by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 3, 2017 | Eurowings, Featured, LCC, Munich, Passenger Experience |
Beginning in Summer 2018, Lufthansa’s low cost carrier, Eurowings, will begin serving Frankfurt as the LH Group seeks to stem the competition coming from other European LCCs.
In an article published in Airliners.de, Eurowings boss Karl Ulrich Garnadt stated that due to the pressures seen coming from Ryanair and others, it made good business sense to counter the new competition. Ryanair plans to begin service to Frankfurt this spring.
Such a move is made easier due to the fact that Eurowings will inherit 33 aircraft in the coming months after Lufthansa agreed to lease the aircraft from Air Berlin. This is of course in addition to the aircraft that will join Eurowings after the acquisition of Brussels Airlines closes. In all, the Eurowings fleet will grow to nearly 120 aircraft making it easier to operate from large hubs and to take on their competitors directly.
Previously, Eurowings announced that it will begin flying from Lufthansa’s other Mega-Hub in Munich in March. The initial timetable calls for flights to 32 cities throughout Europe, mostly towards ‘Holiday’ type destinations.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 1, 2017 | Featured, Lufthansa, Passenger Experience |
Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa Group’s CEO, has suggested that the airline plans to reduce fares for passengers during 2017. His comments came as part of an interview with German newspaper ‘Westdeustchen Allgemeine Zeitung’.
In his comments, he hinted that the fare cuts this year would be less than the fare cuts that took place during 2016, pointing to slightly higher fuel expenses that are expected during 2017. To offset the impact of a modest bump in fuel costs, he suggested that savings would be found in other areas of their income statement.
His comments tie into the ongoing negotiations with his pilots as they try to strike a labor peace that has been elusive thus far: ‘For this reason, we are striving for lower long-term airport charges, for example, and we have to create competitive and thus future-proof structures in personnel costs.”. These comments also came at the same time that a negotiating period between the airline and the pilot’s union came to an end without a resolution.
He did not suggest specific percentages as far as fare cuts are concerned but in reading between the lines I would assume that the cuts will be in the low single digit percentage point range.
As part of the interview he did plant a hint that certain markets may be at risk for continued Lufthansa service: “There are market segments in which you can no longer be profitable with our personnel costs of our core brand Lufthansa.” He further added that since passengers expect lower fares, a correlating reduction in expenses must be executed. Again, suggesting to labor that with a reduction in fares necessary to remain competitive, labor must move towards accepting concessions to help Lufthansa remain competitive.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 31, 2017 | A350, Featured, Lufthansa, On Board Experience, Passenger Experience |
In addition to all the new technology and efficiencies found within the A350’s airframe, Lufthansa has added a twist to the Inflight Entertainment System that should ‘WOW’ passengers.
With the introduction of the A350, LUFTHANSA introduces a new tool that will allow passengers to customize what Movies, TV Shows, Music, and other media they can enjoy up to 6 weeks prior to their flight. By using the ‘Lufthansa Companion App’, you will now be able to see your IFE menu weeks ahead of your flight, and can use your smart-device or tablet to create your customized menu of content you wish to enjoy during your A350 flights.
Once you’ve installed the app, you can enter your flight details at which point you’ll be presented with your IFE menu. From that point, make your selections and when you board your flight you’ll be able to sync your customized menu to your seat-back display and will immediately have your personal list loaded onto the aircraft’s system. What’s more, you can also use your smart device separately to view your IFE selections while on board.
The IFE system on the A350 is a customized version of Panasonic’s EX3 system which has the capacity to provide upwards of 100 Movies, 200 TV shows, and a myriad of Music and other content. This clearly marks the best that LH has to offer when it comes to Inflight Entertainment Systems.
The App should be available in your ‘local’ App Store in the coming weeks, timed with the introduction of the A350’s entrance into passenger service on February 10.
I’ll get to see the new system up close and personal later this week. If the app is released by then, I’ll come back with a follow up showing how it works.
