Lufthansa - Focus on strategic investments
A considerable investment program is in full swing at Lufthansa, which will bring interesting innovations for passengers. After a three-year break, Lufthansa was back at the ITB tourism trade fair this year. No longer in Hall 9, as this space has now been taken by Air Berlin, but in Hall 25, where Jens Bischof, member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board and responsible for sales and revenue management, explained the most important investments currently being made for customers. This year, €1.8 billion will be invested in new aircraft and product improvements, and "investments of a similar amount" are planned for the following years. From May, Lufthansa will be the first airline worldwide to put the new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental into service. Five of the 20 jumbos of the new generation will be delivered this year and will be used primarily between North America and India - a market that Lufthansa is feeling the effects of, above all, competition from the Middle East. The 747-8I will also offer the new Business Class, which celebrated its premiere at the ITB. The new seat can be transformed into a 1.98 meter long bed and is the main component of Lufthansa's most extensive investment in the inflight product.
Over the next few years, three billion euros will flow into such product improvements. By the end of the year, 40 percent of the fleet is to be retrofitted with the new C-Class seats. "It will take around four years before we have equipped all long-haul aircraft with them," says Bischof, adding that no other airline in the world operates as many lounges as Lufthansa. In the business travel segment, Lufthansa wants to increase its turnover by a further 2.3 billion euros by 2015. However, Lufthansa's presence at ITB was also to be understood in terms of other focal points. For example, the new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport opens on June 3. "And there we will quadruple our offer to 50 destinations". In order to be able to compete with Easyjet, Air Berlin and the like - competitive prices start at 49 euros - an efficient operation with a young fleet and special employment contracts for staff must be implemented. The number of employees in Berlin will be increased by 500 to 4,000. Total investment in Berlin: half a billion euros. And in Frankfurt, the new Pier A Plus in Terminal 1 will open in the fall. This terminal area with 23 new gates will be heavily frequented by the Airbus A380 in particular and will handle six million passengers. "This provides us with growth opportunities that many of our European competitors will not have in the next ten to twenty years. Lufthansa is also seeking proximity to tourism and is breaking new ground. For example, with a new marketing presence - NONSTOP YOU. What's more, Lufthansa Holidays allows customers to book not only flights but also entire trips online. The portfolio offers a choice of over 140 airports and more than 8,000 hotels. Lufthansa cooperates with the tour operator Thomas Cook Germany.
Kurt Hofmann
(March 2012)
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