The 10th annual IMEX trade show is open for business at Messe Frankfurt. This year brings 4,000 hosted buyers from more than 60 countries and an expanded education program featuring—you guessed it—MPI. But aside from the traditional education, IMEX has added some really cool "campfire" areas to the trade show floor that allow for small group education. In all, there are 130 different sessions, workshops and campfires set to take place over the next three days, including the two I blogged about yesterday, here and here. Here's a list of cool things I'm looking forward to this week.

• The new Power of 10 research report, which builds on the Convention 2020 report (I'll report on this tomorrow)
• More IMEX TV with interviews and footage from the show (Check it out here)
• Our MPI anniversary reception which is...in just a few minutes!

Lufthansa is launching flights to London Gatwick, the airline’s eighth destination in the United Kingdom, in October. The German carrier will serve the U.K.’s second-largest airport twice daily, connecting it with Frankfurt and to Lufthansa’s global network. The route will be operated by a Boeing B737-500 with 120 seats in Business and Economy Class.

“The new service to a third London airport will enable us to offer an attractive alternative for passengers flying to London,” said Kay Kratky, a member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board. “The city’s second-largest airport will also be of interest to leisure travelers who wish to visit the south of England and its impressive coastline.” 

With the introduction of flights to Gatwick, Lufthansa will increase its weekly services from Germany to the U.K. to 455. This winter, in addition to London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City, Lufthansa’s UK route network will encompass Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Lufthansa is launching the world’s first ever scheduled commercial passenger flights using bio-fuel in the first half of 2011, with an IAE (International Aero Engines) powered Airbus A321 aircraft. The daily flights between Hamburg and Frankfurt, will be the first in the world to use a bio-fuel blend made from 50 percent hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). When it is consumed, fuel made from bio-mass material emits the CO2 it naturally absorbs when it grows, thereby helping neutralize overall CO2 emissions.

The daily flights will begin in April 2011 and will initially continue for a period of six months as part of the Burn Fair project to study the long-term impact of sustainable bio-fuels on aircraft performance. Airbus’ role is to provide technical assistance and to monitor the fuel properties.

The bio-fuel is being provided by Finland based Neste Oil, under a long-term agreement with Lufthansa. The fuel will only be produced from sustainable feedstock sources to make sure that the bio-feedstock does not compete for food, water nor land.