Lufthansa Turkey General Manager Gregor Wende reveals information about the global strategies of the Lufthansa Aviation Group while sharing the differences he has observed in the civil aviation sector in Turkey, where he’s been appointed for the second time after 20 years. Gregor Wende Lufthansa Turkey General Manager

Gregor Wende, who speaks excellent Turkish, has been working for Lufthansa Airlines for 34 years and is currently the General Manager of Lufthansa Turkey. However, this is not Wende’s first post in Turkey. He was first in Ankara in 1989 as Lufthansa’s Middle East and Turkey Manager and then served as Marketing Director of the SunExpress Company, a joint venture of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, between 1992 and 1996 in Antalya. Later on, Wende travelled abroad to take over Lufthansa’s General Management for Japan and China; however he was re-appointed to Turkey on May 1st, 2009, a country he is very familiar with.

Gregor Wende answered questions about the differences he has noticed in the Turkish civil aviation sector from 1989 to the present: "I see that huge investments have been made and Turkey has been integrated with the global economy. Furthermore, a well educated and young workforce has been trained. There has been compliance with rules and regulations within the field of civil aviation. 20 years ago the situation wasn’t like that. Turkish charter airlines were not well regarded in Europe. I see that this perception has changed in a very positive way. The large quality improvement in Turkish Airlines, with whom we have had good relations for many years, is also obvious. There is also the TAV dimension. Large investments have been made in the infrastructure of ground operations. Ankara Esenboğa Airport, Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport and Istanbul Ataturk Airport, all of which were built and are managed by TAV Airports, continue to be developed frequently according to passenger needs. Management insight is very different here when compared to 20 years ago. A first class world service is being provided here now. All these features are making doing business in Turkey a pleasure.”

Lufthansa has nine flights a day during the winter months, while Swiss International and Austrian Airlines have only two. Lufthansa has two flights a day from Ankara to Munich during the winter months, added this year. Wende explains the reason for this as follows; "Normally we reduce the number of our flights during the winter months. However, the passenger numbers in August, September and October were so promising that we decided to maintain daily flights between Ankara and Munich during the winter months."

“Turks have been more successful in dealing with the economic downturn than Europeans.”

Wende states that airports have been deeply affected by the continuing economic downturn; a clear reduction in business trips has been noticed. The demand for cheaper tickets has grown with the reduction of customer purchasing power. He explains how, as a company, they had to meet this demand. He also adds, "Reducing our ticket prices caused our income to also be reduced when compared to the past years. However, this should also be regarded as a positive improvement for the airports in the long run. Because in this way, a great majority of the population chooses the airline and this means an increase in the number of passengers. Naturally, along with this new situation comes the obligation to make new decisions about reducing costs. As a matter of fact, I always managed profitable enterprises. Since I came to Turkey, like many organizations facing the same difficulty all around the world, we are also in the red. However, Turkish people are more successful in dealing with the economic downturn than the Europeans. Thus, I assume that the effects of the downturn will decrease within the following months."

"Multi-Hubbed/Multi-Branded" airline strategy

Among Lufthansa’s growing strategies, developing business partnerships is a priority. The Star Alliance venture has played an important role for Lufthansa in breaking into new markets. This union with 24 members flies to 916 destinations in 160 countries. For example, EGYPTAIR’s joining the Star Alliance in 2008 has resulted in the raise of its market share in Egypt, North Africa and the Middle East. Furthermore, Lufthansa makes economically and strategically sound purchases joining various ventures. For example, Lufthansa is becoming a partner with Brussels Airlines and is buying Austrian Airlines, a very good example of this strategy. In other words, Lufthansa Group develops and applies strategies pursuant to a “multi-hubbed/multi-branded” airline approach.

New Market: West and Middle Africa

Wende states that Turkey is an important hub which is among the Middle and Far East markets which are growing rapidly with Europe, and adds that for this reason they find it appropriate to cooperate with Turkish Airlines, also a StarAlliance member, instead of competing with it.

The Lufthansa Turkey General Manager expresses that they closely follow the TAV Group’s investments in both Tunisia and other African countries and says that West and Middle Africa are amongst the target markets. Lufthansa flies daily to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. Furthermore, to Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) three times a week and to Port Harcourt four times a week.

Less Flights More Seats

According to the data, he states that the aviation sector is growing about 6% each year and that there is similar growth for Lufthansa Airlines. He underscores the fact that ticket prices will drop while more and more people will be choosing the airline in the future. Wende also reminds us that technical infrastructure and maintenance operations in the aviation sector are very expensive. Because of this, it is not easy to reduce costs and he adds that they can reduce costs by using internet and telecommunication Technologies more efficiently. Thus, they are able to operate with fewer offices and less staff. Another cost reducing solution is selling more tickets by adding more seats into the aircrafts.

Sustainable Development Insight

Gregor Wende mentions the environmental awareness and sustainable development approach of Lufthansa Airlines, pointing out that jet engines are built with the latest technology, have the most efficient jet fuel disposal system (4 liters per 100 kilometers) and also greatly reduce the noise pollution caused by planes.