India’s manufacturing hub of Pune recently joined Lufthansa’s Business Jet network, following New York and Chicago. Important European car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Renault, Fiat, Audi and DaimlerChrysler among others have established large operations in this city, 200km southeast of Mumbai. For international travellers, this is welcome news as the city was difficult to reach.
An Airbus A319 has been refitted as a business jet, featuring 48 lie-flat seats which when fully reclined, provide an almost horizontal sleeping surface measuring 2m in length. Other perks include bigger seat pitches, wider tabletops, power ports for laptops and a reading lamp integrated into the seat.
Pune, which is twinned with Bremen has about 200 German companies represented there. Flights depart Pune at 0529 daily except Sunday, arriving Frankfurt at 1050. Return is 1615 daily except Saturday, arriving India 0400.
Lufthansa’s Frankfurt-Newark and Frankfurt-Chicago business jet services are also six times weekly. These cater to bankers and businessmen. For more details, visit www.lufthansa.com
