Although Lufthansa has joined transatlantic competitors in
charging non-status economy passengers to check a second bag and its closely
knit U.S. partner United Airlines remains one of the most vocal proponents of
ancillary revenue, the German-based airline sees little opportunity in expanding
a la carte fees, an executive said.
"We're a premium carrier from A to Z—all the way
through," said Lufthansa vice president of the Americas Jens Bischof.
"We are still, due to our cost discipline, able to offer that at a very
decent price for the customers, and we don’t see a huge trend internally going
in that direction. There are no big plans of introducing all kinds of different
fees. We stand for premium; we deliver premium."
Instead of seeking ancillary fee revenue, the carrier is
"focusing on an all-inclusive approach, which makes the experience better
and more predictable for the customer, especially for the corporate traveler,"
Bischof said.
Acknowledging Lufthansa's adoption of the second bag fee for
economy class travel to Europe, Bischof said, "It was a worldwide standard
that we had for economy, non-status passengers. It was a different system on
the Atlantic, and, yes, we're harmonizing that for that case. It's not coming
from a philosophy of trying to put a price tag on everything. That's not the
case."