Lufthansa Group reported a significant increase in traffic on Russian routes in 2017. Furthermore, in recent months, connecting flights to Russian cities have increased jointly with Siberia Airlines (S7 Airlines), reports Travel.ru.
"We achieved significant growth on Russian routes in 2017—up 21 percent," said Dirk Grossmann, Director of Sales in Russia. "In our core markets, the increase from Russia was almost identical—201 more passengers flew from here to Europe and 191 more to North America. At the same time, there was a jump of 1,251 more passengers on Asian routes—though in absolute terms, it's not significant, as few people fly from Russia to Asia via Europe. On routes to the Middle East, growth reached 381 more passengers, to South America—211 more passengers, and to Africa—171 more passengers. This year, we expect more moderate growth—likely in the range of a few percent."
— Which routes are the most popular?
— As for individual destinations, our most popular European flights from Russia are to Barcelona, Zurich, and Vienna. Zurich and Vienna are ahead of Frankfurt and Munich, as the latter are more like hubs for us, while Vienna and Zurich are very popular tourist routes. On the return trip to Russia, we carry the most Germans, followed by Italians, French, Swiss, and Americans. 771,330 passengers on our Russian flights are transfer passengers, a share that remains more or less constant year after year.
— What is the new agreement you have with Sibir?
"This is a new special prorate agreement for transfer flights via Domodedovo. It came into effect on December 1st and covers Siberia Airlines flights to 20 Russian cities—you can connect to them from our flights at Domodedovo. Unlike the previous agreement, it now includes not only Lufthansa, but also Austrian and SWISS. Initial results indicate a significant increase in such transfers, although I'm not ready to provide exact figures yet—it's been too early. We need at least six months to have any objective data."
— Is the search for a Russian airline for Star Alliance no longer on the table?
"This isn't being considered right now. Furthermore, the search for new global alliance members has become a secondary priority, with bilateral partnerships taking center stage. We already have four of them—with ANA, Air China, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, and Air Canada. This is a deeper and more effective level of cooperation than alliances, and many airlines are now pursuing this path."
— The Lufthansa Group is currently preparing to launch baggage-free fares on transatlantic routes. Will this affect tickets departing from Russia?
— No decision has been made yet. However, we have serious doubts that this model should be extended to long-haul flights from Russia. Our experience selling baggage-free fares on European routes shows that few people buy such tickets departing from Russia. This is because passengers flying from Russia, even if they're traveling with a small amount of luggage, usually want to bring something back from their trip, and we see many cases where baggage is purchased only for the return flight. If Russian passengers don't want to go baggage-free even on European routes with a few-hour flight time, what can we say about flights to other continents? Baggage-free fares are popular on intra-European routes with a flight time of an hour or two, or even less.
— What is the share of online sales in Russia?
We sell 611,000 tickets directly in Russia—online and through new distribution channels (NDC). According to the latter, this figure has grown fivefold this year. These are sales through agents, but from our own booking system, not a traditional global one. Currently, 65 agents are working this way in Russia. Russia is one of the leaders in NDC development. These bookings offer discounts on additional services, such as baggage, additional meals, and so on. Only 391,000 tickets are sold through traditional GDS (global booking systems).
— What about your transportation to the World Cup?
As you know, we've added more capacious aircraft to our regular flights and scheduled a fifth Frankfurt-Moscow flight for June-July. Additionally, there will be some charter flights for fans from Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium to attend specific matches of their teams. We'll also bring these teams to Russia on our own aircraft, but within Russia, both teams and fans will fly on local airlines. For example, last year, at the Confederations Cup, the teams were transported by Rossiya Airlines.
— Previously, there was talk about the possibility of transporting, for example, the German national team around Russia?
"We've contacted the German Football Association about this, but FIFA appoints carriers for such flights. The teams will be transported by Russian airlines, so we won't be involved."
— Did you transport the German national team within the host countries at previous World Cups—in Brazil or South Africa?
"No, we haven't—especially since it's very problematic operationally. It was always very far from Germany, and keeping a plane there for a whole month, especially a long-haul one, is obviously impossible. It needs to be operating on regular flights and generating revenue, not sitting idle for three or four days between matches in another country."
Source: travel.ru
