THESE ARE turbulent times for airlines, but May, at least, appears to have been a strong month for Lufthansa, which increased traffic on its Dublin to Frankfurt route by 4.5 per cent year on year.
Marianne Sammann, Lufthansa’s general manager for the UK and Ireland, paid a flying visit to Dublin this week and told me that the airline carried 21,247 passengers between the cities in May.
“This was very encouraging for us,” Sammann said, adding that fares are under pressure.
“The average price is very much down,” Sammann added. “[but] we are still operating profitably.”
While Lufthansa has achieved a healthy 75.5 per cent load factor on its flights from Dublin in the year to date, sales volumes have declined by 20 per cent.
Lufthansa carried 229,789 passengers between Dublin and Frankfurt last year, a 1.7 per cent decline on 2007. Its average load factor last year was 71.6 per cent.
In spite of the downturn, Lufthansa has maintained its three flights a day between Dublin and Frankfurt. This is the only route the German airline operates to Ireland.
Summer flights to Munich, Berlin and Stuttgart – which Sammann said performed well last year – did not make the cut in 2009.
“We are hopeful that when the economy returns, we can bring those back,” Sammann said. “Obviously, this is not a good year to plan an expansion.”
The Dublin flights are also a good feeder for Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub. About 55 per cent of those flying from here transfer on to other countries with Lufthansa.
“The top destination is Beijing, followed by Moscow, Lagos, Johannesburg and Shanghai.”
Would Lufthansa consider launching direct long-haul routes from Dublin when the new Terminal 2 opens in November 2010?
“This is highly unlikely,” she explained. “There are no long-haul routes that we operate outside our hubs in Germany.”
Will Lufthansa move into T2 when it opens? “It is still under discussion where Lufthansa will finally be located following the opening of T2. In the future, the aim would ultimately be to have Star Alliance carriers under one roof at Dublin airport.”
Would Lufthansa be interested in acquiring or taking a stake in Aer Lingus? “We are not looking at any further acquisitions. We have SN Brussels, BMI and Austrian.
“They are happening this year and that’s a huge portion of the consolidation. But we always keep a close eye on the market.”
