It seems that the Coronavirus outbreak is giving pause to Lufthansa Group – who have announced a raft of measures to combat against the economic impact.
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i at Boston Logan Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
So what is planned?
All new hires planned for the airline will be reassessed, suspended or deferred to a later date.
All planned flight attendant and station personnel training courses as of April 2020 will not be carried out. For the time being, the participants of courses that are already in progress will not be hired. However, the aim remains to be able to offer the participants employment contracts in the long term.
In the administrative areas, the core brand Lufthansa will reduce its project volume by ten percent and the budget for material costs by 20 percent
The airline is also offering employees unpaid leave effective immediately. The expansion of part-time work options is being examined under the collective bargaining arrangements.
Currently, all Lufthansa Group flights to Mainland China are suspended (operated by Lufthansa, Swiss or Austrian Airlines) until the end of the winter schedule – 28th March. M
Meanwhile, flights to Hong Kong are subject to capacity adjustments.
There is a net result – whilst some airlines have chosen to redeploy their capacity, Lufthansa Group has not moved that fast and 13 Lufthansa Group aircraft are currently on the ground not earning money.
Early Reactions
It seems that Lufthansa Group were hoping to ride this out quickly, rather than redeploy its capacity across its network and offering connections to other locations – rather its preferred to have 13 frames on the ground not earning money.
With the reach of the Coronavirus increasing, the airline is seeking to contain those costs whilst it has the chance.
None, the less, it will interesting to see how IAG, Air France-KLM Group and other European airlines react.
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