The global health crisis is causing major organizational shifts across the aviation industry. Several airlines have been forced to change their approach amid the unprecedented impact of the pandemic. However, while it has adapted to the challenging conditions, the Lufthansa Group has affirmed that three of its key carriers will continue to offer their high levels of service. Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines will remain premium airlines in the next era.
Maintaining high standards
Simple Flying had the opportunity to speak with Lufthansa’s senior director of product management for ground and digital services, Bjoern Becker. When asked about the group’s plans this decade following the impact of the Pandemic, he explained that the style of its core airlines will largely remain the same. The benefits of a premium service will still be on offer.
“Lufthansa will stay in the Lufthansa group. Airlines like Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian airlines, they will stay premium airlines. Definitely, we will stick to our strategy here because the strategy is not wrong because of a pandemic. That has nothing to do with each other,” Becker told Simple Flying.
“The hypothesis is, let’s say, this way, that the leisure travel demand will pick up earlier than the business travel demand, so we are also looking into this. But also, here, the general positioning of the Lufthansa brand will be a premium airline with the services we offer; so we still have lounges, we still have first-class services, we still have priority lanes, limousine services, personal assistants. We will keep these premium aspects in our services, definitely.”
Extra focus
There is still a demand for a premium service in the present climate. Becker highlights that many passengers desire to use first class lounges and limousine services to maintain a distance at the airport.
Becker adds that one of the things the group learned during this period is how important it is to listen to customers. He emphasizes that the comment is much closer to its customers than ever before. For instance, more or less every week, he is performing webinars and gaining feedback.
Altogether, more than ever, customer focus will be a major topic for Lufthansa going forward. There will be customer-centric motives throughout the airlines. Along with this, the group also wants to combine digitalization with this effort to offer a truly premium service.
Taking action
These digitalization causes are evident throughout the company. For example, Lufthansa has been busy expanding biometric boarding processes at its hubs to increase efficiency and reduce risk amid the pandemic. Nonetheless, these implementations will continue throughout the decade, even after conditions improve as the company focuses on modern technology while providing a high-quality customer experience.
What are your thoughts about Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines remaining premium carriers following the pandemic? What are your thoughts about the group’s approach this decade? Let us know what you think of the company’s plans in the comment section.
