Lufthansa is preparing a significant overhaul of its European network through 2028, with plans to reduce short-haul capacity in a move expected to have further repercussions for markets across the former Yugoslavia. The restructuring will result in fewer aircraft and thousands of fewer flights. The airline's latest strategy was outlined by CEO Carsten Spohr during an internal employee event. As part of the plan, Lufthansa intends to remove up to fifteen aircraft from its short- and medium-haul fleet in 2027, while thousands of European flights are expected to be eliminated by 2028. The carrier has already begun implementing the strategy. It is operating with 25 fewer aircraft this summer than originally planned, which has resulted in the discontinuation of flights between Frankfurt and Skopje, with operations between Munich and Ljubljana to be downgraded to summer seasonal flights.
Despite the closure of its CityLine subsidiary in April, which has had an impact on Lufthansa’s Munich operations, Mr Spohr has said that the airport will play an increasingly important role in its network in the coming years, as operating costs per passenger are significantly lower at the Bavarian hub than at Frankfurt, making it more attractive for future expansion. Passengers will also face fewer scheduling options as Lufthansa plans to eliminate so-called "duplicate connections", reducing multiple flights operating at similar times between the same cities and hubs. Many of the airline’s flights from the former Yugoslavia to Frankfurt and Munich are currently scheduled to depart at similar times, a pattern that could change over the next two years as Lufthansa reshapes its European network.
The airline also intends to transfer a growing number of services to other airlines within the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa has indicated that its core "Lufthansa Classic" operation could be reduced further across Europe as more routes are transferred to lower-cost subsidiaries within the group. According to Lufthansa's management, the restructuring is necessary because the airline continues to lose money on its European and short-haul network, with those losses reducing the profitability of its long-haul operations. The airline aims to improve efficiency by eliminating unprofitable routes, reducing overlap between hubs, lowering operating costs and increasing employee productivity.
Lufthansa is the seventh-largest airline in the former Yugoslav markets by scheduled seat capacity in 2026, behind Wizz Air, Ryanair, Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines, easyJet and Turkish Airlines. Twenty years ago, in 2006, it ranked fifth, behind Croatia Airlines, Jat Airways, Adria Airways and Austrian Airlines.
I wouldn't be surprised if more ex-Yu destinations see cuts over the next two years.
ReplyDeleteWhen they speak of eliminating flights they mean by the mainline- The services will simply be transferred to Lufthansa City.
DeleteSure. 6 months ago no one would have believed that Munich-Ljubljana would be cut.
DeleteLufthansa has been warning about the poor economics of European flying for years. None of this should come as a surprise.
DeleteLufthansa is an unreliable partner for LJU and OU. We should have ditched it long ago. Also, Carsten Spohr, je on zabetoniran v svoj stolček?
DeleteLufthansa is literally the most reliable partner for both LJU (biggest airline there) and OU (entire feeder network concept relies on the partnership)
DeleteIts partnership with OU has not done OU much good
DeleteNor is it even very good at feeding...misses the mouth more times than not.
DeleteLufthansa should buy OU Keep 5 aircraft and rename it 'Lufthansa Adria' and use it to properly connect Croatia and Slovenia and to operate the two key domestic routes within Croatia between Split and Dubrovnik. [Joke - sort of].
DeleteWhy are you blaming LH for OU's state? Aegean also started out like Croatia Airlines but they got their act together and look what became of them.
DeleteLufthansa is not running OU to the ground, OU is doing a fine job on its own.
This is exactly why Lufthansa bought all these airlines. They can simply move routes to Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines or Discover whenever it makes financial sense.
ReplyDeleteLess choice, fewer frequencies and more connections. Great news....
ReplyDeleteThe region has never been better linked with elsewhere in Europe by direct. So at least in Europe thats not correct. Imagine 10 years ago or so getting from Serbia to spain meant a connecting flight.
DeleteWell Lufthansa employees are refusing to be realistic when negotiating new contracts. They keep on striking and demanding for their salaries to grow. What did they expect? They got what they asked for.
