Emirates, Gulf giants score new lounges on Lufthansa’s home turf

Emirates and the Persian Gulf’s two other major airlines are likely to get pride of place at Frankfurt airport’s new terminal, allowing them to offer bigger premium-class lounges to compete more aggressively with local rival Deutsche Lufthansa. Frankfurt’s Terminal 3 will probably house Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi, as well as Emirates, said Matthias Zieschang, CFO of airport owner Fraport. An extra floor will be added to satisfy demands of the Middle Eastern operators for more space, about doubling the room reserved for luxury lounges, Zieschang said. The design change is contributing to a one-year delay in the terminal’s completion to 2023 and may push construction costs beyond the budgeted E$3b. Fraport is under pressure to find alternative sources of growth. Lufthansa, Frankfurt airport’s largest customer, is limiting fleet expansion there to develop its low-cost Eurowings unit, which doesn’t currently fly to the hub. Meanwhile, Air Berlin Plc, Germany’s second-biggest carrier, is halving its fleet to stabilize operations. Frankfurt airport’s passenger numbers slipped 0.3% in October and are on track to fall this year for the first time since 2009. Frankfurt airport’s push to woo new tenants adds to challenges facing Lufthansa. The Gulf carriers are targeting premium long-haul passengers, while in the discount segment, Ryanair Holdings will start service from the hub in March, joining budget rivals including IAG’s Vueling division and Wow Air of Iceland. <br/>