Lufthansa has quietly dropped its flights between Frankfurt and Pune, leaving the western Indian city without a direct route to Europe.
The daily service had been operated on a wet lease arrangement by Privatair, using B737-700 aircraft, configured for 66 economy and 20 business class seats.
According to a report on The Times of India website, the route has been suspended until October 27, with a spokesperson for the carrier quoted as saying that Lufthansa “has decided to suspend its cooperation with one of its wet lease partners until the end of the summer schedule due to operational and commercial reasons”.
“The last scheduled departure took place on June 29 in Pune, India. Lufthansa and the former wet lease partner are now examining various options to resume cooperation as soon as possible,” the spokesperson continued. “Lufthansa regrets this decision and has rebooked the passengers that were already booked.”
A quick search at lufthansa.com shows direct services no longer available, with the choice of one-stop options offered by partners including Jet Airways and Air India.
The Privatair service – which originally launched in 2008 – had been operating nonstop on the Frankfurt-Pune leg, with a stop for fuel in Bucharest on the return leg, due to payload constraints.
Pune is the second largest city in the Indian state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, with a population of around three million people.
