by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 4, 2016 | Featured, Frankfurt, Lufthansa, Technik |
In association with Frankfurt Airport, Lufthansa Technik will be hosting an open house in one of their cavernous hangars at Frankfurt Airport on November 24 from 6:00p to 8:30p (local FRA time). The specific hangars that will be open are the hangars on the north side of the airport, nearest the passenger terminals. It is here where most of the Frankfurt-based fleet is serviced including the A330, A340, Boeing 747-400 and 747-8i, along with the narrow body Airbuses.
In order to attend you have to register in advance by sending an email to team@ja-zu-fra.org . Space is limited so not every registration will be accepted.
In the email, please provide your first and last name, date and location of birth as well as your current address.
According to the conditions, attendees must be at least 16 years old. Due to the nature of the hangars, persons with disabilities or who have trouble with mobility will not be able to attend.
The deadline to register is November 6 at midnight (local FRA time). Successful applicants will be notified on November 7.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 3, 2016 | Air Berlin, Airlines, Airports, Corporate, Etihad, Eurowings, Featured, Frankfurt, Germany, Industry News, Lufthansa |
Today was a busy news day for Lufthansa and not in a positive manner. Aside from an earnings report that was lackluster with future forecasts that were not overly optimistic, Ryanair announced something that will force a shift in how Lufthansa does business on its home turf.
It was perhaps not a coincidence, but on the same day that Lufthansa announced their 3rd quarter financial results, Ryanair announced that they would begin offering flights from Frankfurt. A place where Lufthansa controls over 60% of air traffic movements and also an airport in which LH owns an 8% share.
Ryanair in its announcement stated that 2 737 aircraft would be deployed beginning in March 2017 and will focus primarily on warm-weather holiday markets in and around the Mediterranean region. Ryanair expects to invest over $200 million dollars into this expansion that is specifically targeted at Lufthansa’s low cost carrier unit, Eurowings. Ryanair will now operate out of 9 German airports.
Plans for Eurowings never included operating in Lufthansa’s hubs in Munich and Frankfurt, but due to the ‘attack’ of LCC carriers upon Eurowings, Lufthansa had to relent and recently announced that in fact it would operate Eurowings out of Munich, and today they were forced to announce that Eurowings may also be coming to Frankfurt. This decision had to be made as a direct response to Ryanair’s action. LH didn’t provide specifics, simply because they were caught off guard by the Ryanair gambit. However, expect a Eurowings / Frankfurt announcement sooner than later.
WHY NOW FOR RYANAIR?
Previously, Ryanair avoided Frankfurt-Main (FRAPORT) like the plague choosing instead to operate out of Frankfurt-Hahn which is about 70 miles outside the city. Their CEO, Mike O’Leary, even went on record last year saying that Ryanair would never fly out of FRA. What prompted the change in strategy was the inducements that the Frankfurt Operating Authority offered Ryanair, including substantially reduced landing fees, gate expenses, and similar overhead. In all, Ryanair will pay 40% less than other airlines for the same services. FRAPORT said this was done as part of a new strategy of offering huge discounts in order to attract more airlines and routes. My question is where are you going to fit them when the airport is already at capacity and your dainty neighbors don’t want flights departing or arriving when the sun is below the horizon? But I digress……
Of course this irritated LH’s senior management who now are challenging their own business partner in FRAPORT to extend similar discounts to those already using the airport. This soap opera will get more interesting over the coming weeks as Lufthansa responds to the Ryanair announcement. But give credit where credit is due, Ryanair simply is taking advantage of an opportunity that was placed nicely onto its lap. FRAPORT has initially suggested that no deals will be made with existing carriers at Frankfurt, but I can’t see that remaining the case.
USED INSTEAD OF NEW…..
Also part of todays earnings commentary was an announcement that going forward, Lufthansa may opt to purchase used aircraft instead of new aircraft as it looks to replace aging aircraft in the short haul fleet (regional jets, etc). The rationale behind this decision is to reduce some of the capital expenditure as a result of softer earnings expectations. This does not affect any orders that Lufthansa has placed for new aircraft, it may just result in fewer orders for new aircraft. LH still plans to spend 2.2 – 2.7 billion dollars a year over the next 3-5 years as it takes delivery of new aircraft.
NO TO ITALY AND ALITALIA…….
As part of the same session today, LH Group CEO Carsten Spohr put to rest the rumors surrounding Lufthansa taking a stake in Alitalia as part of a larger deal to acquire Air Berlin. There had been conversations between Etihad (stakeholder in both Air Berlin and Alitalia), Alitalia, and Lufthansa about a potential 3-way deal that would have LH take a substantial stake in Alitalia, and in return Etihad would proffer Air Berlin. This plan was in addition to the existing plan that will have Lufthansa wet-lease 40 aircraft from Air Berlin and fly the planes the routes that those birds normally served. In his comments, and perhaps they were unscripted, but Spohr simply stated that the personal home that he owns in Italy is about as much as Lufthansa is going to invest in Italy. Hopefully a speechwriter doesn’t get a bonus for that wit.
‘IMHO’ (Brewing for a while!) ………
For this LH fan it’s become increasingly frustrating to see an Airline struggle in a business where by all reasonable measures, it should be the dominant player. It has allowed itself to be nickle-and-dimed into positions that it shouldn’t be in. It should have stepped up and fixed its labor woes years ago instead of suffering hundreds of millions in losses due to strikes as a result of unhappy labor. It would have been ridiculously more cost effective to settle with labor instead of being stubborn to bend to a compromise.