DeleteI have no sympathy for them after they organized a strike during the celebration of the 100th birthday.
09:17 ^
DeleteAnd you truly believe it is just because of employees?
No other reasons like cerosine price, airport fees, maintenance costs, aging short-haul fleet, eco taxes, government Go Green mode of transport, expenditures for buying and restructuring other airlines, potentially bad strategies, not using leverage enough, weaker economy overall...
I mean, I am sure that labor costs are also present but trust me, labor costs are not the high compering to all other costs and their % is on a very low level if we include all costs in calculation.
Also, if all companies reduce or put pressure on salaries and inflation keep rising, what do you think who will buy all products and services? Would economy collapse or perpetum mobile is possible? Hint: no perpetum mobile in economy.
Cheers
If I may I would just add one interesting fact: Delta Airlines always gives 13th or even higher amount of money to their employees at the end of the year. Not to speak about Emirate (not this year because of locogal reasons).
DeleteYeah US carriers which basically bought all of their competition. The massive US market is divided between like 4 airlines: Delta, American Airlines, United and Southwest.
DeleteNo wonder they are all swimming in cash.
Emirates has low labor costs because taxes are low in Dubai.
So yes, labor costs are a real pain for Lufthansa and they said it many times before.
Labour costs, but not a stale leadership, right? How many strikes does this guy have under his belt? I personally have been a victim of at least a few.
DeleteThe most striking thing is that OU used to be the number one airline in the region 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time.
DeleteOr that Adria was third hahah
DeleteEven 15 years ago it was still the case.
DeleteSo maybe they switch SJJ back to Munich from Frankfurt?
ReplyDeleteWould be nice if they flew both
Delete^ Looks highly unlikely that they will based on the text.
DeleteSo now they plan to focus on Munich after heavily moving towards Frankfurt since Covid.
ReplyDeleteThey did not move heavily towards FRA, the shift towards MUC has been ongoing for years. First major shift happened when they started moving A380s to MUC.
DeleteNow the whole A380 fleet is based in MUC.
LH clearly has no idea what its doing. It’s giving off headless chicken vibes.
DeleteI disagree, for the first time in several decades Lufthansa is undertaking needed steps in order to fix its business model. These are painful moves which had to be taken.
DeleteThe CityLine closure seems to have had a much bigger impact than Lufthansa initially admitted.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the core brand gradually pulls out and some of these routes will be operated by LufthansaCity or Eurowings thanks to lower operating costs. So we could see a comeback and increase in frequencies to Skopje, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, etc.
ReplyDeleteDoes not sound like that at all.
DeleteThe airline industry has changed. Twenty years ago everyone connected through Frankfurt or Vienna. Today many people just fly point-to-point with Ryanair or Wizz Air.
ReplyDeleteExcatly. And thank godness for that
DeleteAs someone flying from Belgrade regularly, I actually prefer Munich over Frankfurt. Connections are usually easier and the airport is much nicer.
ReplyDeleteMunich is by far the better airport for connections. If I had a choice, I'd always connect there instead of Frankfurt.
DeleteI hate Munich idk why i just hate it the food and beverage choices are not that good
DeleteBring your own perhaps?
DeleteYeah why don't we just buy own plane and fly around... some people on here.
Delete^ @12:05 You think bringing your own food is strange? ...some people on here..
DeleteOf course it's strange, why should you bring your own food when MUC has great food options? You can get fantastisch sandwiches for like 5 Euros.
Delete^ anon at 10:33 seems to hate the food and beverage choices there so it was suggested they bring their own to ease their dislike.
DeleteAnother sign that legacy airlines are struggling to compete on short haul routes.
ReplyDeleteWell thats been a given for many years. Nothing revolutionary in that
DeleteThat's why new staff contacts are needed at legacy carriers to match those at LCCs.
Delete^ which is exactly what airlines do (for good and bad) making two-tier employees like at BA
DeleteThe economic reality has changed. German economy has stagnated for 4 years, the population is ageing and the market is not as dynamic.
