SpewyMcSpew

Agree. TXL-JFK starting in NOV? No doubt this flight will lose money but is there to protect from the other LCC starting up long haul in TXL. Im sure we will see some more DUS-USA flights as well. Huge catchment area too juicy to ignore.

LH401

Problem with the ME3 and Ryanair?

Well, given the recent issues in the Near East as well as Dublin and considering the low cost base at the 'Wings' subsidiary as well as the slot situation at various airports, I do not know many experts who really mind the ME3 and Ryanair too much.

oliver, do not make the same mistake and do not support these extreme positions like many fools on this board.

As predicted by all the experts years ago, the costs of operations at Easy and Ryan will increase erasing the competitive advantage further and further over the years.

In other words, they will co-exist forever, the only question will be to what extent LH and * will rule the aviation world.

BTW, of course, LH could kill the vast majority of airlines in Europe, if they want to.

But why should they do it?

They circumvented potential law suits for predatory pricing and anti-trust issues for taking over AB (and probably parts of AZ) beautifully by just being patient. And they also saved quite some money in the process.

Stay calm, be patient, do not fall for extreme opinions stated in various German periodicals, do your job and both the customer, the stock market as well as the real experts will reward you. Plain and simple.

dj_jay_smith

I see that Emirates are going to 3x Daily A380 from Frankurt as off 1st Jan 2018

https://www.routesonline.com/news/38...from-jan-2018/

I imagine that pleases LH even more

oliver2002

EK has done all A380 ex FRA and MUC before...

NA-Flyer

I have a hunch that sooner than later LH will suspend DXB route

LH401

Amazing, simply p​​​​riceless



​​​​​​​
Not bad, spot on!

Well, the level of sophistication resulted in a record profit just recently.

Word on the street, BA had some issues with F class fare buckets to certain cities in Asia.

Ohhh, those ' numbers getting worse and worse '

No alternative facts here...

Brilliant, just brilliant

Just wanted to quote some 5* highlights and remind readers of the brilliant insights posted over the last couple of years, this thread should be saved for the entertainment of all future generations.

Lack

Agreed, the 5* ranking is an instant entertainment classic.

Concerto

I think Skytrax is just a fraudulent lot of nonsense. I mean, for their flight reviews, they employ the same half dozen people writing the same repetitive rubbish in crap English. Even monkeys could see that. It beats me that apparently respectable airlines could lend credence to such dross. This 5*:hyperbole is very easy to simply ignore.

Fabo.sk

It works, though. At least on some types of customer - I've just recently had it where a clueless but hard headed fan spent two days arguing with several frequent travelers and industry insiders how Skytrax is relevant, and Lufthansa is an abolutely perfect airline that can hardly be better. The explanation of the Skytrax process did nothing, the specific examples of how 4* airlines even in LH Group are better than LH in relevant aspects did nothing, the specific examples of how LH does not measure up to Asian 5* airlines meant nothing.

To him, Skytrax is god, and it just proved Lufthansa is the best.
He is why Lufthansa went to the expense of getting those 5 stars.

YuropFlyer

Unfortunately, that's quite the truth. Even if 50% make fun of the Skytrax rating (and ignore it), and 40% never heard about it, it's enough if 10% somehow "take it into account" and would prefer LH over an airline that hasn't paid for their 5*.

Just as always in history, often those that market themselves best, not those that actually sell the best product, will win. Unfortunately, it is.

Those informed people who will book airlines according to their product quality, will of course deny flying LH unless they're asking for less money vs. a better airline, but the majority will go with either price, or whatever marketing sold them.

The neutral, informed people of FT aren't the majority, they're not even a significant minority.

AlicorporateUK

Indeed - and as much as we like to think otherwise

G

N1003U

Well, it certainly does seem, after a few years of top-line stagnation and earnings struggles, that LH Group is catching back up with other industry leaders in financial terms.

LH does seem to be gradually shoring up balance sheet ratios back to more "traditional" (i.e., conservative for the industry) levels and are gradually reinstating investment plans they put on hold a few years back when the cash flow looked a lot more critical than it does today.
It even looks like LH are earning back their coveted investment-grade credit rating from most agencies, which is always good for financial flexibility, whether one needs to take advantage of it or not.

There is something to be said for the lifestyle of the patient scavenger. Some of the world's largest bird species can live pretty well off the misfortunes of others.

I am not sure if such a "slow-go" management approach makes LH leadership particularly brilliant or simply nominally competent (and firm political support doesn't hurt, either), but in any case it puts them firmly above the average in the aviation industry. I haven't followed the industry as much in the past few years, but LH does seem more recently to have focused their efforts where, the competition is, um, let's say, "thinner", so it seems they can manage capacity better and make some premium pricing stick. That strategy looks like it has been good for the bottom line.

The good financial results are probably particularly good news for the German-, Euro-, whatever-Wings project. I suppose there is now enough financial cushion to give the folks over in the LCC department time to bumble around a little longer and make EW, if not really work, at least make it not as much an embarrassment.

Generally positive world economic conditions and reluctance of competitors to engage in mutually destructive behavior during these relative good times hasn't hurt, either.

I suppose the long-term upper-bound in any commodity industry will always be general GDP growth. Competitors rise and fall, but in the long term, the industry plods on gradually. Even legendary EK seems to have its hands full these days with a not-so-diverse routing strategy and a growth curve that is beginning to peter out. They aren't the fraud they are accused sometimes accused of being, but they are also learning that counting on double-digit growth in a fairly mature business is a dangerous game to play. So is the assumption that competitors will not eventually react.

While it is true that correlation is not necessarily causation, when things are going your way, it is easier to look like you are smarter than you really are.
It is difficult to argue against demonstrated success.

NA-Flyer

LH Group to expand further in the ASIA/PACIFIC markets:

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...routes-447192/

NewbieRunner

Norwegian Air Gains as Lufthansa CEO Says He's Mulling Bid - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-s-mulling-bid

yurtripper

You beat me to it, NewbieRunner.

Another one to be swallowed up by the LH Death Star?