oshelef

From google translate:


Tel Aviv - conversion necessary
Annual savings in the tens of millions
Fuel costs account - depending on the length distances - up to 40 percent of the cost of a
Flight out. The largest lever to influence the efficiency of a track,
So is the use of a fuel-saving device. In times of drastically rising
Fuel costs, we must also provide years of habits into question. Latest
Example is the winter timetable 2012/2013 decided on conversion of Tel-Aviv
Distance from the three-class Interkontgerät on two-class Kontgerät.

For some time, the routes are to Tel Aviv from
Lufthansa no longer economical to operate. At the
Demand, it is not - the average occupancy rate
2011 on the Frankfurt route, nearly 80 percent. Also
Proceeds are satisfactory. Costs are problematic and
especially the cost of fuel. Since the route to
Tel Aviv is not necessarily for a long haul -
device requires, we can no longer ignore the fact,
that the fuel consumption of an A321 by about 45 percent
lower than for a A330. Had for market reasons
We previously held on Interkontgerät. Destinations with
comparable stretches, such as Beirut, Amman
Samara or fly for years with Kontgerät. Lufthansa
is one of the last airlines in Europe, the
Interkontflugzeugen flies to Tel Aviv. Only Swiss,
British Airways and Aeroflot sit still long-range aircraft
one. El Al used mostly Kontgerät,
British Airways check conversion to Kontflugzeuge.
Is for business class travelers
the difference between the Kontund
the Interkontprodukt significantly.
Such a worsening supply
Lufthansa wanted for their business
Class customers will not accept previously.
In the current economic
Situation of the company has
Lufthansa considering all possible
Effects determined to
ILLUSTRATION: FRAPORT
Step to do Kontgerät. All authorities
are aware that despite the external already underway
Communication especially the cabin crew on the flights
his special loads is because disappointed
Business class passengers their displeasure at them first
be manifest. A similar situation is to initially
the Cairo route, the conversion step for Lufthansa
on fuel-saving Kontgerät already the winter timetable
Has done 2011/2012.
Even a - assumed in the business case
- Significant drop in business class demand are
much higher cost savings over. Besides the
direct savings in fuel costs resulting namely
additional effects on earnings in the millions by the free
used expectant efficient A330s on other routes
may be, in the Winter 2012/2013, for example, to New
York instead of a 744, which is released for it. Also
reduced crew requirement has obvious effects on the result.
Dr. Sebastian Hollmeier, Head of Network Planning Frankfurt, explains:
"There are decisions in difficult economic times,
that you do not like where you meet not,
ignore. The switch to the Kontgerät Tel Aviv
Route is one of them. The economics of Frankfurt to Cairo
Line is positive since the beginning of the measure. Tel Aviv
We also expect this, especially since we simultaneously the evening flight
could bring forward to 19:25 clock. Thus the
Port situation in Frankfurt and improved customer
come much earlier than previously in Tel Aviv. "

SFO777

+1
In my case, I had booked two JFK-FRA-TLV LH First (A) tickets at $6K each but cancelled when LH went to S/H A321 on the FRA-TLV route. No effing way I'm spending 4 hours in a coach seat.

htb

Is that really 45% less fuel PER seat, or is that 45% less fuel for the entire plane with less seats?

Also, it's cynical to whine about the difficult situation they put the crew in. If they wanted to avoid that, they could contact all booked business class passengers and inform them of the change, offering a refund. And they should make it overly clear during the booking process that the business service sold will use an economy seat.

They should also contact and inform all eco pax of the change because someone looking forward to some movies will be upset as well.

Dream on...

HTB.

clubman

Does that sentence mean El Al use S/H aircraft on the route?

mamb0

yep. Kontgeraet is LH lingo for continental equipment.

The fact, that EL AL s/h has a different seat in business than in eco seems irrelevant to LH for the sake of the argument.

Rambuster

I've done CAI-FRA once on the night flight in an NEK seat and I'm not ever going to do this again!
Nowadays I fly with MS. Their loads have improved significantly in my experience and it is sometimes difficult to get a C seat!

mamb0

Bey-Fra. In 1C. C was packed, everybody was complaining, some even loudly and inappropriately to the poor crew, who also were not looking forward to being in this plane for so long. The immovable armrests killed me. My colleague sat in the first row of y, had an empty seat and more space than me.
The food was a joke and all the people shlepping to the restrooms, bumping into me, kept me from sleeping.

After arrival in FRA I entertained the thought of walking over to the building of Lufthansa Passage and see if I could beat up one of the idiots responsible for this with the backrest of a NEK seat. But since the backrests are only a thinly upholstered piece of hard plastic, I didn't want to risk to accidentally club anybody to death with it. I mean this thing already inflicts serious pain just standing there (ok, not many just stand there anymore, but even the autorecline versions do hurt). Imagine a raging HON swinging it at you full force...

TRAVELSIG

Don't hold back

oliver2002

Considering how Lebanese can get emotional and aggressive you would assume someone would have done this already years ago when the A300 stopped flying to BEY in 2009? Even with the AB6 flying to BEY in 2005 you had reactions like the one posted in post#35 in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-horrible.html

LXA350

I can understand that flying to TLV with a long haul plane is not as fuel efficient however flying this route with a short haul equipment equiped with NEK seats is unacceptable. If LH decided to go that way they should have a sub fleet of A321's equiped with a proper long haul business class product as BA will do or at least craddle seats including a AVOD entertainment system. There are enough routes LH flies to with flight times of around 4 hours that if flight arrivals and departures will be coordinated between the routes to use the aircraft efficiently that sub fleet can also be operared with nice yields and possibly the one or the other business class seat more that willl be sold. I really don't think Lufthansa knows what they are getting themselves into on the TLV makrket and what they can potentially loose. Israel has one of the highest density of HON's and SEN's for sure more than applicable for CAI or AMM. Also you can't "cheat" Israelis; they will not pay a business class ticket if they get economy class. Although EL AL is not a very good airline they will be starting a aggresive capaign to give SEN and HON's their highest tier frequent flyer status when switching to them. And the one or the other will do it because although LY mainly flies with short haul equipment to European destinations they have at least a Business Class with craddle seats. Except for AF all major european airlines offer at least craddle seats to TLV and now LH wants to come with their NEK seats...

gordo6

A few years ago, LH used to operate Private Air's 737 on the MUC-TLV route. This allowed them to offer their L/H business class product on that route.

It is a shame that they are not able to do this now, either by using Private Air planes or by creating a sub-fleet with proper business class...

BTW, in the letter posted here explaining the change, LH forgot to mention that IB and AB also operate wide-bodies (on same flights), with IB operating proper business class product on all flights.

geilux

+1 ^

BA did it (321 with long haul C), I am surprised LH can not do the same, especially when they acknowledge that the FRA/TLV route has a great load factor.

Time to spend more time with BA.....

gojko88

BA seems to be considering the same move as LH AFAIK

svajcarac

LH like many other airlines has to make sound economical decisions. If destinations like BEY, CAI or EBL can be served with NEK, I really don't see why on the 4hr flight to TLV this should be such a disgrace...
Also, the fare levels in Israel seem to be rather low. In another post here somebody is mentionning having bought a $6k fare in First Class to the States on LH... not a good yield for the airline...
After all, NEK is a reasonably good product for a flight of 4 or so hours. The seat is not everything! LH in general has a modern fleet, friendly service and good on-time performance.
And no, I don't work for LH, I just fly with them as a normal fare-paying passenger.

Rambuster

You obviously don't fly a lot...