Only a few days ago Lufthansa was brought into play as a possible buyer of the completely overhauled Alitalia. Chief Commercial Officer Harry Hohmeister ruled that out indirectly, as he ruled out acquisitions in the near future as part of an ITB Now online event.

The Kranich board member indicated that commercial cooperations will dominate in the future. Hohmeister does not see consolidation in the form of takeovers, at least in the short term. However, the joint ventures will not be limited to airlines among each other. The Kranich board member explicitly named Google as a possible partner who would enable airlines to move closer to their customers.

Harry Hohmeister was optimistic about the recovery in the aviation industry. He believes that there is “good prospects for summer” and predicts that many people “want to go to the beach” and “immerse themselves in other cultures”. From the third quarter of 2021 in particular, demand will skyrocket.

"60 to 70 percent capacity in summer"

Currently, the capacity of the Lufthansa Group has been reduced to a kind of minimum program. In the period between July and September 2021, which is important for summer business, Lufthansa plans, according to Hohmeister, to be around "60 to 70 percent of the level of 2019". According to the latest group forecasts, the crane will be at 2021 to 40 percent over the entire year 50. This is the number given by company boss Carsten Spohr in the previous week at the presentation of the deep red annual figures.

Harry Hohmeister also assumes that by the third quarter of the current year at the latest, all destinations from the hubs in Vienna, Zurich, Munich and Frankfurt am Main will be offered again. However, there is a high probability that the frequencies will not reach the level of 2019 for some time. The Lufthansa Executive Board member was particularly optimistic about business trips. He sees a recovery in this segment in the coming year, but no later than 2023.