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FLYING HIGH

LUFTHANSA EXPANDS OUTREACH TO LGBT IN NORTH AMERICA WITH CONTEST

Lufthansa has long had a history of positive involvement with the LGBT community in Europe, even winning an award for “Most Gay-Friendly Travel Business” last spring International Gay Lifestyle magazine last spring. We all know and love that. Equality at 30,000+ feet, too.

The airline has been expanding its marketing and communication with the LGBT community in North America. As one of its first steps, Lufthansa launched an LGBT-focused contest to send a lucky couple on a vacation to Europe. The contest includes free tickets to anywhere they fly to in Europe and a two-night stay plus breakfast at the Marriott in Cologne, Germany.

That contest comes to a close tomorrow: August 31. Interested members of the community and allies are encouraged to visit Lufthansa’s LGBT microsite http://lufthansa-usa.com/lgbt. Entrants take a brief quiz on to test their knowledge of the gay and lesbian community.

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According to Ian Chyun, the airline’s regional marketing manager, the connection between the LGBT community and Lufthansa is a natural one. “Our experience tells us that the discerning traveler is always our best partner and their feedback helps us maintain our quality of service at the highest possible level,” said Chyun. “The LGBT community has a high degree of education and travel experience so the decision to engage the community made sense.”

In addition to marketing programs, Lufthansa has a dynamic relationship with the Trevor Project and through sponsoring their events in New York and Los Angeles has been able to raise over $30,000 for their life-saving work in the past two years. The Trevor project is a national organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.

Lufthansa is also now partnering with the Navigaytour, a nationally branded, locally produced series of gay and lesbian guides to further engage the community.