Current and future airplane use, fleet complexity and increased competition all will influence decisions about new aircraft by short-haul airlines, according to Jurgen Hild, head of regional partner management at German flag carrier Lufthansa. Addressing senior executives on future equipment selection at the April 18 to 19 European Regions Airline Association (ERA) conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Hild said that simpler fleet arrangements reduce costs. Continuing growth trends predicted in European regional traffic will provide opportunities for new point-to-point services, but competition from low-cost carriers will be “fierce,” he warned.
On mainline routes serving major German hubs such as Frankfurt and Munich, existing rates of growth translate into a requirement for larger aircraft. At the same time, the planned introduction of new runways at those airports and in
the German capital city Berlin in the early years of the next decade will revive demand for smaller aircraft.
