February 4, 2008 | 12:00am
Germany’s Lufthansa Airlines will close its daily connection to Manila Philippines effective March 30, 2008 with the end of the current winter timetable, company officials announced.
However, it will maintain local presence through its Manila office and continue to offer the same level of unparalleled service and a wide range of travel options and destinations to Europe and other destinations via Asian gateways.
The decision to discontinue the daily connections between Manila and Frankfurt, according to Lufthansa general manager for the Philippines, Guam and Micronesia Christopher Zimmer, is purely commercial in nature.
“The Philippines remains a key market for Lufthansa, that’s why we maintain a presence in Manila,” Zimmer said.
“The prospects of being able to create and offer new and exciting travel options for our local customers through other Lufthansa Asian gateways like Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong are boundless. Together with the Star Alliance and our local counterparts, we now enjoy a flexibility that allows us to provide customers more travel perks while they continue to enjoy the Lufthansa experience,” Zimmer added.
As one of the world’s largest airlines, Lufthansa currently flies to more than 188 destinations in 79 countries. Together with its Star Alliance and bilateral partners, Lufthansa serves 416 destinations in 100 countries worldwide, including codeshare flights.
“The discontinuation of the Manila-Frankfurt connection is a prudent move that allows Lufthansa to re-allocate its existing resources to tap into the profit potential of emerging markets,” Zimmer noted.
He explained that Lufthansa has major expansion plans in China and India, currently considered two of the world’s fastest growing regions. In fact, the company recently announced that it will open new service routes connecting Europe and China through Nanjing and Shenyang starting summer 2008, making Lufthansa the first and only European airline connecting these two important cities.
“Lufthansa always keeps customers foremost in mind. These plans are meant to enhance Lufthansa’s industry leadership by providing the best travel options worldwide while ensuring route economy on all legs,” Zimmer said.
“Manila is one of Lufthansa’s longest flights out of Europe. And with lesser margins, an imbalance in passenger mix and, not to mention, the effects of a volatile US currency, it is only prudent for Lufthansa to cease the Manila service route for the moment and re-allocate the capacity to new gateways,” he added.
Lufthansa has made arrangements to accommodate the rebooking or cancelling of flights for customers that have existing bookings to and from Manila with flight dates starting April 2008 free of charge.
