GERMAN airline Lufthansa yesterday confirmed a cartel office investigation into its pricing structure. The news comes hard on the heels of Lufthansa's disappointing first half 1996 figures.

The airline said on Monday last week that first half 1996 pretax profits fell 37 per cent to 119 million deutschmarks (£49.5 million) amid price slashing by the group's European rivals, but said full year earnings should be stable.

Against this background, Lufthansa can hardly have wanted the week to start with news of a cartel office investigation into its pricing structure.

The German broadsheet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Lufthansa's Frankfurt Berlin route, costing DM800 in business class, had prompted cartel authorities to ask the airline to disclose its pricing structure after "various complaints".