Lufthansa does not plan to operate the new long-haul airline at Frankfurt, but Munich is a likely base and Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn andHamburg are also being considered. In the latter three airports, Germanwings is already strong and could provide feed (albeit on an "accidental" basis, without specific schedule design).
The new carrier's route network will likely focus on leisure destinations around secondary cities for private travellers, but may also include cities such as Bangkok, which is a major leisure destination and also a major hub. The location of the carrier's head office has not yet been decided, but Mr Spohr insists that it will not be in his "shiny office" in Frankfurt.
Mr Spohr was reminded that Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary has often said that long-haul low-cost requires a premium cabin to be profitable. Given that Mr O'Leary was not currently moving ahead with plans to move into long-haul markets, he was asked what Lufthansa could do differently. "I am happy to be faster than Michael on this," said Mr Spohr, "but he's right about a premium cabin and we will have