AMID THE CRISIS, Lufthansa Passenger Traffic Down In Q1

Cosmina Capalău

Lufthansa has reported a slight decrease in the number of passengers transported in Q1 to a little over 15 million, down by 6% from the corresponding period of 2008. Stefan Versemann, General Sales Manager for Romania and R. Moldova, told BURSA that "considering the difficult economic conditions and low demand, Lufthansa is expecting lower revenues and a significant decrease in the operating results of the entire Group, compared to the Y2008 results.

However, despite the current economic challenges, the company remains confident that operating results will remain positive." Versemann further informed that "the economic situation is definitely reflecting on ticket sales. As all the other airlines, Lufthansa, too, is facing the impact of low demand and consequently a lower passenger traffic in the first quarter of this year."

• Capacity cuts prompted by plunging demand

Amid the general recession, Lufthansa has been taking steps to improve its flexibility and adaptation to a changing economic environment. Stefan Versemann explained that "first of all, the reduction of capacity was one of the measures taken to respond to a decreasing demand. We also reduced flight frequency and even introduced smaller aircraft on the routes in particularly low demand. Despite the cost cuts, the number of Lufthansa destinations remained unchanged. In the Summer of 2009, we offer customers a vast network of 206 international destinations in 78 countries." Versemann further explained that Lufthansa had partially reconfigured the fleet to increase the number of economy seats on the Boeing 747-400 and decrease the number of business seats in order to better focus on tourism-oriented travelers.

• Investments continue

During the crisis, Lufthansa is investment in the opportunities that appear on markets with a significant growth potential. In specific regions, the route network is strategically expanded with new connections. Romania is one example in this respect, as Lufthansa has increased the number of flights and introduced a new daily flight between Bucharest and Milan. Versemann believes that "the positive results of reservations for the flights operated by Lufthansa - Italy enable us to expect a positive balance of the number of passengers in 2009. In 2008, Lufthansa - Romania set a record for 550,000 passengers to and from Romania, up by 10% from 2007." In addition to investments on emerging markets, the company continued to invest in products offered both on board and on ground. The company is also planning to invest 150 million EUR by 2013 in renovating and improving waiting lounges across the world.