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Then ARD Information There is agreement on a rescue package for Lufthansa. According to “Spiegel”, the state wants to join the airline directly. CEO Spohr had warned against too much state influence.
By Michael Immel, ARD Aviation Expert
Then ARD Research there is now general agreement on a rescue package for Lufthansa at the ministerial level. The key points are said to have been flogged. Neither Lufthansa nor the Ministry of Economic Affairs make official statements.
According to the news magazine “Spiegel”, government officials are in favor of direct entry. Consequently, € 5.5 billion should flow to Lufthansa in the form of a silent participation from the federal government. In return, the federal government apparently requires a guaranteed nine percent dividend. Additionally, the state wants to join Lufthansa directly at 25.1 percent, which should cost just under a billion. The state credit institution for reconstruction (KfW) should contribute another 3.5 billion euros. The government wanted to provide a guarantee for this, he said.
General Board elects supervisory boards
Until recently, Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr had warned against too great an influence on the state of his company. With the state at the wheel, the group is very difficult to control. But now it looks like one or two political representatives could be on the supervisory board in the future. Incidentally, this will be reassembled next Tuesday. Five supervisory meetings must be completed at the Deutsche Lufthansa AG general meeting.
In a previously released speech by the CEO, Spohr stresses that Lufthansa must remain competitive even after the Corona crisis. For shareholders, he explains: “State aid is not an end in itself. We associate it with clear objectives and take responsibility towards the taxpayers who make it possible: regardless of the scenario, we want the Lufthansa Group and keep the group of European airlines. That is our general objective. “
“Without state management”
Spohr wants “no state administration.” It is clear to him: if Lufthansa wants to survive against the top three airline groups in the United States, China and the Gulf in the long term, only as a group of European airlines. Above all, we should not be over-indebted. That would paralyze us for years. We have to work today on a plan on how we can reduce government loans and investments as quickly as possible. Politicians are being asked to ensure that aid is provided. ” not lead to an imbalance in international competition, “he appeals to the head of Lufthansa. Competitors from the US, China and so-called low-cost airlines, in particular, were now trying to restructure healthily with state aid in the Corona crisis.
An airline rescue package there was created in the United States more than four weeks ago, weighing in at $ 25 billion. Airlines are said to receive about a fifth of this amount as a gift.
In his speech, Spohr again emphasizes that “he does not need state administration.” But if, as is now evident, the state were to acquire a package of shares, and thus receive a blocking minority, it would also have an impact on the company’s most important strategic decisions. And about future regulations for the remuneration of board members.
Rescue Package Linked to Climate Targets
A look at Europe’s neighbors in the aviation industry shows how an aid package for AirFrance-KLM has been linked to conditions there. France and the Netherlands are loosening billions, but the loans are subject to clear conditions. A restructuring plan that has already been presented must now be massively accelerated. The Paris government also requires AirFrance to cut the least profitable national routes in France.
Climate protection also plays an important political role for the rescue package: the fleet will be continually upgraded to use less fuel. And AirFrance-KLM must offset 100 percent of the CO2 emissions generated on domestic flights. Flying cleaner, flying calmer, both countries are helping the holding company.
Work guarantee
The government has also established guidelines for passenger airlines in the United States. The deal is: airlines can’t fire employees until the end of September for the $ 1 billion injection. Furthermore, they must guarantee that their route network will be operated at least minimally. But what now also leads to the fact that airplanes fly largely empty in the United States and maintain domestic traffic. Sometimes with stopovers to go to several airports with a single flight. A state-ordered collective flight taxi, beyond economic and ecological efficiency.
