A perpetual debate rages among BTN editors: Do we honor as
Most Influential those whose earlier work proved influential this year or those
whose work this year should prove influential in the future? In the case of
Carsten Spohr, the answer is both.
Back in 2015, Lufthansa Group airlines became the first
full-service carriers to restructure their distribution. Lufthansa announced it
would enable New Distribution Capability-enabled connections to corporate
clients, agents and others while slapping a surcharge on bookings through
global distribution systems, with which it also ended full-content agreements.
Much speculation ensued over whether rivals would follow suit when their GDS
deals came up for renewal in 2017. In the end, British Airways, Iberia and Air
France-KLM did. In Europe, following Lufthansa's lead, the die for permanent
distribution change is now cast.
Meanwhile, the strategic focus in 2017 for Carsten Spohr, a
licensed professional pilot and Lufthansa boss since 2014, has been making his
aviation behemoth even bigger. The opportunity was created by the weakness of
competitors: Airberlin, Germany's second-largest airline, went bust and
Alitalia is throwing in the towel after two decades of crisis. Lufthansa has
bid €250 million to acquire Alitalia, giving Lufthansa another long-haul hub in
Rome, and has agreed to buy a large chunk of Airberlin, which would give it a
near-monopoly on the 100-plus routes on which the two overlapped.
German travel managers are deeply unhappy, fearing they will
pay more if power is concentrated so heavily with one supplier. In fact, there
are allegations those fears already have been realized. Germany's Federal
Cartel Office, which has had to slap Lufthansa down in the past, is
investigating a sharp domestic fare rise from the airline following Airberlin's
cessation of service.
European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has
expressed concern about the "risk of a very strong limitation on
competition on quite a number of routes" and is poised to intervene.
Expect a major tussle in 2018.