• Home
  • About
    • Where has GhettoIFE gone?
    • For PR’s and Agencies (Changes and Corrections)
    • Privacy Policy
  • Snapshots
  • Trip Reports
  • Travel Plus…
    • … Technology
    • … Photography

Economy Class & Beyond

You are here: Home / Business of Aviation / Lufthansa edges towards acceptance of state aid … but will lose slots in the process

Lufthansa edges towards acceptance of state aid … but will lose slots in the process

30/05/2020 by Kevincm

It seems the Lufthansa group has swallowed its pride and has chosen to accept revised conditions that the European Commission has imposed, so it can access €9 billion of German state aid.

Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i taxing out of Chicago O'Hare - Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i taxing out of Chicago O’Hare – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.

In addition to what the group will have to give up in terms of ownership as part of the bailout funding, Lufthansa will be obliged to transfer to one competitor each at the Frankfurt and Munich airports up to 24 take-off and landing rights (slots), i.e. three take-off and three landing rights per aircraft and day, for the stationing of up to four aircraft.

This will be offered for one and a half years to new competitors at the Frankfurt and Munich airports. If no new competitor makes use of this option, it will be extended to existing competitors at the respective airports.

The slots will be allocated in a bidding process. In addition, the slots can only be taken over by a European competitor that has not itself received any substantial state recapitalization as a result of COVID-19.

The previous deal that the European Commission were offering seemed to be a lot harsher – with 72 slots to be handed over according to Reuters.

Whilst the Executive Board have rubber-stamped this change, it will need to through Lufthansa Supervisory Board to approve the stabilization package negotiated – including the commitments to the EU Commission. This will be then subject to an Extraordinary General Meeting to obtain shareholder approval.

And you can lay bets that Ryanair will object this all of the way. The quote from its CEO Michael O’Leary when this was first announced come to mind:

“Lufthansa is addicted to State Aid. Whenever there is a crisis, Lufthansa’s first reflex is to put its hand in the German Government’s pocket.”

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.


Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.

Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!

Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to the European reader.

Related

Filed Under: Business of Aviation

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Mastodon
  • RSS
  • Threads

Recent Posts

  • Aer Lingus to set off to Cancún, Mexico
  • STARLUX Airlines to connect Tapei to Phoenix Sky Harbour
  • Wizz Air takes delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR, with Pratt & Whitney Engines
  • TRIP REPORT: The Other Shoe Drops. Was it Worth it? Springtime Transatlantic Adventures
  • TRIP REPORT: Luggage Trolley Drifting through Terminal 3 to the Coach Home – Springtime Transatlantic Aventures

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates daily and to hear what's going on with us!

Privacy Policy
Copyright © Economy Class & Beyond All Rights Reserved.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Economy Class & Beyond with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.