Lufthansa CEO Pledges To Make Airline Great Again... By Cutting Costs

Glad to see the downfall of Lufthansa.

A terrible airline based in a country so disgustingly sycophantic in their support of Netanyahu.

This guy is an expert at blaming others for LH’s problems and smoke and mirrors. Fact is they didn’t invest in the planes and cut service because Germans always blindly flew LH and now they are wising up to the fact that there’s better airlines out there. At this point their fleet is outdated, service is lacking and don’t even get me started on the new Business Class rollout that’s now over 7 years delayed. I had to take one of their flights recently and the Business Class set was so worn and the cushion air feature was malfunctioning so I had to sit on a pad the purser brought me all the way to MUC. Never again!

Great for shareholders.

What's good for the company, is good for the employee.

With an outdated fleet and horrible product, consumers will fly with other, better choices, and with no passengers this is bad for shareholder, company, and employee alike. Cutting costs is definitely not helping the employee

Did you forget to charge your pager Mohammed?

This guy is running the entire group into the ground. No way LH will become the flagship by farming out routes to some other airline

Maybe cut the cost of his bodyguards?

Lufthansa is starting to resemble Qantas during the Alan Joyce era (and perhaps even now), with a board incapable of doing anything other than endorsing the lousy decisions of a CEO who shows nothing but contempt for passengers.

A great comparison for new business class is Finnair, which went from announcement to full reconfiguration of their widebody fleet in just over 2 years. A smaller fleet, to be sure, but it was a brand new, custom business class seat as well.

What are the other, better choices that have a similar route network and schedule?

Cost cutting sucks but it's better than layoffs or furlough I suppose.

In a commodity market, there is no differentiation for which the customer is willing to pay . . . and the lowest price wins. Without pricing power, increased profit can only come from cost cutting. But, in a differentiated market, there is something for which the customer is willing to pay . . . and a company does have pricing power . . . and increased profit typically does *not* come from cost cutting but from higher prices. Has LH told us something about itself?

I honestly don't understand why some are completely enamored with Lufthansa. This captivation started well before Allegris. (By the way, is not Air France's Opera just as good or better?) So, it's hard to say that it's about LH's business class. Is it about the infrequently obtained first class? Certainly, it's not Air France F or Singapore F but is it *that* much better than (say) British Airways? Loyalists will say that it is. I'm not moved.

I was just reading how Lufthansa is cancelling service to Beijing. Again it's not their fault, it's the fault of Asian airlines with lower cost bases.
He's the guy who blames everyone else when things go wrong but wants the credit when things go better ( albeit that's not very often these days at LH). How is he so secure in his role? Surely someone else could do better.

If it wasn't for German protectionism, this airline would not exist. No one chooses this for their quality or attraction to the brand. They also ruin every other airline they touch.

it's also eerily starting to resemble American over the last few years

LH is declining because it's still flying 2-2-2 business class with no privacy.

The fact is even Emirates has caught on that it's just not competitive and already started fixing their godforsaken 2-3-2 business class.

I literally always choose Condor if I need to fly or connect in FRA. Hard product is light years ahead, until Allegris get fully rolled out, by then it'll be a slightly below average product by industry standards.

Honestly, they know they are going down and they seem to not care. The seats are really terrible. Even First Class on B747, it’s dirty. Simply dirty, the seats are never cleaned.

The main problem is that Spohr hates Clients. As an engineer he loves numbers. Thats he his talent. Clients are bad. They just demand some value for the horrendous prices LH charges. And now again. Cost savings, even lower service. How long do shareholders accept such a miserable performance?

Spohrs strategy is to screw every last penny out of the group's long-neglected customer base while spending as little money as possible, because the more money the shareholders earn the bigger his bonus is. Heaven forbid that you might actually have to spend money in an attempt to make Lufti the airline of choice for European pax. Just more and more cost-cutting. It's hard to imagine that the passenger experience could be more downgraded, with a slave-ship economy class, wildly outdated and inconsistent business class, and a first class offering that's twenty years behind the competition.

