La Lufthansa Group's segmentation strategy - with a premium offer bringing together Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Swiss and a point-to-point service bringing together Brussels Airlines and Eurowings - has helped to establish the presence of the German airline and its subsidiaries on the French market. As Michael GloorSenior Director Sales Lufthansa Group in France, the group now serves 15 airports, " almost as many as our 18 airport stopovers in Germany "he jokes.
Year-on-year, the Lufthansa Group in France carried 6.5 million passengersThis represents an increase of 15%, with a load factor up five points to 75%. The Group's airlines offer 736 weekly flightsThis represents an increase of 7%, giving the Group a market share of 53% between France and Germany.
be the second largest foreign airline group in France
" In fact, our ambition is to be the second largest foreign airline group in France. Our strategy is based in particular on strong growth in the French provinces which, for the past two years, have been at the heart of our expansion "adds Michael Gloor. " The French market is undergoing profound change, with the French regions taking on increasing economic importance as they shake off the tutelage of Paris. So there's a huge demand for long-haul services, which we want to satisfy by opening new routes or strengthening our existing ones. "adds the Sales Director.
This year, the Lufthansa Group's offensive in the regions has resulted in the opening of routes from Nantes to Brussels and Munich; from Bordeaux to Frankfurt and Zurich or Marseille to Zurich. From Zurich, the airline also bases a night flight at the airport, enabling it to offer a third daily frequency from Marseille to Frankfurt early in the morning. " This frequency will enable us to open up North American traffic from Frankfurt to passengers from the Marseille region. "says Michael Gloor. The group is continuing to study the possibility of offering new regional routes.
We would also like to land at Orly
Paris is not neglected. " We have no new announcements for this winter, but we are of course thinking about improve our offering at Roissy CDG and we expect to make announcements in the coming months. We would also like to ask Orly because there is real potential in the southern Ile de France basin, but we are limited by slot constraints at the airport "explains Michael Gloor.
One of the sales manager's regrets is that theno Paris-Berlin linkwhich Eurowings stopped operating after two years. La competition is too high and the yield remains too low. But it's true that many customers don't understand why we don't serve Germany's capital from Paris. "says Michael Gloor.
For professionals in France, the Group's main innovation is the large-scale activation of the NDC programme ("New Distribution Capacity"). From October 1, Lufthansa is offering its partners preferential fares to Europe in the "light" and "classic" classes. The discount amounts to €20 per booking, plus the absence of the €16 surcharge imposed on GDSs booking with Lufthansa Group. " We are working on other services for NDC partners "says the Sales Director.
New business class and graduated pricing
The company is also working on a new graduated pricing system, which will enable it to offer a wider range of prices on seat sales. " For example, instead of selling a seat at €500 and then €600 when the first price is sold out, we now vary our offers by €5 or €10, for example. This allows us to keep customers who would be put off by a sudden increase in price. "explains Michael Gloor.
On the business market, the Group will be making a number of announcements in 2019. The airline should reveal to the general public its new business class, which will equip the future Boeing 777Xs due to enter service in 2020. " We are also considering equipping Swiss with Premium EconomyThis is the last 'Premium' airline not to offer this type of product. However, this option will not be available before the delivery of new aircraft, which is scheduled for the longer term. "says Michael Gloor.
