BERLIN, Sept 20 (Askume) – Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE) is evaluating whether to cancel daily flights from Frankfurt to Beijing as rising competition, especially from China, and the rising cost of doing business in Europe are hitting its bottom line.
A Lufthansa spokesperson said: “Lufthansa is constantly evaluating and optimising its entire route network.”
A final decision on cutting flights to Frankfurt, Germany’s busiest airport, will be made in October, a spokesman said. Lufthansa will operate daily flights to Beijing from Munich, Germany’s second-busiest airport.
Chinese airlines are gaining market share on international routes as foreign carriers shy away from weak Chinese travel demand, rising costs and the need to avoid long flights over Russian airspace.
The spokesman said European airlines were in an unequal competition with China and airlines from the Gulf and Bosphorus, which benefited from lower space costs and social standards as well as higher government regulations for the industry.
In contrast, European airlines must grapple with rising taxes and fees, high regulatory requirements and inadequate infrastructure that hinder their international competitiveness, the spokesperson said, calling on European politicians to find new industrial policy responses.
