Lufthansa aims to mimic budget carriers

Germany’s top airline Lufthansa said on Tuesday it plans to boost efficiency on its European routes by copying low-cost carriers offering less space and service.

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“We can’t focus our strength and management on bringing one or two foreign markets like Switzerland or Austria on board and simultaneously lose an important part of our own domestic market,” the company’s vice-CEO Christoph Franz told German daily Die Welt on Tuesday.

Lufthansa plans to implement selected elements of business models used by budget carriers, such as installing more seats on planes. Franz said Lufthansa is also considering changes to its in-flight service, which currently offers six options ranging from a snack to a full meal, depending on flight length.

The company is exploring the changes to cut growing costs for the company.

“If we don’t take advantage of our chances in the market, the competition will do it for us,” Lanz said. “That’s why we’re mindful of the fact that competition boosts the well-being of the entire system.”

Yet Franz told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine daily that Lufthansa doesn’t plan to copy the budget business model one-to-one. He pointed to the company’s low-cost subsidiary Germanwings as proof that Lufthansa can compete “very well” in the budget flight market.

Franz noted there were still no plans to follow competing airlines’ policy of making passengers pay extra for additional services.