ReplyDeletePeople are becoming more price conscious and are willing to drive further away to catch an LCC flight.
Lufthansa is experiencing this and that is why they are adjusting. Anyway there was no need for so many hubs so some trimming is more than needed.
The fact that Carsten Spohr is still the CEO of the Group is mindblowing.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteHe definitely needs sacking, he is destroying the whole Lufthansa group with his crazy ideas.
DeleteHe is delivering record profitability and growing shareholder value. Why would he be sacked?
DeleteIf he was so successful he wouldn't be butchering Lufthansa like this.
Delete@anon 10.32
DeleteLufthansa Group is now worth 70% less than at the beginning of Spohr's tenure. In addition to that, they have horrible employee relations, quarterly strikes, a mediocre long-haul hard product and Allegris as the most botched roll-out in recent memory.
If someone had told me a decade ago that Air France would eventually be a much better carrier that's also infinitely better run than Lufthansa, I wouldn't have believed them.
Yeah but back then Lufthansa was not doing financially well, they were struggling big time.
DeleteAnd meanwhile they are going to buy everything else in Europe with EU having no concern over competition whatsoever. What is happening with their bid to take over TAP?
ReplyDeleteEurope needs fewer taxes and lower airport charges, not fewer flights.
ReplyDeleteWon't happen. The EU is now worried that the next budget is short on billions. They are looking at new income which means more taxes.
DeleteOf course, the EU won't think to reduce its own costs or to trim the budget, all of that stays but it's the people of the EU who will have to pay even more to pay for the new things in the 8 year budget
Well, it's the EU Member States that keep asking the EU to do more and more. The moment there is a crisis they come to the Commission asking to find a solution. Banking crisis, migration crisis, COVID etc. But more tasks require more resources.
DeleteYeah but at the same the EU machine is Brussels is overbloated and some trimming is long overdue. The EU needs to make some cuts but it doesn't want to.
DeleteThe Lufthansa of today is very different from the airline of twenty years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe former Yugoslav markets are much more competitive today than they were twenty years ago. Lufthansa no longer has the same pricing power.
DeleteDo we remember when Michael O'Leary said they had no intention to fly to 'the east'. Who wants to see the Gdansk ship wall, or some comment like that. 20-25 years ago the human and economic geography of Europe was so radically different that Lufthansa utilised its geographical position well. I remember using their Avrojets into Belgrade and Sarajevo in the early 2000s. Different times.
DeleteExpect more wet leasing and outsourcing across the Lufthansa Group.
ReplyDeleteThis is bad news for smaller airports that depend on hub connectivity.
ReplyDeleteWell 'depend' is a big word.
DeleteI hope they don't touch Zagreb. The Munich and Frankfurt flights are usually very full.
ReplyDeleteFRA-ZAG is being reduced from 14 to 7 this winter. They are shifting flights to OU
DeleteInstead of LH, OU will now be operating loss making routes.
DeleteBravo Croatia!
DeleteVienna is looking increasingly attractive as a transfer hub.
ReplyDeleteBut not flying Austrian as fares are similar to Lufthansa and you get the same service as low cost airlines...
DeleteMy last few connections through ZRH have elevated this option in my eyes. The inflight service is nothing special, but for the connections, the airline actually tries its best to help you make your connecting flight. Imagine that, in the year 2026! I now specifically look for ZRH connections (among several other good options). I gave up on LH a long time ago
DeleteThe days of six or seven daily flights between major European cities are probably over.
ReplyDeleteYou mean collectively to Frankfurt and Munch? Well naturally as airports in the Balkans are beter connected to the rest of Europe this was always going to be the case.
DeleteLufthansa is simply adapting to reality.
ReplyDeleteSince we are talking of Lufthansa today it would be nice to see a occasional article from surrounding counties aviation situation as it relates to ex-yugo.
ReplyDeleteThe decline of Germany continues... I remember being impressed with Germany 30 years ago. Now, whenever I need to be there, I cannot wait to leave. Everything looks old, needs repair (sometimes the repair works are ongoing), the 5G doesn't work, there are areas where safety is a real concern...
