I've personally enjoyed Lufthansa service myself, but what growing Austin really needs is more efficient surface infrastructure and more affordable housing. That would help a lot more than these silly vanity flights through a tiny and constricted airport to cities already well served by other intrastate hubs in Houston and Dallas. In a more rational market the taxes recovered from long distance flights might help to pay for better local infrastructure, but thanks to tax giveaways and other deferments these vanity routes will pay little if anything into local coffers and simply vanish with the next market implosion. I hear Austin residents complain about their poor local infrastructure every single time I visit, but I've yet to hear my first complaint about the lack of a nonstop flight to Frankfurt.
I'm sure Lufthansa thought about the housing market and other transportation infrastructure before making the decision to serve the market.
As with a downturn in the economy, lots of flights go away, domestic and international. Then they come back when things get better. As with connections I'm sure many Austinites will enjoy a one or two seat ride to Europe. More choices and more connectivity is better for everyone.