If you think Spohr sounds like a disinterested external observer, I guess you've forgotten about his predecessor dr. Franz. That guy embodied all the cliches one may conceive about German CEOs. He's the guy who cut so many costs and thus benefits for customers at Lufthansa that the airline was just bare bones when Spohr took over, all presented with a thick layer of arrogance and self-justification. Nevertheless, I surely agree that Lufthansa is struggling and isn't the airline it used to be. Not by a mile.

I think you hit the nail on the head when stating that Lufty lacks a strategy. Outsourcing Africa to SN isn't new, that's been policy for over a decade. And it doesn't really solve anything at Lufty itself. Perhaps it's time for a new CEO with fresh ideas, time for investments and time for a proper restructuring. Whining won't get them anywhere. 2026 will be too soon anyway to see them shine again.

They've really stagnated a brand I used to have a lot more affinity for. Nowadays I go out of my way (and would pay more) to fly United metal over Lufthansa despite United's abhorrent catering situation. The seats are so dated and the product is so uncompetitive now, I can't imagine being stuck in that business class seat by choice. Even in First class the catering (aside from caviar) is no longer good. I had the misfortune of ordering a steak on LH First which was maybe the most tough / inedible piece of meat I've ever been served.

Another idiot who doesn't understand branding, customer loyalty and employees particularly air crew as key differentiator.
This also includes the idiot CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Airlines.

Completely agree on lack of strategy and vision. Hyper focused on cutting cost and establishing low cost carriers to undermine their employees… diluting the brand by using Discover on “leisure routes” I avoid them nowadays even though they fly into my home airport.

Seriously, was Lufty EVER a 'great airline' in its entire history? No. The best you can say is that it was less bad in decades past. For some years, it was even a 'good' airline. But it never ever a 'great' airline.

BTW: Spohr is to Lufty what Alan Joyce was to Qantas.

I was going to comment how some aspects of Lufthansa's service are quite good, for example it's lounges (in large numbers in MUC and FRA).

Then I recalled how in case of irrops even business class and *A Gold customers need to queue for ages (sometimes 100, 200 meters) in front of service points. Or how priority boarding is not available at most airport unless you are there at minute zero.

Condor did the same (again, with a much smaller fleet to be fair). That's why they're now miles ahead of LH in terms of hard product (maybe even soft). There can't be a single sane passenger who'd prefer to fly LH over even poor Condor, unless for arbitrary reasons (company paying, slavery to Star Alliance etc.).

The way Carsten screwed up the strikes, causing 250 million euros damage to the company, only to finally give the crews all they asked for anyway, should be enough for him to lose the job, even if we disregard how he's been running LHG into the ground for years. What are the shareholders doing?

Does it really matter whether the African network is operated by LH or SN? They're all LHG, basically just different brands. In the US they'd operate under one brand, in Europe they're kept separate for nationalistic reasons but they're still basically the same airline. I believe SN has a lower cost base, hence the decision to serve the less-afluent market by SN.

Apart from the fact that you don't know what your talking about politically, as a German I find this close to the most disgusting comment ever made. And on top: it has nothing to do with the topic of this post.

This is amongst the most stupid comments I ever read. It is obvious that you have no idea how economy is run in Germany. Protectionism - LOL!

If you want privacy, fly private jet! I like to interaction with the crew.

Do you know Spohr or are you just making this up?

Reading the post and the comments I am really wondering whether people still do think about what is true and what is opinion.

Is it Lufthansa's fault that the 777X was delayed? No!
Is it easy to change a desired cabin product when it is delayed? No!
Is it Lufthansa's fault that they have to earn every penny they want to invest? No!

I am really getting tired that each post mentions the delay in the Allegris roll-out - which again is not Lufthansa's fault - see my points 1 and 2 above. Was it nice? no! Does it need to be repeated each and very time? Certainly not!

Each time I fly with the Lufthansa Group I receive excellent service, short haul or long haul. And I do almost 200 flights per year with the group. I cannot even remember when was the last time I received sub-par service. And that's not even talking about the support I receive when something goes wrong. Ok, maybe my HON Status helps in that.

But maybe it is also about knowing how to say "Good Morning" and "Please" and "Thank you" to the flight crew. I like to get on board early and almost always sit in the first row. It is appalling to see how many people don't know about these simple rules of manners.

