Lufthansa CE sees record summer for bookings

Lufthansa is expecting its best ever summer for bookings, driven by strong demand for premium tickets, on North American routes and a booming German economy, its CE said Tuesday. "Even though we are growing 15%, our seat load factor is going up and that's why I'm so optimistic for this summer to be a record summer," Carsten Spohr said, signalling the company's planes are more full even though it has sharply increased the number of available seats. Spohr was speaking after Lufthansa received the Skytrax award for best European airline, toppling rival Turkish Airlines. The carrier has been investing billions in renewing its fleet and improving its cabins as it seeks to win customers in a fiercely competitive market and achieve a coveted 5-star Skytrax rating. <br/>