Lufthansa wants to grow outside Germany during the crisis
CAPTION: Lufthansa wants to grow outside Germany during the crisis. (picture alliance/dpa)
The German airline Lufthansa plans to grow, especially outside Germany, amid the looming economic crisis. The company remains on the path toward profit that it embarked on in the spring, Group CEO Carsten Spohr said in Frankfurt. He said the recession in the domestic market was "probably inevitable." Spohr said: "Germany will be hit harder than other markets in Europe. So, it's almost something of a consolation that we now generate only one-third of our sales in Germany."
Lufthansa is selling significantly more tickets, especially in the United States and, prospectively, again in Asia. "We are very pleased that we have made a stable shift to the US as our sales origin," Spohr said. "We are gaining market share there and selling at prices we have not otherwise seen." The maintenance and logistics business segments are also expected to continue to generate high earnings. In Germany, however, the company expects demand to be subdued due to high inflation.
Overall, the company is experiencing a high demand for tickets after the coronavirus crisis, Spohr reported. "The desire to buy our product is so strong that we can't keep up with production." Average yields were rising because tickets did not have to be marketed in the lowest booking classes, he said. The Lufthansa CEO reiterated the goal of offering between 85 and 90 percent of pre-crisis levels next year. To achieve this, he said, it would be necessary to recruit around 20,000 new employees across the Lufthansa Group by the end of 2023. In addition, the company plans to invest billions in new aircraft, equipment, and IT.
With regard to the various wage disputes within the company, Spohr said that life had to be breathed into the word partnership again. He said that the technical and flying expertise of the staff was part of Lufthansa's core brand. In times of inflation, he said, significant salary increases, especially in the lower-paid groups, were "absolutely appropriate" and some entry-level salaries that had once been negotiated were no longer tenable. Spohr explained: "We have not left our employees alone in the pandemic, and we will not leave them alone in inflation either."
Notice: No person, organization and/or company shall disseminate or broadcast the above article on Xinhua Silk Road website without prior permission by Xinhua Silk Road.
A single purchase