The hype about "privacy" for me is the most ridiculous one. Honestly, who wants to sit in a cave within a pressurized tube for an extended period of time. If you want privacy, fly private jet! And about the current product: I roll down my seat (Business or First), close my eyes and get a good rest. What more can I ask for?

So, honestly, in a competitive market (no Sheik to open his box) I think the Lufthansa Group does an amazing job.

And, a last thing: if everybody considers Lufthansa to be amongst the worst airlines in the world: why are their flights full? Maybe something to think about!

Hello, Carsten

Under Spohrs leadership LH is about to become the DEUTSCHE BAHN of the air. Operating out of dysfunctional hubs like especially MUC, he initiated an athmosphere of customer disregard. The still motivated and friendly crews are often ashamed, urging the passengers to complain to the management: “you have to do it, nobody listens to us!”

"I don’t understand what Spohr’s strategy is for Lufthansa?"
..... i hope that does NOT surprise anybody? . . . that Guy is one of the biggest liars and cheaters in the Aviation industry! He NEVER had a strategy, he relies on "OLD" Loyalty for an overaged system! (people like YOU, still thinking that his airline is GREAT) 😮 I'm just straight forward, . . . . had my fair share on this Company and also eye to eye with this lying human being, corrupt as not many in the Industry.
All i can say, HE has no plan!
Dreams yes, but no plan!
So far, his corrupt way got him and the LH-Group where it is now good or bad, but his system is slowly collapsing.
HOPEFULLY!
.... HE and his loyal ass followers, caused too much harm already. (to customers, employees, colleagues and those who spoke against him)

If my experience on LH's C class TLV-FRA ( A321) with zero C class comfort, or the continuation to MIA on their A380 with a grumpy crew and mistable catering - plus
condescending CS replies being pure insult, i really cant see any positive outcome for this airline.
Even an ex LH employee told me that i was out of my mind spending that kind of money on their C class.

The only premium at LH left is the price tag.
Other than that, yeah.

Spohr is reponsible for the mess LH is in, he is board member since 20 decades now.
And he looks like a man without a plan, he`s only reacting to events.
Example:
A380 and A346. He has doomed them in public twice just to turn around and bring them back to now complaining he can`t phase them out.
He just reactivated them in a costly process.

He started fights with both his main hubs, FRA and MUC, all his unions, created a million subsidaries that are hard to track.
Just take the touristic long haul as an example. LH Group sold it`s last shares of Condor in 2009 - the year LH started plans with the Wings concept.
They moved their A330 toursitic ops from GW to EW, to Discover, from CGN to DUS to FRA,
it was basically a guessing game.
The result: Now they have, what they had before. A touristic based ops - just that their former affiliate, Condor, is now the main competitor.
I doubt that was a great move.

And that goes on.

All Spohr has done, is decrease the quality/customer service, while constantly increasing prices and introducing more and more extra charges. Living in Munich I am somewhat dependant on LH (Group). But I avoid them whenever possible!!

United Air is way better than Lufthansa. Except they don’t have 747’s and A380’s. Plus the new livery is ugliest. Lufthansa is going down hill drastically.

To be fair to him, the 380/340 thing isn't really his fault. That is legitimately down to aircraft delivery delays. Failing to update interiors is on LH, though. They've fallen far behind the competition for trans-Atlantic flights, especially in business class.

The myriad of different brands is a bit of a mix. The national carriers like Brussels, Swiss, ITA and Austrian are understandable to maintain as separate brands. Every European country wants its own national airline and the other major European airline groups do that, too. Discover, et al., though, are a bit more weird, especially for long-haul operations.

Aircraft delivery delays are indeed difficult to work around. 7 year delays for cabin interiors is crazy, though, and almost certainly avoidable. They could have just switched to one of the numerous (nicer) interior products nearly everyone else in the industry is using. They have fallen far behind essentially all of the competition on J hard product for trans-Atlantic flights.

777X delivering delay isn't his problem. But too late to buy A35K is his problem when the group was backward in fleet efficiency(consider 777X fail to promise better fuel and CASK advantage over A350).

For why the flights are full. The cost is pass on to German.

Even Polaris looks like finely managed