Lufthansa lands Frankfurt deal to disrupt flight paths of Middle Eastern airlines

Eintracht Frankfurt is eyeing an expanded sponsorship deal with German airline Lufthansa. The deal could generate revenues of about €5 million for the football club over the next five years. 

Eintracht and Lufthansa launched cooperation in August 2008. Since then, the airline has been sponsoring the family sector at the club's Commerzbank-Arena. Lufthansa also acquired its own VIP zone and business seats, and has advertising inventory at the stadium in Frankfurt.

The new deal is expected to significantly broaden the scope of the collaboration between Eintracht and the airline. In addition to the funds, Lufthansa is to provide free transportation services to the Frankfurt-based side.

With the latest move, Lufthansa is reportedly aiming to prevent further expansion into German sports by rival airlines from the Middle East, following talks held by officials from Eintracht and local businessmen in Abu Dhabi.

Among other clubs competing in the German Bundesliga, rival side Hamburger SV is currently sponsored by the Dubai-based Emirates airline.

The deal has not been confirmed by Lufthansa. However, an official offer is to be submitted this week, the newspaper said.

Eintracht won the German championship in 1959. The club's Commerzbank-Arena has a capacity of some 51,500, including 42,200 seats.

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World Cup: Lufthansa becomes Fanhansa

They will be the centre of attention in the coming weeks before and during the football World Cup. A total of eight aircraft in the Lufthansa fleet will swap their well-known lettering for the new ‘Fanhansa’ logo. It will be the first time that Lufthansa has changed for a certain time period its name on the fuselage of some its aircraft since commencing operations almost 60 years ago. 

On the 16th of May, the first “Fanhansa Airbus” will take off from Munich to Hamburg and London. The first flight will be LH 2066 departing at 11.20 a.m. from Terminal 2. This Airbus A321-200 will be followed by two additional short-haul aircraft and a total of five long-haul aircraft, including the Boeing 747-8, the world’s longest aircraft, which will feature the ‘Fanhansa’ logo. 

“Fanhansa is more than a logo on the aircraft, of course – it is a surprise for our customers and a thank you to our fans,” says Alexander Schlaubitz, Head of Marketing at Lufthansa Passenger Airlines. “Over the coming days, we will be creating new travel experiences with a number of different promotions – there is no doubt that we will be flying the happiest fans to Brazil with Fanhansa, offering the best World Cup atmosphere and pure football fever. It will make Lufthansa the official carrier of all football fans.” 

With Fanhansa, Lufthansa will be flying not just the German national team to Brazil, as partner of the German Football Association, but also thousands of football fans, media representatives and officials. 

During the many surprise promotions that will be happening on board Lufthansa’s scheduled flights and at check-in counters and gates in German airports, participants will be able to qualify immediately for a ticket to Brazil on board a Fanhansa plane. This naturally includes the World Cup experience in the land of the Amazon, Copacabana and Caipirinha. 

Fans of the latest Lufthansa experience can follow everything to do with Fanhansa online at LH.com in the next few weeks: the night in the Lufthansa Technik hangar in Munich and the application of the lettering, which will be up to 1.23 metres high, the first surprise flight, the departure of the German team at Frankfurt Airport and, of course, the flight carrying all of the fans to Brazil in mid-June.

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