“Summer’s good to go”: Lufthansa’s chief commercial officer dispels fuel concerns

“Summer’s good to go.” 

That reassurance comes from the Lufthansa Group’s Chief Commercial Officer Dieter Vranckx, who says concerns about a fuel shortage in Europe in the coming months are largely unfounded.

"There are no signs from our suppliers that fuel supply will be at risk this summer,” Vranckx said in a recent interview, shared on the airline’s website.

The company’s summer flight operations are not expected to face any disruption from fuel supply issues across Lufthansa’s six European hubs, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels and Rome, he said.

The Lufthansa Group consists of Lufthansa SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways.

Too optimistic?

But is to too optimistic?

Just under a quarter of jet fuel shipments destined for Europe need to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has restricted during the conflict with Iran, said Vranckx.

“To compensate for any shortfalls in those deliveries, imports are now increasingly reaching us from other continents — for example from North America and Africa. In addition, European refineries have ramped up their jet fuel production to maximum capacity,” he said.  

And if the crisis in the Middle East were to cause further flight cancellations after all?

“We do not anticipate that,” he said. “Should fuel shortages occur contrary to expectations, and flights be cancelled as a result, the customer has a choice: either they are rebooked, or they receive a full refund of the ticket price as a 'money-back' guarantee — it's that simple.” 

“These cancellation and rebooking rules apply without restriction to all airlines in the Group.”

Airlines trim down

In April, Lufthansa said it would cancel 20,000 short-haul flights across Europe this summer, saying many routes are no longer financially viable due to surging fuel costs.

The price of jet fuel has roughly doubled since the outbreak of the US–Israel conflict involving Iran, as disruptions in the Middle East have affected production and supply routes.

Other European carriers, including Air France-KLM and Delta, have also scaled back some services, while many airlines (including Canadian carriers) are increasing fares to offset higher operating expenses.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, meanwhile, has suggested that ticket prices could rise by roughly 15-20 per cent as the airline responds to a sharp increase in jet fuel costs.

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