Lufthansa restarts direct San Jose-Germany flights

SAN JOSE » Lufthansa will resume direct flights between Mineta San Jose International Airport and Germany on Sunday, the air carrier said Thursday.

The new service to connect Silicon Valley and Frankfurt, Germany will operate five days a week. Lufthansa will operate out of San Jose on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of each week, the airline said.

“California remains one of our top priorities for expansion in the U. S.,” said Larry Ryan, Lufthansa Group senior director of sales for the United States.

Lufthansa’s San Jose service was halted last fall “due to pilot shortage,” a Lufthansa spokesperson said.

This time around, a hiatus in San Jose- Germany service won’t occur, the airline said.

The flights will operate year-round, the spokesperson said.

“San Jose airport is thrilled to welcome back Lufthansa to Silicon Valley this Sunday,” said Rosemary Barnes, a spokeswoman for the air travel hub. “Lufthansa will resume nonstop service to its Frankfurt hub, with five-weekly flights on the spacious Airbus A340-300.”

The robust economy in the Bay Area, fueled in part by the Silicon Valley tech boom, prompted a reconfiguration of the seats on the big planes that will accommodate passengers.

“The airline plans to increase the number of Business Class seats from 18 to 30 in response to demand from corporate clients in Silicon Valley,” Lufthansa said.

The Lufthansa flight will depart San Jose at 3:05 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt at 11:10 a.m. local time on the following day.

The f light from Germany will exit at 10:40 a.m. Frankfurt time and reach San Jose at 1:20 p.m. the same day.

From Frankfurt, travelers can expect to find an array of connections to cities in Europe, the Middle East and India.