I think another mis-calculation was the decision to create some kind of super-LCC within the group. Thus far Eurowings has not proven itself as a successful model and the jury is still out as far as its viability is concerned. I’m hoping it works out because in theory EW would be a fantastic complement to the group but on the other hand I think Lufthansa has taken their eye off of what used to matter.
The successful Lufthansa paid attention to their best customers, took their advice to heart, and developed product and services based on what these passengers were asking and willing to pay for. With that commitment came a fierce loyalty from their best passengers. That has changed. No longer is Lufthansa actively soliciting the advice of ‘HON’ and ‘Senator’ level passengers. Instead they have turned their focus on the low-margin passenger who travels once or twice a year and wants to buy the cheapest seat possible. They’ve transformed marketing and social media campaigns to focus on the guy or gal who will pay €79 euro for a once in a lifetime trip from Stuttgart to Ibiza.
I’m no marketing expert, but I am well versed in reading corporate financials. When I see the priority being shifted to filling up an economy cabin with $400 fares instead of focusing on the far more loyal, and far more profitable, premium cabin passenger, it comes as no surprise to see Lufthansa struggling on the balance sheet. They keep referring to a challenging operating environment but other carriers seem to do well in the same environment. A few years ago, fuel expense was the scapegoat. Now the scapegoat-du-jour appears to be the fierce competition coming from LCCs. Eventually the list of rationalizations is going to run out. The challenges to Lufthansa’s success are within the airline, not outside of it.
Focus on your best passengers. They’re the ones that will determine success or failure for any carrier.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 1, 2016 | Business Class, Fare Sale, Featured, Lufthansa |
Lufthansa has launched a Business Class fare sale that has very attractive pricing between New York and a number of European destinations.
For example, New York to Istanbul can be had for only $2,400. New York to most of Germany is pricing between $2300 and $3000. Unfortunately not every major LH destination in Europe is part of this sale, nor is any other USA Gateway as far as I can tell. But I didn’t have time to search out every US Gateway.
The terms of the fare sale are confusing this time as well. In the detailed terms and conditions, it says travel has to start December 18 and a 28 day advance purchase is required. However I was able to find the $2400-$2500 fares available beginning in mid November. The return period also is generous as these low fares. Lufthansa’s terms and conditions state return travel needs to be completed by July 2017, but I found the low fares available all the way to the end of September which is as far out as possible that you can book a flight at this point.
So I don’t know if this is a fare error or not, but the pricing is not matching the terms and restrictions at this point. It looks like you can book a very attractive Business Class seat to parts of Europe almost a year out for a great price. Take advantage!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 29, 2016 | Ducks, Featured, First Class, First Class Terminal, Lufthansa |
To celebrate the inevitable changing of the seasons and the time change that comes with it, Lufthansa’s First Class Services in Frankfurt will be giving a special and rare Duck to visitors to the First Class Terminal on October 29 and 30th. The duck is appropriately named ‘Good Night’ due to the fact that Europeans will spin their clock back one hour on October 30 as Standard Time returns to their time zones and everyone will be able to get an extra hour’s sleep.
So if your travels qualify you to visit the ‘FCT’ this weekend, make sure you leave with this new duck to add to your collection.
Appropriately nicknamed the ‘Good Night Duck’
Related: First Class Duck Registry
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 27, 2016 | Featured, Lounges, Lufthansa, Passenger Experience |
Lufthansa has rolled out a new pilot program that will test the the ability of using smartphones and their bluetooth technology as a ‘key’ to gain entry into LH Lounges.
The trial began on October 27 specifically at the BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGE located near gate A26 in Frankfurt. Passengers who have downloaded the Easy Access app from their respective App Stores will now have the ability to simply tap their phone to a tablet next to the Lounge Entrance and have the doors automatically open.
No longer will passengers have to stay in line outside the lounge while passengers fumble to find their boarding passes or frequent flyer cards. Nor will they have to wait in that line while the Lounge Attendant explains time and time again to passengers in the line as to why their economy class ticket on Aeroflot doesn’t give them the ability to enter the Lounge.
Remember, the trial ONLY COVERS the Business Class Lounge near Gate A26 in Frankfurt. Nowhere else at this point. If the trials go well, I suspect this will be expanded to cover other lounges in the network.
In order for the process to work, you’ll have to install both the Lufthansa app as well as the Easy Access app. The 2 will coordinate their data and using the bluetooth function on your phone, allow you to communicate with the Tablet at the ‘A26 Lounge’. You can find both Apps in your App Store by searching for Lufthansa and Easy Access.
I’m not sure why they are going to all the trouble of a separate app and requiring bluetooth technology in order for everything to work. I would think it would have been a lot easier to use an existing Electronic Boarding Pass that contains the ‘QR Bar Code Square’ that is scanned when boarding a flight. It seems that it would be easier to have that kind of a scanner at Lounge Door and allow passengers simply to use their Electronic Boarding Pass as the key to the lounge. After all, it’s what the lounge attendants are currently using when checking in guests. But as they say in my neighbor, it’s not my circus and it’s not my monkey so I don’t have any insights to the decisions!
At the end of the day, it’s still a far better way to bypass the sometimes long lines when trying to get into a Lounge.
To learn more about this new initiative, please visit www.LH.com/easyaccess.
