LONDON (Standard&Poor's) March 8, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Germany based aviation group Deutsche Lufthansa AG to 'BBB' from 'BBB+'. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its'A-2' short-term corporate credit rating on the group. The outlook is stable. "The downgrade primarily reflects the deterioration in the group's business profile, particularly the weaker-than-expected performance of the catering and leisure businesses," said Standard&Poor's Corporate Finance credit analyst Leigh Bailey. "Increased competition from low-cost carriers over the last 12 months has also placed pressure on passenger yields in the group's domestic and continental markets." On Sept. 30, 2003, Lufthansa reported €3.4 billion of on-balance-sheet financial debt and
