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I am really looking forward to the unveiling of the new F.
After 12 years, it's got to be good.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...h-airways.html
After 12 years, it's got to be good.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...h-airways.html
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG will seek to out-Ritz British Airways Plc by evoking London hotel luxury in a makeover of its first-class cabins.
The revamp, to be unveiled when the German airline gets its first A380 superjumbo on May 19, features high-gloss wood veneers and brown and beige leather, said Michael Oakey of Heath Tecna Inc., which is supplying seat components. The in-flight service will include wines chosen in tastings by frequent flyers, airline spokesman Jan Baerwalde said.
Lufthansa is overhauling its costliest cabins for the first time in 12 years after British Airways two months ago showed off a 100 million-pound ($153 million) refit featuring leather desks and Egyptian-cotton duvets. Both airlines are forecasting a rebound in demand for premium travel as economies pick up.
“This is a real bet for Lufthansa, because the trend is more toward cutting first class, and I’m not sure that we’ll see the number of premium travelers we had back in 2007,” said Yan Derocles, an analyst at Oddo Securities in Paris who rates Lufthansa shares “add” and British Airways “reduce”
A first-class return ticket between Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub and New York starts at 7,999 euros ($10,700), while those flying to Singapore have to spend at least 9,559 euros. Profit margins from first-class tickets can reach 90 percent, while economy class is barely profitable, said Per-Ola Hellgren, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Mainz, Germany.
‘Luxury Hotel’
Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa’s new cabins will be contemporary rather than colorful and futuristic, calling to mind private-jet interiors and luxury cars, according to Oakey, head of business development at Heath Tecna’s U.K. unit in Camberley, near London, which is supplying bespoke finishes and components for the flat-bed seats.
The colors, materials and shapes used are also intended to create a smooth transition from Lufthansa’s first-class lounges to the aircraft, Baerwalde said. The airline already offers dedicated first-class terminals, where passengers picked up from their doorsteps by limousine are greeted in a hotel-style welcome area and kept separate from non-premium travelers.
“From the lounge to the plane, you’re meant to feel like you’re in a luxury hotel,” Baerwalde said.
Lufthansa won’t say how much it’s spending on the makeover. Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Hellgren estimates the project will cost about 150 million euros ($200 million). The carrier said it budgeted 1 billion euros over five years on improving all of its cabins, with wider seat spacing on regional flights, a new entertainment program and broadband Internet access on long-distance routes.
Catching Qatar
The redesign, to be rolled out on more than 80 long-haul routes over the next three years, will help close the gap to Asian and Middle Eastern airlines such as Qatar Airways Ltd.
Qatar Airways, whose premier cabins offer a stand-up bar, cream leather sofas and teak tables with lampshades, is eliminating first-class cabins in some of the planes scheduled for delivery after a drop in demand for top-end travel, Chief Executive Officer Akbar al-Baker said March 10.
While premium travel, including business class, is up 10 percent from mid-2009 lows, it hasn’t yet recovered to early 2008 levels, the International Air Transport Association said April 15.
Italian Caviar
London-based British Airways, which pioneered lie-flat seats in 1996, introduced its first premium revamp in almost 10 years in February. The makeover took inspiration from luxury U.K. carmakers, using designers who had created leather-rich interiors for Jaguar and Aston Martin, the company said.
Lufthansa’s new wine selections include Rully Premier Cru from the vineyards of Antonin Rodet in Burgundy, France. Also on offer is north Italian caviar, of which the airline consumes seven tons a year, making it the biggest single buyer.
Menus have been designed by renowned chefs, of whom 60 have cooked for the carrier in the past decade, including French veteran Paul Bocuse, whose eponymous restaurant near Lyon has held three Michelin stars for more than 40 years, and Daniel Boulud, whose New York establishments include Daniel and DB Bistro Moderne and whose dining empire stretches from Vancouver to Beijing.
“Everybody is offering a wide variety of champagnes and wines -- they have to differentiate themselves,” said Michael Laznicka, chief executive officer of Rapid Pharmaceuticals AG who flies as many as 16 round trips on the carrier’s first class every year. “Lufthansa is already doing a phenomenal job with its ground lounges and limousines. Now that has to happen in the air as well.”
Shower on the Ground
Lufthansa won’t offer on-board shower cabins because passengers end up competing to use them, and will instead use the 26 existing cabins on the ground. It will also avoid fully enclosed suites of the kind favored by Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Gulf carrier Emirates.
Along with Qatar Airways, Skytrax ranks Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, India’s Kingfisher Airlines and Asiana Airlines of South Korea as “five-star carriers.”
The second level of 28 airlines includes Lufthansa, together with British Airways and European competitors Air France and Virgin Atlantic. U.S. carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are in a group of more than 120 companies with three stars.
