
A jammed rudder and elevator causes the pilot of an Il-62MK with 9 other crew and 103 passengers, to abort his takeoff from Berlin’s
Schoenfeld Airport for a June 17 service to Moscow; the aircraft overruns the runway and hits various obstacles, catching fire. Nineteen persons on the Ilyushin are killed, along with one person on the ground.
The Berlin Wall comes down on November 9 and 15 Soviet-built jetliners once reserved for use by top East German Communist leaders are put into regular service on December 6. Also in December, an A310-304 performs one of the type’s longest flights. After a passenger charter, the European-built jetliner flies the 4,720-nm. segment nonstop from Kumamoto to East Berlin in 13 hrs. 25 min. Following the startling reunification movement at year’s end, cooperation with onetime rival Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. begins in earnest.
Passenger boardings for the year, meanwhile, rise 2.2% to 1,616,400, but freight is down by 5% to 87.54 million FTKs.
In the spirit of glasnost, the returned Director General Dr. Henkes engages in conversations with Heinz Ruhnau, chairman of DLH in January 1990 concerning cooperative projects between the two airlines. The initial result is an agreement to make joint use of training and other facilities and the doubling of the West German carrier’s flights from Frankfurt to Leipzig.
DLH Chairman Ruhnau also suggests purchase of a 26% equity interest. The fiscal stake is designed to fend of financial participation in the DDR airline by such Western airlines as British Airways, Ltd. (2) and Air France. The Federal Cartel Office objects to the financial arrangement.
In pursuit of the previous month’s discussions, the two airlines announce in February their intention to expand and intensify their cooperation under the marketing name Interhansa. Working together to remove all artificial barriers hindering air traffic between the two German states, including Berlin, the executives of the two airlines plan a variety of joint activities. These include passenger, freight, and charter services, a joint A310 simulator at Berlin’s Schoenfeld Airport, an Interhansa catering service, an Interhansa software company, a new Berlin airport, and various engineering and airport handling projects.
Beginning in March, the East German carrier expands its services to West Germany to 17 flights per week. After Interflug’s employees vote 92% approval of a closer association with DLH, the West German carrier announces, in April, its plans to go ahead with its 26% investment.
Interflug is now restructured on the Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. model and operates under an eight-member supervisory board with Dr. Henkes as chairman and two Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. members. A second level executive board, chaired by Vice President Kramer, oversees marketing and sales. Service to Paris also begins in May and the airline joins the western industry group, IATA, on July 1.
Unable since its beginning to fly directly into West Germany, Inter-flug is now able to do so with flights to a number of formerly forbidden cities. The number of flights between east and west Germany is increased during the month from 31 to 56. During August, LET 410 service is inaugurated between Berlin and Erfurt.
In September, daily service is launched from Dresden to Cologne and Hamburg and the number of weekly frequencies between the formerly independent countries grows to 68. Following German unification in October, both Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. and British Airways, Ltd. (2) make unsuccessful attempts to purchase the airline outright. Following its failure, the West German flag carrier drops its investment plans on October 16. Later in the month, Berlin-Tel Aviv service is initiated.
Although company officials hope to keep Interflug operating, excessive expenses associated with the Gulf War and growing recession force it to cease operations on February 8, 1991, becoming a training company. The A310s are purchased by the Luftwaffe for $192.3 million.
On June 26, the Danish Supreme Court fines the carrier for its earlier role in transporting illegal refugees into Denmark.
INTERGLOBUS: Russia (1994-1995). Interglobus is established at Ulitsa Lobachevskovo in 1994 to offer ad hoc international and regional passenger and cargo charters. General Director A. I. Ekzarkho begins revenue flights with 1 Ilyushin Il-76TD and 1 Tupolev Tu-154B. Unable to achieve viability, the company shuts down in late 1995.
World History
