star

Lufthansa unveiled a new cabin configuration that gives passengers more than half a dozen seating options in business class alone, alongside a redesigned premium economy and first class as more travelers splurge on the most expensive berths. Europe’s biggest airline group will roll out its Allegris product this year on the Boeing 747-8 jumbo and expand it to 80 new jets including the Boeing 787 and 777 widebodies and Airbus SE’s A350. For an extra fee, passengers can select options like double beds, extra-wide entertainment screen and cradles for parents traveling with babies. “Every guest has their own understanding of premium, which is why we focus on maximum individuality and exclusivity,” Jens Ritter, the chief executive officer of Lufthansa’s namesake airline brand, said at a launch event in Berlin on Tuesday. With the post-pandemic travel boom showing few signs of slowing, airlines are investing heavily in new products to corner market share. Lufthansa’s new seating products form the central plank of a E2.5b investment push aimed at keeping up with the likes of Qatar Airways and Emirates. Lufthansa’s push to boost its seating options comes after the carrier lost its five-star rating from Skytrax, an international air transport rating organization, last year. The airline’s standing with passengers has fallen further due to a series of strikes and a lack of personnel on the ground at hubs like Frankfurt that’s forced Lufthansa to cut back capacity for the upcoming summer season. The new first class cabins come with sliding doors that create a separate space and can be used by two occupants. Business-class seats have optional extra legroom for tall travelers, while the new premium economy seat reclines without pushing into the space of the passenger behind.<br/>

An ad campaign by Lufthansa claiming that its green initiatives were protecting the world has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the campaign – which featured a plane with an image of the Earth on its underside and the strapline: “Connecting the world. Protecting its future” – over concerns the German airline was giving consumers a “misleading impression of its environmental impact”. Lufthansa said the tag line was “open to interpretation” and consumers would not see it as an “absolute promise” relating to the environment or that its planes did not cause harm. It said the purpose of the poster campaign, which contained a link to its Make Change Fly environmental campaign website, was to address the need to reduce the impact of flying and making people aware of what Lufthansa is doing. An ad campaign by Lufthansa claiming that its green initiatives were protecting the world has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the campaign – which featured a plane with an image of the Earth on its underside and the strapline: “Connecting the world. Protecting its future” – over concerns the German airline was giving consumers a “misleading impression of its environmental impact”. Lufthansa said the tag line was “open to interpretation” and consumers would not see it as an “absolute promise” relating to the environment or that its planes did not cause harm. It said the purpose of the poster campaign, which contained a link to its Make Change Fly environmental campaign website, was to address the need to reduce the impact of flying and making people aware of what Lufthansa is doing.<br/>

Air India plans to triple its current fleet of 113 aircraft in a few years as it inducts new aircraft and refurbishes older planes as part of a bigger overhaul, CEO Campbell Wilson said on Tuesday. Tata group-owned Air India has said that it would increase its fleet by a record 470 aircraft, funding the $70 billion order with internal cash, equity and through sale-and-leasebacks. The airline will purchase 220 of the planes from Boeing (BA.N) and 250 from Airbus. The airline, which was once considered a world-class service in India, saw its image tarnish in the mid-2000s due to financial troubles, an ageing fleet and poor service. Air India is also in talks with other airlines that are a part of the Star Alliance group of carriers to enhance cooperation, Campell said at a press conference. The airline has said it is spending $400m on refurbishing and upgrading its planes, especially on long-haul routes as it looks to compete with bigger rivals such as Emirates.<br/>

Air India is “confident” it will turn profitable through its business transformation efforts, as it looks to significantly expand its operating fleet in the near term. Airline chief Campbell Wilson, who was speaking at a virtual media roundtable on 28 February, says the airline has identified several “low-hanging fruits” for cost efficiency and revenue volume in the “road to profitability”. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to realise this, through the investment in aircraft, in things like pricing [and] revenue management systems,” says Wilson. His comments come as the airline – privatised in early 2022 under new owners Tata Group – makes progress through its five-year business transformation plan, known as Vihaan.AI. On profitability, Campbell says the airline has an internal timeframe and that it is “very happy with the progress made”. Pressed further about whether the airline hopes to be profitable by the end of the five-year Vihaan.AI plan, Campbell declines to comment. “We are a private business and those are private details,” he says. The virtual event is Campbell’s first media engagement since the airline inked a historic 470-aircraft deal with Airbus and Boeing. While he did not indicate how deliveries of these aircraft will pan out, he says the airline is looking to triple the number of aircraft it has “over the next few years”. Air India has over 100 aircraft in operation currently, and has recently signed a series of fresh leases for used aircraft, including Airbus A320neos and Boeing 777s, on top of its 470-aircraft order. <br/>

Thai Airways International is entering “revival mode” after more than two years of “running on survival mode”, as its new chief executive vows to restore confidence in the beleaguered carrier. Airline chief Chai Eamsiri, who was promoted in February to helm the carrier, adds that Thai would “rather focus on quality rather than quantity” in its recovery. He was speaking at the Aviation Festival Asia held in Singapore on 28 February. Eamsiri says the airlines is operating at around 65% pre-pandemic capacity, and is expected to reach about 90% in 2025. Asked when he thinks the airline will return to pre-pandemic capacity, Eamsiri says the airline is in no rush to fully restore capacity. “It doesn’t mean we have to go back to [full capacity]. We [would rather] focus on quality rather than quantity…revenue, because we must be cautious when we choose the…right market…and network to put our assets to generate revenue”, says Eamsiri, who was the airline’s finance chief before his promotion. His comments come as the airline sees “continued growth” in travel demand as it executes its rehabilitation plan. In its full-year financial results for 2022, the airline disclosed plans to expand its fleet with A350s and ramp up capacity to Mainland China. It posted a a net loss of Bt252m ($7.13m) for the year to 31 December 2022, reversing the Bt55.1b profit in the year-ago period. The Star Alliance carrier also reported a pre-tax loss of Bt1.7b for the year, compared to 2021’s Bt52 billion profit. The airline’s financial performance in 2021 was aided by one-off gains realted its debt restructuring programme. Eamsiri says that the airline’s lowest point during the pandemic was when its cash flow ran dangerously low. “Traffic was down to almost zero at the time, we were running out of cash, we were doing every means to make the carrier survive,” he says. “Now [markets] are coming back and we have to run the airline differently…I call this ‘revival mode’, where we come back with stronger financial statements and stronger operations. My vision for the next one or two years…is to bring back the confidence to our stakeholders…our creditors and customers,” adds Eamsiri.<br/>