Four years after Lufthansa launched direct flights between Calgary and Frankfurt with much fanfare, the German airline announced it will be pulling out next month.
The carrier is currently offering four non-stop flights per week, but has scheduled its last flight out of the Calgary International Airport for Feb. 4.
“The response from the market really hasn’t met our expectations over the last year or so,” said Lufthansa spokesman Martin Riecken.
“Accordingly, we’ve decided to end this service for now. There are no plans to reinstate this service, but it’s not being ruled out for a possibility in the future.”
The declining demand was from both Canadian and European customers and the airline was losing money on this route, he said, adding Lufthansa has rebooked all passengers who have been affected by the move.
“We are not taking this decision lightheartedly,” he said, declining to comment on whether jobs would be lost.
Lufthansa last offered Frankfurt-Calgary service in the 1980s but pulled out during the bust when air travel declined.
Lufthansa’s Star Alliance partner Air Canada, which currently offers seven Calgary-to-Frankfurt flights per week, will operate its 265-seat Airbus A330-300 aircraft year-round to meet demand starting Feb. 4.
This represents a 25 per cent increase in seats for the winter season, as the airline is currently using the smaller Boeing 767-300 ER for that route.
“With Lufthansa’s scheduled change, there was opportunity to upgauge our daily flight,” said Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah in an e-mail, adding fares will remain “dynamic and competitive” depending on the destinations and time of year.
Stephan Poirier, chief commercial officer with the Calgary Airport Authority, assured that Lufthansa’s departure won’t affect passengers.
“Anyone leaving Calgary and going through Frankfurt still has access to all the connections that Lufthansa offers beyond Frankfurt,” he said.
The Calgary International Airport still provides excellent service to Europe and, out of all airports in Canada, offers the highest number of seats to Europe per capita, Poirier said.
Airport spokeswoman Jody Moseley added she’s not concerned about other European carriers pulling out of Calgary, especially in the wake of the troubling economic situation in Europe.
“We’re currently looking at finalizing passenger numbers and they look positive. Despite fluctuations in the economy, Calgary continues to be resilient to those type of economic downturns,” she said.
Lufthansa’s exit from Calgary is also expected to have little impact on travel agents and the services they offer to passengers, said Nikola Berube, director of sales with travel at the Alberta Motor Association.
“Most consumers today are purchasing flights based on price,” she said. “The airline is less important.”
Berube acknowledged that there may be “a level of disappointment” from passengers who had preferred Lufthansa over Air Canada for personal travelling reasons, but assured that they will have a choice of airlines to fly with as charter carriers emerge during peak seasons to offer similar flights at competitive prices.
Tom Dixon, business development manager of real estate, transportation and logistics at Calgary Economic Development, said the Calgary-Frankfurt route is very important for business.
“There are lots of flights that connect from Frankfurt to the Middle East, Asia, it’s a particularly efficient airport,” he said. “It’s reassuring to see Air Canada, albeit within the Star Alliance of which both are members, adjust capacity to address the needs of the marketplace.”
Any time an airport loses a carrier, it’s a concern, he said, though he added he believes Lufthansa may be back in Calgary when the European economy gets stronger.
Dutch airline KLM also confirmed it will be increasing its direct Calgary to Amsterdam flights this summer, from four flights per week to five per week by April, six per week by May, and daily flights before the summer.
But the decision to increase flight frequency was made long before the news that Lufthansa was pulling out, said Fabien Pelous, vice-president and general manager for Air France-KLM Canada, adding it had been part of KLM’s development plan since it launched non-stop Calgary-Amsterdam flights in 2009.
“We want to be seen as a global carrier and it was in our plan in Calgary,” he said, calling the city one of four important gateways in Canada, joining Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver on the list.
Amsterdam is considered a major travel hub and connects to up to 157 destinations in the world, making it an important connection for both business and tourism reasons, Pelous added.
Source: Clara Ho, Calgary Herald
Gravity always wins!