The Australian market became the second strongest in the Southeast Asian and Pacific region for Lufthansa during the pandemic, according to Lufthansa Group senior director regional sales Southeast Asia and Pacific Sabrina Winter.
Sitting down with Karryon recently in Sydney, Winter said that “with Australian traffic, we were able to fill our aircraft from Southeast Asia back to Europe”.
“We always rely on the Australian market … and also there’s a different seasonality than with other markets,” she pointed out, along with a rise in premium seats from Australia.
In Sydney for an event with Lufthansa partners, Singapore-based Winter also talked up the Australian travel trade, calling the channel a “very, very important” one for the group thanks to the “complexity of the product” out of Australia.
“Many Australians transit one or even two times on their journey, so we really rely on the trade to explain the product and the service offering,” explained the Austrian. There has also been a “trend back” to the trade.
“What happens if a flight gets cancelled, for example? They know that they have a back-up with a trade partner.”
According to Winter, the group is constantly looking at how it can help the trade.
“We are still currently evaluating that [the airline’s commission to agents],” she added.
“We are in a joint venture with Singapore Airlines – and we do align also with Singapore Airlines. Nevertheless, we really want to observe what the reaction or the repercussions are and be very cautious in the way we do business because we really believe in this market.”
Speaking to Karryon at the event, Goldman Group General Manager Chris Cheyne said Lufthansa had a “terrific” product and network, and that the airline group offered the most flexible fares.
Changi gateway
With 80 per cent of Australian passengers transiting via Changi, Singapore is already the biggest gateway for Aussie flyers travelling with Lufthansa, followed by Hong Kong and Bangkok.
But Winter said the group would offer even better connectivity and more destinations through Changi thanks to an upcoming expansion of its current joint venture with Singapore Airlines.
While the current JV focuses on corporate bookings, Winter said the expanded arrangement would reach out to students and cruise travellers, among other markets.
The Vienna native believes the group’s biggest strength is its multi-hub, multi-network offering, which allows Aussie flyers to access different points in Europe via Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines.
Last month, Lufthansa announced it will introduce a new premium offering that will feature the airline group’s first-ever suites.
Present at the Lufthansa trade event were Lufthansa Group GM Australia Anil Rodricks, Austrian National Tourist Office marketing representative Kathrina Denk, Austrian Consul General Karl Hartleb, and delegates from Singapore Airlines, Scenic, Travel Managers, Goldman Travel and Anywhere Travel among others.
For more information, visit lufthansa.com/au or the group’s trade site.
