Deutsche Lufthansa AG is one of the world's major airlines. It was founded in 1926 as Luft Hansa. It is also the national airline for Germany. For many the name Lufthansa is synonymous with flying and aviation. However, branding is a paradigm of many activities under one company. Most of these activities are focused on the aeronautical sector. However, the company's main activity is passenger transportation. The company has invested heavily in this and owns several airlines in various regions of the world. These include SWISS and Sun Express, as well as investments in other national carriers such as Turkish Airlines, British Midland and JetBlue (Datamonitor, 2003). The company's operations also include cargo transportation services with a wholly owned subsidiary known as Lufthansa Cargo AG, which handles all cargo (Cento, 2009). This segment of Lufthansa's operations is very specialized and can transport all forms of cargo, including temperature-sensitive products and live animals. The company also operates a profitable maintenance, overhaul and repair service, split into six categories. These include engines, overhaul, maintenance, VIP and executive equipment solutions, components and landing gear. Its IT services for aeronautical services is its other business line. This involves providing IT solutions and establishing IT centers not only for the aviation industry but also for other related industries. Foodservice and financial services are the company's final business segments that serve to diversify its operations and enable it to survive in a ruthlessly competitive environment. The company competes with the likes of Emirates, American Airways, Air France and British Airways in the airline industry, and against... middle of the paper... Business Journal, Vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 139-145. Holloway, S. (2003). Straight and Level: Practical Airline Economics, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd: London.Mitchener, B. (1994). Privatization Plans to Allow German Airline to Take Off: Lufthansa Sees Profitable Future, New York Times Available: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/07/news/07iht-luft_0.html [Accessed 27 November 2013].Poelt, S. (2009). Practical pricing and the airline industry, London: Henry Stewart Talks.Roy, J. & Filiatrault, P. (1998.) The impact of new business practices and information technologies on the demand for corporate air travel, Journal of Air Transport Management, vol. 4, No.2, pp. 77-86.Vespermann, J., & Wittmer, A. (2011). Financial, ecological and managerial impacts of emissions trading systems: the case of Lufthansa, Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 174-191.