“What airlines will probably try to do in the future is to use their premium space more efficiently,” Hellgren said. “That means squeezing more customers who would rather pay a bit less for a first-class ticket into the same space.”
The revamp, to be unveiled when the German airline gets its first A380 superjumbo on May 19, features high-gloss wood veneers and brown and beige leather, said Michael Oakey of Heath Tecna Inc., which is supplying seat components. The in-flight service will include wines chosen in tastings by frequent flyers, airline spokesman Jan Baerwalde said.
Lufthansa is overhauling its costliest cabins for the first time in 12 years after British Airways two months ago showed off a 100 million-pound ($153 million) refit featuring leather desks and Egyptian-cotton duvets. Both airlines are forecasting a rebound in demand for premium travel as economies pick up.
“This is a real bet for Lufthansa, because the trend is more toward cutting first class, and I’m not sure that we’ll see the number of premium travelers we had back in 2007,” said Yan Derocles, an analyst at Oddo Securities in Paris who rates Lufthansa shares “add” and British Airways “reduce”
A first-class return ticket between Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub and New York starts at 7,999 euros ($10,700), while those flying to Singapore have to spend at least 9,559 euros. Profit margins from first-class tickets can reach 90 percent, while economy class is barely profitable, said Per-Ola Hellgren, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Mainz, Germany.
‘Luxury Hotel’
Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa’s new cabins will be contemporary rather than colorful and futuristic, calling to mind private-jet interiors and luxury cars, according to Oakey, head of business development at Heath Tecna’s U.K. unit in Camberley, near London, which is supplying bespoke finishes and components for the flat-bed seats.
The colors, materials and shapes used are also intended to create a smooth transition from Lufthansa’s first-class lounges to the aircraft, Baerwalde said. The airline already offers dedicated first-class terminals, where passengers picked up from their doorsteps by limousine are greeted in a hotel-style welcome area and kept separate from non-premium travelers.
“From the lounge to the plane, you’re meant to feel like you’re in a luxury hotel,” Baerwalde said.
Lufthansa won’t say how much it’s spending on the makeover. Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Hellgren estimates the project will cost about 150 million euros ($200 million). The carrier said it budgeted 1 billion euros over five years on improving all of its cabins, with wider seat spacing on regional flights, a new entertainment program and broadband Internet access on long-distance routes.
Catching Qatar
The redesign, to be rolled out on more than 80 long-haul routes over the next three years, will help close the gap to Asian and Middle Eastern airlines such as Qatar Airways Ltd.
Qatar Airways, whose premier cabins offer a stand-up bar, cream leather sofas and teak tables with lampshades, is eliminating first-class cabins in some of the planes scheduled for delivery after a drop in demand for top-end travel, Chief Executive Officer Akbar al-Baker said March 10.
While premium travel, including business class, is up 10 percent from mid-2009 lows, it hasn’t yet recovered to early 2008 levels, the International Air Transport Association said April 15.
Italian Caviar
London-based British Airways, which pioneered lie-flat seats in 1996, introduced its first premium revamp in almost 10 years in February. The makeover took inspiration from luxury U.K. carmakers, using designers who had created leather-rich interiors for Jaguar and Aston Martin, the company said.
Lufthansa’s new wine selections include Rully Premier Cru from the vineyards of Antonin Rodet in Burgundy, France. Also on offer is north Italian caviar, of which the airline consumes seven tons a year, making it the biggest single buyer.
Menus have been designed by renowned chefs, of whom 60 have cooked for the carrier in the past decade, including French veteran Paul Bocuse, whose eponymous restaurant near Lyon has held three Michelin stars for more than 40 years, and Daniel Boulud, whose New York establishments include Daniel and DB Bistro Moderne and whose dining empire stretches from Vancouver to Beijing.
“Everybody is offering a wide variety of champagnes and wines -- they have to differentiate themselves,” said Michael Laznicka, chief executive officer of Rapid Pharmaceuticals AG who flies as many as 16 round trips on the carrier’s first class every year. “Lufthansa is already doing a phenomenal job with its ground lounges and limousines. Now that has to happen in the air as well.”
Shower on the Ground
Lufthansa won’t offer on-board shower cabins because passengers end up competing to use them, and will instead use the 26 existing cabins on the ground. It will also avoid fully enclosed suites of the kind favored by Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Gulf carrier Emirates.
Along with Qatar Airways, Skytrax ranks Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, India’s Kingfisher Airlines and Asiana Airlines of South Korea as “five-star carriers.”
The second level of 28 airlines includes Lufthansa, together with British Airways and European competitors Air France and Virgin Atlantic. U.S. carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are in a group of more than 120 companies with three stars.
“What airlines will probably try to do in the future is to use their premium space more efficiently,” Hellgren said. “That means squeezing more customers who would rather pay a bit less for a first-class ticket into the same space.”
Oh no... ah well... there goes my chance.
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