Germany’s Lufthansa Group is centralizing operations across its portfolio of European airlines.
The company said Friday that financial management, loyalty programs, and network planning, among other areas, will be “steered group-wide” with the assistance of “group function boards,” each with their own area of expertise. There will be a total of four boards – hub steering, technology, human resources, and finance.
Perhaps most importantly for customers, Lufthansa Group said it will take control of planning all short- and medium-haul routes. While this will be done “in close coordination with the airlines,” the group said, decisions will ultimately be made by the corporate office, with the interests of the broader Lufthansa network in mind.
The centralized approach is already used for the company’s long-haul network.
“The aim is to strengthen and expand the market position of the hub airlines Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines in particular,” Lufthansa Group said in a statement. “Efficiency and profitability are also set to increase.”
Passenger experience will remain under the control of the individual airlines. This includes flight operations and in-flight products, catering, customer service, and airport lounges.
Lufthansa Group said all information technology functions will be consolidated under the department headed by CTO Grazia Vittadini. Digital units will be bundled together in a new, as yet unnamed division.
The company aims to implement these measures by January.
Lufthansa Group, which is headquartered in Cologne, owns or has a stake in Lufthansa, Air Dolomiti, Austrian, Brussels, Discover Airlines, Eurowings, ITA Airways, Lufthansa CityLine, Lufthansa City Airlines, SunExpress, and SWISS. It also operates non-airline subsidiaries such as Lufthansa Consulting, Lufthansa Aviation Training, and Lufthansa Industry Solutions.
