Consider this statement made by Stefan Pichler, executive Vice-President (Sales), Lufthansa German Airlines. Said Pichler: ``For us, the year 1999 is a year of probation.'' This summer itself, the carrier is adding five new destinations to its route network, i.e. Detroit, Philadelphia, Caracas, Edinburgh, and Bergame, making that a total of 323 destinations in 88 countries. Pichler, at a press conference during the ITB Berlin, said this year the airline was expected to face increasingly fierce competition in a more difficult economic environment.

To that end, the airline is offering year long, value-for-money fares labelled `Lufthansa Specials'. There is already a scheme wherein Lufthansa and American Online (AQL/Bertelsmain) are offering AOL members online tickets for only 999 DM (Rs 25,000 approximately) for two persons, to the US,Canada or Mexico. For as little as 249 DM per person, you can fly to any of the 17 European destinations, while feeder flights (for two) in the German domestic network costs anything from 111 DM with the condition that the journey includes a weekend.

Termed `Surprise and Fly', the package includes taxes and charges, with payment exclusively by credit card. The passenger gets to specify the continent and duration of their journey, but the actual destination remains a surprise until five days prior to departure. The `Surprise and Fly' programme has been on from September 1998 and has generated about 130,000 hits on the online site.

Also popular are internet ticket auctions. In all, 4,500 tickets have been auctioned so far. Ticketless travel is gaining mass acceptance, with an estimated 68 per cent of business travellers opting for the electronic tickets (ETIX). The latest scheme is that, if you book your tickets through the website before August 31, you earn extra mileage; 5,000 miles on intercontinentalflights and 1,000 on short haul flights in Asia i.e. Singapore, Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok. The offer is valid for any class of travel but only on return journeys.

With `customer satisfaction' as the New Year message, Lufthansa passengers can look forward to a `whole new world'.