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Lufthansa will be ending their service in Portland on September 12 of this year. Lufthansa has been operating this important PDX service since 2003, but because of the economy and decreased demand, the German-based company has been forced to cut costs worldwide. International travel to and from Portland in general has seen continual decreases in the last several years, falling 30% this year and 24% in 2008.

While this may bring more business to Delta’s Portland to Amsterdam flights, the Port of Portland is optimistic that Lufthansa service will resume once the economy and travel industry shows signs of improvement, hoping for late next year at the latest. Unfortunately for PDX, Delta has been making international cuts as well. And in an effort to keep further international traffic from leaving, the Port of Portland Commission is considering a one-time payment of $3.4 million to Delta to keep their PDX to Tokyo service for at least another year. This kind of deal could not be made with Lufthansa, however, since Delta’s European route is still operating and the Port is not allowed to discriminate among its carriers.