Carsten Spohr seeks softer landing for Lufthansa

Lufthansa’s CE Carsten Spohr delivered a stark message to shareholders this week. “In less than 65 days, we have returned to the flight plan levels of 65 years ago.” Passenger numbers have plunged 99%, the German group has “practically no earnings”. In short, he told Lufthansa’s virtual annual meeting, it was “going to need help”. The plea from the former pilot who led Lufthansa to its best three years in history will almost certainly be answered — a E9b bailout from Berlin is likely to be agreed within days. But it may well come with conditions that threaten Spohr’s hold on Europe’s second-largest airline group, which was privatised 23 years ago: the German state is insisting on taking a 25% equity stake and seats on the supervisory board. It is a scenario that Spohr — who has also sought aid for the group’s airlines in Belgium, Switzerland and Austria — is trying very hard to avoid. Lufthansa, he said this week, may need government support, “but we do not need government management”. While many praised Spohr’s directness, former supervisory board member Nicoley Baublies said such comments backfired. “He patronised the government, and made it difficult to find a good solution,” the UFO cabin crew union official said. “It was unnecessary.” Yet Spohr’s record could still convince the government not to clip his wings. Even before the coronavirus crisis, he was widely considered to have excelled in one of the toughest jobs in corporate Germany.<br/>