Lufthansa blindsided as Ryanair plans new routes from Frankfurt

Only a year after Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary said “We won’t fly to Frankfurt”, the Irish low-cost carrier has revealed plans to fly four new routes from Frankfurt, starting March 2017. Operating with two Boeing 737-800s, the carrier will fly routes to Alicante, Malaga and Mallorca in Spain, and Faro in Portugal, with flights offered daily. Estimates are that the carrier will attract up to 400,000 passengers in the first year.
This move has created a potential clash between two of Europe’s heavy-hitters; Ryanair is the largest no-frills carrier in Europe, while Lufthansa is seen as one of the world’s largest travel brands.
Lufthansa has been quick to respond by pledging to “react as appropriate” with Karsten Spohr, the German carrier’s CEO, making it clear that Lufthansa’s low-cost carrier, Eurowings, would be brought in to defend the hub “if there is a need.” Spohr was also quick to point out that he expects Eurowings to be offered the same favorable fees from Fraport, The Frankfurt Airport operator, that have been secured by Ryanair
Fraport failed to increase fees for using the airport this year after regulators objected late in 2015. However, it is understood that the airport operator offers a first-year discount of up to 50% to carriers operating new routes, an element of the application for fee revisions which are to be resubmitted. Were Lufthansa to have been offered such a discount, this would save the German carrier up to €300 million next year based on its proposed schedule, according to Spohr. In addition, Lufthansa has already made it clear that it will curb capacity growth at Frankfurt, having also pledged not to increase pilot numbers before the pilots’ union, Vereinigung Cockpit, agrees productivity improvements.
It would appear that the route cuts at Germany’s second-largest carrier, airberlin, appear to be what has prompted Ryanair to expand, particularly as it also ties in with the carrier’s plan to target major airports and business travel on the basis that business travelers tend to pay more and book later. Frankfurt is seen as being one of the ‘big three’ European airport hubs, including London Heathrow and Paris Charles De Gaulle.