Frankfurt It is an emotional moment for many Lufthansa employees and airplane fans when the super jumbo with the identification D-AIMH takes off in Frankfurt on September 14th at around ten o’clock. Because the airline’s last Airbus A380 is retiring to Teruel, Spain. Only a few weeks later, on October 4th, this news came: Lufthansa is leasing four more Airbus A350s at short notice.
Two events that show how Europe’s largest airline group is reorganizing its own fleet. The group will “fleet” 177 short, medium and long-haul jets in this decade – an impressive number even for a large airline group. At the same time, 97 aircraft are to be decommissioned.
It is a renovation that is not only intended to increase efficiency and address the issue of sustainability. A look at the future fleet shows what the strategy of CEO Carsten Spohr looks like for the time after the pandemic.
Passengers will feel the changes most clearly on long-haul routes. With the Boeing 747, there will still be a large-capacity jet with four engines for the time being, probably until at least the middle of this decade. But one thing is clear: In the long run, there is no longer any space in the fleet for four-jet engines. The management made this clear to the Supervisory Board.
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The largest long-haul jet in the “fleet” of the German group will be the Boeing 777-9 after the giant planes say goodbye. However, their delivery has been delayed several times. Lufthansa does not yet know exactly when the jet will arrive – maybe 2023.
Dreamliners from Boeing are also new to the fleet. Lufthansa has ordered 20 of the 787-9s. Five more jets have been added here at short notice. Since these five have already been built, but will no longer be accepted by the original customers, Spohr hopes to get a first Dreamliner this year. Lufthansa also expects 26 more of the Airbus A350-900.
Lufthansa has ordered further Dreamliners at short notice. The smaller long-haul aircraft can be filled more quickly and thus used more flexibly.
(Photo: AP)
The long-haul fleet will also include the established Boeing 777-300, which is used by the subsidiary Swiss, and the Airbus A330-300, which is used by the new tourism brand Eurowings Discover.
On the other hand, the following aircraft models will leave the group permanently or some of them already have: the four-jet Boeing 747-400, Airbus A340-600 and A340-300 as well as the twin-jet Boeing 777-200, Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 767-300.
The list shows: In the future, Lufthansa will on average be traveling on long-haul flights with smaller aircraft that can be filled more quickly. In return, the airline can go to important connections more frequently, which means more choice for customers. In addition, the jets can also be used effectively at somewhat smaller hubs.
Premium is reserved for Lufthansa and Swiss
That is important, because the Lufthansa top has one goal: The entire airline group should be attractive for both transfer passengers and those passengers who only travel between two destinations, the so-called point-to-point traffic. Based on a strong home network, the group wants to grow on long-haul routes. The airline is to expand its presence in the direction of Asia, in addition to the strong transatlantic market.
This is also reflected in the Group’s home airports. The three hubs in Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich are primarily reserved for premium traffic – mainly on long-haul routes. With Eurowings Discover and Edelweiss, the Lufthansa and Swiss brands will be joined by two providers for long-distance tourist destinations.
Not only Lufthansa, but also many other airlines have retired the A380. That is arguably the clearest sign of how the pandemic has changed air travel.
(Photo: imago images / HMB-Media)
Vienna and Brussels are slipping into the status of smaller hubs, where Austrian and Brussels Airlines primarily serve the local market, i.e. do not rely so heavily on the complex and expensive transfer traffic. Because competition with the low-cost providers in Vienna and Brussels is tough.
The third mainstay is the intra-European point-to-point traffic, mainly from airports beyond the very large hubs. That is the job of the low-cost subsidiary Eurowings. So far this has been concentrated heavily on Germany and Austria. But Eurowings is to be gradually expanded into a pan-European airline. The first steps can be seen: The Lufthansa subsidiary is currently setting up bases in Prague and Stockholm.
A dense network should attract customers
This expansion makes it clear what CEO Spohr sees as the group’s European home market in the future. It is a strip that extends from Scandinavia to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and down to Italy. Here, the management wants to score with a network that is as dense as possible and at the same time try to keep competitors away. In contrast, Spohr sees western Europe as occupied by Ryanair and Easyjet, while the east is heavily dominated by Wizz Air.
Lufthansa relies on a largely uniform short- and medium-haul fleet with the Airbus models A320neo, A321neo, A220-300 and A220-100. On the other hand, the Airbus A320 and A319, Embraer 195 and 190 and Bombardier CRJ 900 jets have to go in the long run.
The A320 Family in its modernized Neo variant will in future play the central role in the Lufthansa Group’s European traffic.
(Photo: imago images / Aviation-Stock)
The future, more uniform fleet will not only reduce maintenance costs. The aircraft can also be moved much more flexibly between flight operations. This is an integral part of Spohr’s strategy. He wants to strengthen those subsidiaries that have the best and most suitable cost base for certain markets – an internal competition also with the aim of further reducing costs overall.
Eurowings Discover or Cityline, which can hope for new aircraft in the future, should benefit from this. But Air Dolomiti, which heads for destinations in Italy and Central Europe, could also benefit from new jets. So far, the airline has been flying with 15 Embraer E 195s. But a few weeks ago Spohr indicated that the board of directors was thinking about new jets for Air Dolomiti. One candidate could be the modern Embraer E195-E2.
More extras for money
At the same time as the fleet is being converted, Lufthansa is also introducing new services. The new business class is expected to arrive in 2023 – whether in the Dreamliner, the 777-9 or the Airbus A350 also depends on when the newcomers arrive. Customers can then book a seat that is more geared towards their personal needs. There are some with an extra long bed or an area twice as large to work.
This is a clear indication of how booking a flight with Lufthansa will look in the future: so-called “pricing à la carte” will come more and more. Extras can be booked, but they are not included in the ticket price. This also applies to the short and medium-haul routes. Those who fly there in economy have had to pay for food for a few months now, and only a bottle of water and a small chocolate are free.
The goal: Lufthansa wants to significantly increase the share of “ancillary revenues”, the additional revenues in addition to ticket sales. In addition to the low-cost providers, who are particularly strong in this area, American network airlines such as Delta, American or United also do significantly better.
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