In an interview with Belgian press, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr shows his disrespect of the Belgians

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr: “Brussels Airlines should not expect any favours“

That is what Carsten Spohr, CEO of the Lufthansa Group which 100% of Brussels Airlines since December 2017, said in an interview with Belgian television channel VRT and newspaper La Libre Belgique during the IATA aviation conference in Sydney.

• Our chief editor reviewed the interview and inserted his comments (reflecting the opinion of many Belgian people with some interest in the country’s aviation landscape) as bulleted paragraphs after the replies of Carsten Spohr.

Spohr did not hide his intentions at the IATA conference. He stated that the group’s strategy is very clear: “The Lufthansa Group has 15 airlines. Whoever brings down costs and generates more income can fully count on our support. A good example is SWISS, which will soon have new and additional aircraft. At Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, less good results were achieved, these companies do not have to expect additional investments, let me put it this way: their fate is in their own hands.”

• Just one question, Mr Spohr: Eurowings lost 206 million euros in the first quarter of 2018. Why does it get most of the investments of the Lufthansa Group? You will say that it had to be created from scratch and later had to integrate Air Berlin, and that costs money. But then, if Brussels Airlines has to be integrated into Eurowings, why doesn’t it get anything of the huge investments in Eurowings?

“Within the Lufthansa Group, Brussels Airlines is a relatively small company, and if there is a strike, the consequences are quickly visible on the results. We also had difficult times with Lufthansa in Germany with long-term strikes but the consequences were less for the simple reason that we were better able to cope with this loss of income in all areas.”

• Thus, Mr Spohr, Lufthansa pilots are allowed to strike to get an improved package well above that of the Brussels Airlines pilots, but the latter must remain quiet?

Meanwhile, with the newly appointed CEO Christina Foerster, the integration of Brussels Airlines within Eurowings is in full swing.

Where does Brussels Airlines stand in 2020? The staff and especially the pilots are concerned and also afraid of their future.

Carsten Spohr: “First and foremost: they do not have to be afraid of anything or anybody, let me put it this way: Brussels Airlines is too small to be a success story in itself. The employees at Brussels Airlines should be more supportive of the integration within Eurowings in order to help increase margins and revenues. The Lufthansa Group does not need these synergies, Eurowings does not need them either, Brussels Airlines, on the other hand, needs them to be able to grow further and, like SWISS, get more aircraft and new ones, and add destinations to the network.”

• Now, Mr Spohr, we know that Eurowings is your pet project and that you will do whatever is necessary to make it succeed, even if that means crushing the Belgians, like Bernard Gustin, who disagree with you. But why didn’t you give Brussels Airlines the same treatment as SWISS or Austrian Airlines in the first place? You say that Eurowings doesn’t need synergies, but you know very well that without the huge cash infusion from its Lufthansa parent, Eurowings would not exist!

What is your reaction to the recent pilot strike at Brussels Airlines?

“I was surprised but also disappointed, I thought that Brussels Airlines just wanted to become more profitable in order to get more aircraft and to continue to grow and not the other way around: strikes cost money, a lot of money even with the result that the profit margins go down and the financial result remains below expectations.”

• And what was your reaction to the multiple strikes of the Lufthansa pilots? Didn’t you grant them what they asked for (I repeat: much more than Brussels Airlines pilots)? Can’t you come to a similar agreement with the Belgian pilots?

“Brussels Airlines now belongs to the fastest growing airline group in Europe with 210 new aircraft on order. To return to your question where Brussels Airlines will be in 2020, on the short- and medium-haul connections, the company must be more and better integrated within Eurowings and in 2020 there will still be a Belgian element.”

• The fastest-growing airline group in Europe is growing only in one country: Germany. That is where the 210 aircraft on order will go…

“I see less need for integration for long-haul flights because we believe that Brussels Airlines can become the Eurowings competence centre, but for long-haul flights that growth can be achieved in Düsseldorf, but in Brussels only if the profit margins allow it. But here too: if the intended objectives are not achieved, there will be no additional investments and growth.”

• Thus, long-haul growth will be achieved in Düsseldorf, whether profitable or not, but in Brussels only if the profit margins allow. Did I understand correctly?

Will the name Brussels Airlines be retained?

“The CEO of Brussels Airlines decides on this. For long-haul flights, a name change seems less necessary: everyone knows Brussels Airlines in Africa, but nobody knows the company in Scandinavia, Madrid or elsewhere in Europe. In the US or Asia, Eurowings should be the sign of our pan-European response to low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet.”

• Excuse me, Mr Spohr, but is the name Eurowings better known worldwide (for example in Scandinavia, Madrid, the US or Asia) than Brussels Airlines? If you want a name that is well known all over the world, you might want to use Sabena!
• Furthermore, Germans, Austrians and Swiss still have the feeling of having a flagship carrier. If Brussels Airlines becomes Eurowings, that feeling will disappear among  the Belgians. Oh no, I am wrong: they now have Air Belgium!

Do you still feel the hot breath of those two successful prizefighters?

“The developments at Ryanair over the last few months will certainly have an impact on their result, because acknowledging trade unions with everything that comes with it costs a lot of money. I see the yield stagnate or fall. With Eurowings and Lufthansa, we are on schedule.”

• That might be the only sentence that I agree with you!

Do you also know a shortage of pilots within the Lufthansa group?

“The pilot shortage problem only reaches low-level companies like Ryanair, Wizzair. In companies of higher standing, such as Brussels Airlines or Lufthansa, this does not happen. Everyone wants to work at home and we easily find pilots from other companies.”

• Do you know, Mr Spohr, that many pilots have left Brussels Airlines to greener pastures, among others at Air France, in recent weeks?

Discussion forum: http://www.aviation24.be/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=62807&p=368410#p368406