Feliks Magus: Exceptional year for Tallinn

Increasing frequencies
Lufthansa has taken the intriguing step of upping the number of frequencies
it offers between Vilnius and Frankfurt, at least in summer. The German
airline, which saw a record high number of passengers in the Baltics in
2010 (see table), now has the daily flights FRA-RIX and FRA-TLL, a double
daily FRA-VNO, a daily MUC-TLL, and, if we include Austrian Airlines
which Lufthansa bought in 2009, a daily VIE-VNO service. We interviewed
Lufthansa’s representative in the Baltics, Matthias Hinze, for an overview of
the carrier’s services in the region.
nWhy do you think the time is
right now for another frequency
to Frankfurt from Vilnius?
We decided to offer two daily services
to Frankfurt on a seasonal basis in
summer and we will be evaluating this
service for the coming winter timetable.
Frankfurt is our most important hub in
our extensive network. From Frankfurt,
our passengers can travel to 174 destinations
in 77 countries worldwide.
The additional flights we are offering
ideally complement our existing services
in the afternoon. With the early
morning flight to Frankfurt, passengers
have especially seamless travel options
to Europe and beyond, focusing on our
North American long-haul flights.
Out of Frankfurt we offer flights to
19 destinations in the US and Canada.
Furthermore, with the early morning
flight, passengers can use a full day for
meetings in Frankfurt or in many European
cities without having to spend a
night at their destination.
I've noticed some grumbling – not
directed at Lufthansa – from people in
the tourism business in the Baltics at
having to fly to ITB Berlin via Copen-
features
hagen this year because there are no
direct routes. Estonian Air is stepping
in to launch flights between the German
capital and both Tallinn and Vilnius this
summer season and airBaltic has a route
from Riga. But do you think enough
demand will return to justify the launch
of routes at Lufthansa between the Baltics
and German cities other than the hub at
Frankfurt? I'm thinking of Munich and
Hamburg as well as Berlin.
Besides Frankfurt, Munich is our
second most important hub in Germany.
We usually follow a pattern to introduce
a new service out of Frankfurt and,
depending on the demand and performance,
we would look into introducing
a new city pair. However, in our eyes it
is always more useful for our customers
to have a second daily frequency than
a new route.
Generally, we are very much focusing
on routes to our hubs in Frankfurt
and Munich in order to feed into our
European and intercontinental network.
Currently there are no concrete plans to
further enhance our offer from and to
the Baltics.
Ryanair and Wizz Air are launching
routes from Vilnius this season. Are you
worried about what seems to be the dominance
of low-cost airlines in the Baltics?
Generally we are in favour of competition
– if it is fair – as it results in
benefits for customers. Lufthansa has
attractive fare offers in place that are
often even lower than the current offers
from “low-fare” airlines. And with those
prices, passengers can enjoy the usual
high Lufthansa products and services
and reliable operations. This includes
free meals, snacks and drinks on board,
a free luggage allowance of 20 kg, lounge
access, when eligible, and the possibility
to earn and redeem miles with Miles
& More, Europe's largest airline loyalty
program.
But isn't raising frequencies to
Frankfurt risky, given that most passengers
are flying via this major hub to
destinations that low-cost airlines are
now flying to, such as London?
We see that a fair share of our passengers
take advantage of our extensive
long-haul network. Around 25 percent of
our passengers from VNO connect to a
long-haul flight in Frankfurt. Only 10-15
percent of the passengers end their trip in
Frankfurt. With our new morning flight
we are happy to offer our customers
even better possibilities to connect into
our long-haul network and are confident
that passengers will use it.
Furthermore, one of our strengths is
also that we fly to the best located airports
in Europe and worldwide. This saves
time when travelling to your final destination.
Further, top destinations from
Matthias Hinze, Lufthansa
representative, Baltics
“Around 25%
of our passengers
from
VNO connect
to a longhaul
flight in
Frankfurt."
certain airports do not necessarily have
to be top destinations for Lufthansa from
those origins.
Does Germanwings, a low-cost
Lufthansa subsidiary, have a future in
the Baltics?
Germanwings has to assess its market
opportunities individually. In general
we see still much potential in the region.
What are you doing to introduce
agents and the Baltic public to Lufthansa's
A380 experience?
We have very close relations with
the local travel agency market and
with our corporate clients. In individual
meetings and with workshops and
events, such as the recent launch party
in Vilnius for the new frequency, we are
spreading information about the A380
in the markets.
airBaltic has several codeshares in
place with Star Alliance members. Is it
possible that airBaltic will join Star Alliance
in the future?
Star Alliance has its own criteria
that need to be met and discussed for a
new member to join. So it would be up to
the relevant council to look more closely
into this. The codeshare agreements
between airBaltic and some Star Alliance
carriers are bilateral agreements limited
to selected routes. n
Record high
Number of passengers flying Lufthansa in the Baltic region (2010)
Lufthansa invests
in passenger and
freighter fleet
The Lufthansa Supervisory Board
has approved orders for 35 new
aircraft. Thirty of the aircraft from
the Airbus A320neo family are for
the passenger business and deliveries
are scheduled to begin in 2016. The
other five orders are for Boeing 777
freighters for the logistics business
segment.
Investment in new aircraft
strengthens the competitiveness of
airlines in the group. Besides greater
fuel efficiency, all of the models on
order will help lower operating costs
as well as noise levels and emissions.
The orders are further steps in
Lufthansa’s ongoing fleet modernisation
and expansion policy.
The total orders will include 25
A320neo and five A321neo aircraft
destined for continental European
passenger traffic. The aircraft come
with improved aerodynamics and
new engines. They burn around
15 percent less fuel than today’s
comparable models. Moreover, their
noise emissions lie cumulatively
between 10 to 15 dB below current
noise limits, further improving noise
reduction compared with the present
fleet.
The five new Boeing 777 freighters
are slated to join the fleet from
2013. They will be utilised to seize
growth opportunities fuelled by rising
demand. Aside from their high
fuel efficiency, the noise footprint
of the new freighters is smaller than
that of the existing fleet. The Boeing
777F is the most modern freighter
of its size.
The orders in total are valued at
list price at close to four billion US
dollars. They will be funded from the
group’s own assets or from external
financial resources.
Vilnius* over 103,000 passengers (2009: 95,000) + 8 %
Tallinn over 127,000 passengers (2009: 67,000) + 90 %
Riga over 72,000 passengers (2009: 62,000) + 16 %
Total over 302,000 passengers in 2010 (2009: 224,000) + 34 %
*Lufthansa is the oldest airline operating to Lithuania without interruption since 1992
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Baltic Stand By No.2/2011 27