ReplyDeleteHave you visited the former Yugoslavia ? Cos large parts are like zombielands devoid of populace and future.
DeleteYes, I have. But former Yugoslavia is not considered by many as the Promised Land with plenty of work opportunities, social benefits that let you live like a king and the society perfectly organised and functioning. That's the image that I used to have 30 years ago. 30 years ago I could plan a trip through Germany on local trains, changing 5 times and even if I had 8 minutes between the trains, I never missed the connection. Now, the trains are notoriously late...
DeleteWell the constuction of the 'Promised land' was a joint venture of imagination following the fall of communism. During the worse economic times in the former Yugoslavia when people were too busy ruining what had been built for decades, Germany and the United Kingdom were doing very well economically which further boosted that image. To speak of a decline of Germany based upon trains being late is hyperbolic. I mean that is one's right to state and believe, however its a statement that lacks nuance and is often hijacked by the political right to claim some decline of the west.
DeleteDespite Germany's train delays I'd rather use them than anything one might find south and east of Trieste so they have a way to go...
Try taking the train in Germany, DB is as third world as it gets.
DeleteHave you taken a train in Montenegro? Gimmie a break
DeleteWhen I write about the decline, it has to be obviously taken into perspective. Germany in decline is still a better place to live than 80-90% of the world.
DeleteIt is possible however that this decline is more visible, because to some extent the current Germany is compared with the imagined Germany from our communist times...
The Germany that people talk about in these comments never existed in real life. It was a construct in their imagination. Germany today is richer than it has ever been, the population is healthier than it has ever been, life expectancy is higher than it has ever been, air is cleaner than it has been since the industrial revolution, public transport is literally everywhere, everyone can afford a car, everyone goes on holiday, water is clean, etc etc. These things are unimaginable in most of Ex-Yu except Slovenia and some parts of Croatia.
DeleteThis is partially true. The fact is that the Germany I visited 30 years ago was cleaner, "newer" (in a sense that some things were still relatively new and did not require renovation) and the trains were actually on time. I remember being shocked how efficient cashiers were in the supermarket. I did not have time to pack my shopping... But, it's true that a part of it is just an image that we created for ourselves.
DeleteAnon 15.52 you should tell that to 50.000 VW employees who are going to get sacked by 2030. Please tell them that they are healthier than ever, richer than ever etc.
DeleteI am sure they will feel better as they go to collect unemployment benefits.
@17:25 its not Anon 15:52's role to do that. Their points are well made and articulate as it the response at 16:38 .Countries such as Germany remain brilliant places to live. I'm not from the former Yugoslavia but have spent 26 years there and the region of my 'imagination' and experience in the year 2000 is very different to nowadays (for good, and lots of bad). Images of place are wonderful constructs which aviation helps to shape. I always think of aviation fans and human geographers have a nice degree of overlap.
DeleteWhy fly Lufthansa and pay expensive fares when you get same service on ryanair 😳
ReplyDeleteCan you fly LIS-ZAG or LIS-BEG wir Ryanair? :D
DeleteNope and there will always be routes and gaps and links that make airlines such as Lufthansa really really useful within Europe - not to mention intercontinental. But low cost airlines such as Ryanair, Easy and Wizz mean you can fly London to: Pula/Zadar/Rijeka/Zagreb/Osijek/Sarajevo/Split/Skopje/Belgrade/Pristhina/Ljubljana direct. A similar pattern in many other locations. 15 years ago the idea you could fly from Spain or northern Poland to Montenegro would have been almost laughable.
DeleteLong live Europe's connectivity.
Many people still use ryanair or wizz air or any other budget airlines to fly destinations that do not have direct flight especially young people. All my friends prefer to find connections with budget airlines somewhere in eu than to buy connecting flights via legacy airlines as they save a lot of money
DeleteThat is so true. It can be risky however, but I've done it. Getting from say Belgrade to Gran Canaria with a connection in Bergamo. Self-connections are a big thing.
Delete