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new traffic lines, a discount which will be completely be
decreased over a period of 3 years.
This would also apply, when Eurowings as a new
offering airline, would take over a traffic line from the
parent company Lufthansa?
We are offering incentives for new traffic lines in the
intercontinental traffic and for passenger growth in
continental traffic. The amount of incentives for growth
in the continental traffic again depends on the additional
passenger growth. This of course also is applicable to
Eurowings. A pure rebranding, meaning for example
the substitution of Lufthansa flights by Eurowing flights
would not be promoted according to the incentive
regulation, because by way of this, no new traffic lines
and no growth would be generated. But this is just the
objective of the incentives.
The Lufthansa Airline might see this differently.
As a matter of principle: The Lufthansa Airlaine is our
most important partner at the Frankfurt Airport, and
we have a common interest to successfully further
development the businesses. This also relates to
Eurowings. We have a close exchange of opinions, how
we get ahead our good partnership over the longer term
and how we can reinforce it. Naturally, one also has to
understand that on short range flights the product
differentiation becomes ever more difficult between
low cost carriers and network carriers. In a few years
there probably will only exist the short range flights
versus the long range flights, and not any longer the low
cost carriers versus the network carriers. A short range
flight is then a commodity at which primarily counts
the most advantages price. As relates to the long range
flights, however, the spreading of the offers could even
become significantly bigger between the price-sensitive
economy class and the highest luxury.
And this has which consequences?
This has an effect on the business models of airlines
and airports and it is creating great challenges for them.
Formerly, one simply offered a terminal for the average
client, but in future one has to differentiate much more
as to the infrastructure. The connecting link for the price
sensitive economy clients on the one hand and the first
class and the VIP-clients on the other hand are large and
attractive retail shopping areas.
So, there is no way around low cost airlines at the
Frankfurt Airport?
There are simply market trends which are not made
by ourselves. We can only decide to follow to these
developments or not. We have, in the past years, on
average, lost every year around 1 million passengers
to the direct German competitor airports in our area,
because we did not have an adequate low cost offer.
For this reason, we had to open ourselves more to this
segment, and this we are doing it with incentives which
are transparent and customary in the market.
I do not know any German Airport which does not
need incentives. We do need growth. We have a fixed
cost business, at which alone the cost block personal
expense even at a constant employment goes up every
year by over 20 million Euro due to wage increases
negotiated with the unions. In order to match with this,
I need at Frankfurt annual additional revenues at least
of the same size.
So, zero-growth is not possible?
The most elegant way for everybody involved naturally
is to generate the additional revenues by growth. This
would be a win-win-situation. But when the growth
is not sufficient, then the revenues must be increased
accordingly. This, neither we dowant, nor our customers.
In spite of this, the fees at the airport are again and
again a cause for excitement.
Here, one simply has to let the numbers speak. With
an annual total expense of around 31 billion Euro at
our largest customer, approximately 400 million Euro
cash are received by us as airport revenues. This is just
about a little more than 1 % of total expenses. When
now, Ryanair, according to its own statements, will bring
around 1 million passengers to Frankfurt this year, then
the company must pay regular fees of 12 million Euro
to us. With a discount to this in the first year it is net
around 6 million Euro. This incentivising of 6 million
Euro will then in the following years be decreased.
The initial discount serves the purpose to decrease the
charges and the high start-up costs for the new airlines
at our airport. As per these numbers you can recognize
the order of size and the relativity of the incentives.
But the competition is hard in the industry. Would we
completely go without revenues, then the airlines
over the longer term would therefore not make more
profit, but they would give these savings, because of the
competition, and by way of reduced ticket-prices, to the
customers, that means passengers. But we would have
700 million Euro less revenues and businesswise we
would be finished.
When Fraport is counting on an increased low cost
demand at Frankfurt, then the related infrastructures
would have to be offered. What does this mean?
As to the Terminal 3, there is a supervisory agency
plan design decision. In this document it is precisely
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