Based on fares a few percentage points lower between April and August but "a moderate increase" in corporate client air costs after it eliminates agency commissions next September, Lufthansa German Airlines expects overall 2004 costs for its German clients next year to be neutral.
Lufthansa, which this week announced its decision to follow other global airlines in cutting out travel agency base commissions
(BTN, Dec. 8), said mega travel management companies TQ3 and BTI already have shown support for the new model. "For the biggest corporations, this already is a de facto way of doing business," said Thierry Antinori, Lufthansa executive vice president of sales and marketing, in a briefing today with
BTN, noting that more than half of the domestic German market already is on a net pricing structure.
Antinori added that Lufthansa already has in place incentive programs for travel agencies that are adapted each year, but that no new special compensation programs have been crafted. "For small and medium-size agencies, this will allow them to create more tailored pricing for customers," he said, noting that 92 percent of all Lufthansa revenue is generated by the travel agency network.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa said it is considering expanding an executive jet service, now running from Newark to Dusseldorf and Munich and from Chicago to Dusseldorf. "The service is a perfect solution for a large market like New York," said Thomas Winkelmann, vice president for the Americas, "but special clientele may have need for other special services." Winkelmann hinted that the all-business class operation, furnished by PrivatAir, could add new markets, perhaps "to another continent," for large corporate accounts.
In other Lufthansa news, the carrier in March will launch nonstop service between Charlotte, a hub for partner US Airways, and Munich. Charlotte will be Lufthansa's 20th North American gateway.