Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried (second is Air France – KLM), and the flag carrier of Germany. The name of the company is derived from Luft (the German word for "air"), and Hansa...

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried (second is Air France – KLM), and the flag carrier of Germany. The name of the company is derived from Luft (the German word for "air"), and Hansa (after Hanseatic League, the powerful medieval trading group).The airline is the world's fifth largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating services to 209 destinations in 81 countries. Together with its partners Lufthansa services around 410 destinations.
Lufthansa is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance. Star Alliance was formed in 1997 together with Thai Airways, United Airlines, Air Canada and Scandinavian Airlines System. The Lufthansa Group operates more than 500 aircraft and employs worldwide 105,261 people of 146 nationalities (31 December 2007). In 2007, 83.1 million passengers flew with Lufthansa including all subsidiaries.