Editing Interflug (section)

==History==
===Founding years===
[[File:Bundesarchiv DH 2 Bild-F-04180, Berlin-Schönefeld, Flughafenbau, Il14.jpg|thumb|right|An [[Ilyushin Il-14]] of Interflug at Schönefeld Airport in 1961, when the terminal building was under construction]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-K1027-0032, Berlin, Hochhaus, Interflug.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Interflug office ''Haus des Reisens'' near [[Alexanderplatz]] in central East Berlin, 1971]]
{{main|Deutsche Lufthansa (East Germany)}}
Until 1945, [[Deutsche Luft Hansa]] had served as German [[flag carrier]]. Following the end of [[World War II]] and the subsequent [[Allied-occupied Germany|allied occupation of Germany]], all aircraft in the country were seized and the airline was liquidated. In 1954, [[Lufthansa|a West German company]] acquired the ''Lufthansa'' trademark. In 1955, [[Deutsche Lufthansa (East Germany)|Deutsche Lufthansa]] was founded as a rival East German flag carrier. It soon became obvious that the East German airline would likely lose a lawsuit over the use of the ''Lufthansa'' branding. As a result, Interflug was set up on 18 September 1958 as a "backup" company, initially intended to complement the East German aviation industry by operating chartered flights. In 1963, the East German Lufthansa was liquidated, officially due to poor profitability (though this step foreclosed the imminent stripping of the ''Lufthansa'' name). Its staff, aircraft fleet, and route network were transferred to Interflug, which henceforth served as the East German flag carrier.<ref>{{cite book|last=Breiler|first=Klaus|title=Das große Buch der Interflug|year=2007|publisher=Das Neue|location=Berlin|isbn=978-3-360-01904-2|language=de}}</ref><ref name=Erfurth>{{cite book|last=Erfurth|first=Helmut|title=Das große Buch der DDR-Luftfahrt|year=2004|publisher=GeraMond|location=Munich|isbn=3-7654-7216-6|language=de}}</ref>

===East German national airline===
As a state-owned airline, Interflug and its approximately 8,000 employees were under the control of the [[National Defence Council (East Germany)|National Defense Council]], in supreme command of the East German armed forces. The majority of Interflug pilots were [[Military reserve force|reserve officers]] of the [[National People's Army]] (and as such were required to be members of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Socialist Unity Party]]), and its aircraft could be requisitioned for military purposes at any time.<ref name=faz>{{cite journal|last=Kern|first=Ingolf|title=50 Jahre Interflug: Was von der DDR-Staatsfluggesellschaft blieb|journal=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]|date=23 June 2008|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/reise/nah/50-jahre-interflug-was-von-der-ddr-staatsfluggesellschaft-blieb-1547977.html|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de}}</ref> [[Klaus Henkes]], who became General Director of the airline in 1978, had previously served as General of the [[Air Forces of the National People's Army|East German Air Force]].<ref name=tsp>{{cite journal|last=Rosen|first=Björn|title=50 Jahre Interflug: Linientreu|journal=[[Der Tagesspiegel]]|date=21 September 2008|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/geschichte/50-jahre-interflug-linientreu/1328946.html|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de}}</ref> Applicants for flight attendant jobs had to be approved of by the [[Stasi]], which assessed their ''political reliability'', in an attempt to minimize espionage and [[defection]] to Western countries. Interflug crews who associated with employees of airlines from non-socialist countries risked suspension. Each flight crew was assigned a [[Political officer (military)|political officer]] who gave political lectures during flights.<ref name="tsp"/>

The airline's route network and fleet of Soviet-built aircraft grew significantly in the 1960s. The [[Ilyushin Il-18]] [[turboprop]] airliner became the workhorse of Interflug's [[Flight length|short-haul]] flights during that period. The company had been the intended primary operator of the [[Baade 152]], an early [[jet age|jet airliner]] constructed in East Germany.<ref>{{cite journal|title=East Germany and the BB.152|journal=[[Flightglobal|Flight]]|date=27 March 1959|page=426|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1959/1959%20-%200863.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> Its development never went beyond the prototype phase and was abandoned in 1961. In 1969, the [[Tupolev Tu-134]] was introduced, the first jet airliner operated by Interflug, used on European routes. The long-range [[Ilyushin Il-62|Il-62]] joined the fleet in 1971. That same year, the number of Interflug passengers reached 1 million. At its peak, Interflug flew to destinations such as [[Havana]], [[Cuba]], [[Singapore]] and [[Conakry]], [[Guinea]].<ref name="spiegel72">{{cite journal |date=21 August 1972 |title=Stotterndes Geheul |trans-title=Stuttering Howling |url=http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=42872065&aref=image035/E0543/PPM-SP197203500590059.pdf&thumb=false |url-status=dead |journal=[[Der Spiegel]] |language=de |pages=58–59 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105174337/http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=42872065&aref=image035%2FE0543%2FPPM-SP197203500590059.pdf&thumb=false |archive-date=5 November 2013 |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref>

