hkskyline
April 30th, 2005, 01:56 PM
INTERVIEW-Lufthansa slams Israeli protection of El Al
By Steven Scheer
TEL AVIV, April 28 (Reuters) - If Lufthansa's Ofer Kisch had his way, the German carrier and even its competitors would significantly increase the number of flights on routes between Europe and Israel.
But they cannot, because Israel's government remains committed for now to protecting El Al Israel Airlines by limiting foreign airlines' capacity even though El Al became a private company in late 2004.
Kisch, general manager of Lufthansa in Israel, believes the government's policy will ultimately fail - since demand is already outpacing the supply of seats - and lead to higher prices.
"The demand is growing and we can't meet that demand," Kisch said in an interview with Reuters.
He noted that Israelis now only comprise about 47 percent of total passengers, down from nearly 70 percent a few years ago when Palestinian-Israeli violence was at its peak.
Lufthansa has been operating in Israel since 1968 and has become the largest foreign carrier on routes to Tel Aviv with two flights a day from Tel Aviv to
Frankfurt, one using the huge Boeing 747-400 aircraft and another with a smaller Airbus A330.
"I could easily fill a third daily flight," he said, noting that most flights for the summer have been long booked and the waiting list for seats is growing. Kisch said he hopes to be able to add daily flights to Munich at some point.
Lufthansa carried nearly 400,000 passengers on the Tel Aviv route in 2004.
He fears that by having to constantly turn down customers due to full flights, passengers will head to other airlines.
Israel's new Transport Minister has sided with El Al that flights from foreign carriers should be limited - mainly to protect El Al's lucrative business to New
York.
The government believes that foreign airlines fly too many passengers who connect in Europe to the United States and other destinations which El Al serves.
Kisch said that most people who fly Lufthansa from Tel Aviv connect in Frankfurt to other European cities, many of which are not served by El Al, although some do fly to the Americas and Far East.
"It should be the choice of the customer to decide what airlines they want to fly," he said.
TOURISM UP, BOMBINGS DOWN
Tourism to Israel has soared the past couple years after hitting rock bottom in 2002. With suicide bombings on Israeli targets from Palestinian militants down sharply, some 1.5 million tourists came to Israel in 2004.
The Tourism Ministry expects between 1.8 and 2.0 million this year and has urged the Transport Ministry to allow for open skies to ensure that all tourists
who wish to come can.
An estimated 50,000 people were unable to come to Israel for Passover this week due to the lack of flights.
"If there won't be enough airplanes, 1.8 to 2 million tourists will not be reached," Kisch said. "If Israel wants tourists and foreign investors to come back, it won't happen if people can't get here."
He said there appears to be conflicting voices within Israel's government: the Tourism Ministry which wants more flights and the Transport Ministry which does not.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out in favour of an open skies policy, saying more competition would drive prices down for
passengers to Europe.
Kisch said Israel should look at Europe, which is bringing down barriers to competition. But for now, Lufthansa is locked into its current capacity for
another year.
Last year, the Transport Ministry tried to cut 30 percent of Lufthansa's capacity, as well as capacity on other foreign airlines. The airlines went to
Israel's High Court which issued an injunction against any reductions.
An out-of-court agreement between Israeli and German aviation officials was reached where Lufthansa would not be forced to cut seats or flights until the end of the 2005/06 winter season. But it was also halted from resuming flights from Tel Aviv to Munich, which has become a major hub for Lufthansa with its new terminal.
Kisch said he would be open to a code-share or other type of agreement with El Al on flights to Munich and other destinations as in a deal El Al has with Swiss to Zurich and Geneva.
By Steven Scheer
TEL AVIV, April 28 (Reuters) - If Lufthansa's Ofer Kisch had his way, the German carrier and even its competitors would significantly increase the number of flights on routes between Europe and Israel.
But they cannot, because Israel's government remains committed for now to protecting El Al Israel Airlines by limiting foreign airlines' capacity even though El Al became a private company in late 2004.
Kisch, general manager of Lufthansa in Israel, believes the government's policy will ultimately fail - since demand is already outpacing the supply of seats - and lead to higher prices.
"The demand is growing and we can't meet that demand," Kisch said in an interview with Reuters.
He noted that Israelis now only comprise about 47 percent of total passengers, down from nearly 70 percent a few years ago when Palestinian-Israeli violence was at its peak.
Lufthansa has been operating in Israel since 1968 and has become the largest foreign carrier on routes to Tel Aviv with two flights a day from Tel Aviv to
Frankfurt, one using the huge Boeing 747-400 aircraft and another with a smaller Airbus A330.
"I could easily fill a third daily flight," he said, noting that most flights for the summer have been long booked and the waiting list for seats is growing. Kisch said he hopes to be able to add daily flights to Munich at some point.
Lufthansa carried nearly 400,000 passengers on the Tel Aviv route in 2004.
He fears that by having to constantly turn down customers due to full flights, passengers will head to other airlines.
Israel's new Transport Minister has sided with El Al that flights from foreign carriers should be limited - mainly to protect El Al's lucrative business to New
York.
The government believes that foreign airlines fly too many passengers who connect in Europe to the United States and other destinations which El Al serves.
Kisch said that most people who fly Lufthansa from Tel Aviv connect in Frankfurt to other European cities, many of which are not served by El Al, although some do fly to the Americas and Far East.
"It should be the choice of the customer to decide what airlines they want to fly," he said.
TOURISM UP, BOMBINGS DOWN
Tourism to Israel has soared the past couple years after hitting rock bottom in 2002. With suicide bombings on Israeli targets from Palestinian militants down sharply, some 1.5 million tourists came to Israel in 2004.
The Tourism Ministry expects between 1.8 and 2.0 million this year and has urged the Transport Ministry to allow for open skies to ensure that all tourists
who wish to come can.
An estimated 50,000 people were unable to come to Israel for Passover this week due to the lack of flights.
"If there won't be enough airplanes, 1.8 to 2 million tourists will not be reached," Kisch said. "If Israel wants tourists and foreign investors to come back, it won't happen if people can't get here."
He said there appears to be conflicting voices within Israel's government: the Tourism Ministry which wants more flights and the Transport Ministry which does not.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out in favour of an open skies policy, saying more competition would drive prices down for
passengers to Europe.
Kisch said Israel should look at Europe, which is bringing down barriers to competition. But for now, Lufthansa is locked into its current capacity for
another year.
Last year, the Transport Ministry tried to cut 30 percent of Lufthansa's capacity, as well as capacity on other foreign airlines. The airlines went to
Israel's High Court which issued an injunction against any reductions.
An out-of-court agreement between Israeli and German aviation officials was reached where Lufthansa would not be forced to cut seats or flights until the end of the 2005/06 winter season. But it was also halted from resuming flights from Tel Aviv to Munich, which has become a major hub for Lufthansa with its new terminal.
Kisch said he would be open to a code-share or other type of agreement with El Al on flights to Munich and other destinations as in a deal El Al has with Swiss to Zurich and Geneva.