As a result of the [[1970s energy crisis]] and increasing fuel prices, Interflug gradually dismantled its domestic route network. The last scheduled domestic flight, to transport prisoners from East Berlin to [[Erfurt]], took place in April 1980.<ref name=spiegel80>{{cite journal|title=Idyllische Ruhe|journal=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=28 April 1980|page=123|url=http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=14329950&aref=image036/2006/06/16/cq-sp198001801230123.pdf&thumb=false|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212010621/http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=14329950&aref=image036%2F2006%2F06%2F16%2Fcq-sp198001801230123.pdf&thumb=false|archive-date=12 December 2013}}</ref>

===Late 1980s and German reunification===
During the 1980s, Interflug's aging fleet caused increasing difficulties: [[fuel efficiency]] was inferior to that of contemporary western airliners, and [[Aircraft noise pollution|noise pollution]] regulations meant the airline had to pay higher [[landing fee]]s and was even banned from operating at some airports.<ref name="tsp"/> With some exceptions,{{refn|Romanian airlines [[TAROM]] and [[LAR Romanian Airlines|LAR]]}} Western-built airliners (most notably those produced by [[Boeing]], [[McDonnell Douglas]], and [[Airbus]]) could not be delivered to [[Soviet bloc]] countries because of the [[CoCom]] embargo. Following a deal between Boeing and [[LOT Polish Airlines]] for the purchase of six [[Boeing 767]] aircraft, and in order to acknowledge the [[Perestroika]] movement, commercial airliners were exempted from the trade embargo in 1988. [[Malév Hungarian Airlines]] also bought Boeing aircraft in 1988, and later that year, Interflug placed an order for three [[Airbus A310]] long-haul aircraft, worth [[Deutsche Mark|DM]] 420 million.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Zwei Airbus-Jets für die DDR|journal=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=2 May 1988|page=130|url=http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=13527367&aref=image036/2006/05/15/cq-sp198801801300130.pdf&thumb=false|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205101150/http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=13527367&aref=image036%2F2006%2F05%2F15%2Fcq-sp198801801300130.pdf&thumb=false|archive-date=5 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=spiegelJune88>{{cite journal|title=Sehr, sehr hoher Preis|journal=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=25 June 1988|pages=75–76|url=http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=13529894&aref=image036/2006/05/15/cq-sp198802600750076.pdf&thumb=false|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205160451/http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/image/show.html?did=13529894&aref=image036%2F2006%2F05%2F15%2Fcq-sp198802600750076.pdf&thumb=false|archive-date=5 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Airbus Sale to East|journal=[[The New York Times]]|date=25 June 1988|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/25/business/company-news-airbus-sale-to-east.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> The deal was secured with the support of [[Franz Josef Strauss]], then Minister-President of Bavaria, chairman of the Airbus supervisory board and responsible for West German loans to East Germany.

The first Airbus A310 was delivered to Interflug on 26 June 1989.<ref name=airfleets>{{cite web|title=Interflug fleet details|url=http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Interflug.htm|publisher=airfleets.net|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> The East German crews for the new aircraft type were trained in West Germany; aircraft maintenance was also performed there. The A310 enabled non-stop flights to [[Cuba]] (flights had previously required a fuel stop at [[Gander International Airport]] in Canada).<ref name="faz"/>

Following the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] on 9 November 1989 and the subsequent political upheaval in East Germany, several airlines expressed interest in buying parts of the highly unprofitable company to secure a share of the German air traffic market, especially in Berlin.<ref name="tsp"/> In early March 1990, [[Lufthansa]] signed a [[letter of intent]] to acquire 26 percent of Interflug,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Lufthansa Buying Stake in Interflug|journal=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 March 1990|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DD123BF93AA35750C0A966958260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FS%2FStocks%20and%20Bonds|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> but the offer was blocked by Germany's [[Federal Cartel Office]].<ref name=nytFeb91>{{cite journal|title=East German Airline Closed|newspaper=The New York Times |date=9 February 1991|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/09/business/company-news-east-german-airline-closed.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> Plans for a [[takeover]] by [[British Airways]]<ref>{{cite journal|last=Prokesch|first=Steven|title=Airline is Pursuing 2 Hubs on Continent|journal=[[The New York Times]]|date=18 December 1990|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/18/business/airline-is-pursuing-2-hubs-on-continent.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> did not materialize either (the UK airline instead founded [[DBA (airline)|Deutsche BA]] in 1992). On 1 July 1990, Interflug became a member of the [[International Air Transport Association]] (IATA).<ref>{{cite journal|title=East German Air Move|journal=[[The New York Times]]|date=22 May 1990|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/22/business/east-german-air-move.html|access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref>

As a consequence of [[German reunification]] on 3 October 1990, Interflug came under the administration of the ''[[Treuhandanstalt]]'', along with all other East German state property. As no buyers could be found, the liquidation of Interflug, which had 2,900 employees and 20 aircraft at the time, was announced on 7 February 1991.<ref name="nytFeb91"/>  The airline was then dismantled. The last commercial flight (on the Berlin-[[Vienna]]-Berlin route, using a Tu-134) took place on 30 April 1991.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Mit einer Tupolev ging die Interflug-Ära zu Bruch|journal=[[Die Welt]]|date=30 April 2011|url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/article13292097/Mit-einer-Tupolew-ging-die-Interflug-Aera-zu-Bruch.html|access-date=19 September 2013|language=de}}</ref>