Aviation and Corona: Departure from the pandemic

Aviation, which was hit particularly hard by Corona, is drawing hope again in view of the rapidly increasing number of bookings. But the industry has changed massively.

“That is of course bad as a passionate pilot. My whole family from grandfather, father – they all flew. And I’ve never experienced a situation like this before. And I hope I won’t experience it again,” says Ingo Grünastel. He is a flight captain at Eurowings and is happy because now holidaymakers are coming back. He has more to do again. Nevertheless, the aviation industry is marked by months with a core program.

The market is clearing itself after the crisis

The entire industry is now reorganizing itself, a market shakeout is in full swing, says aviation consultant Christophe Mostert. “We are right in the middle of it. In 2020 a little over 40 airlines went into protective shield proceedings or went straight into full bankruptcy. And I personally also believe that in 2021, 2022 we will see: Not everyone will hold out and the air is getting narrower and the white ones Flags will come, “said Mostert.

Economist Matthias Fifka also fears this. Many airlines have been saved from bankruptcy with government aid, but they continue to make billions in losses. “I think the situation is undoubtedly dire because the pandemic is going on much longer than we thought,” says the researcher. A year ago everyone believed it would pass relatively quickly. “We saw a dramatic slump last year compared to the previous year, a slump of two thirds. This year, if things go well, we will reach 40 to 45 percent of the pre-crisis level,” estimates Fifka.

Peter Smeets advises airlines on financing. He states: “Aviation has grown continuously over the past 40 years, doubling its sales roughly every ten years.” This strong growth trend made all investors somewhat positive that there is not so much that can be done wrong in this industry. “And this trend has just broken permanently now.”

Crisis costs many jobs

Flight attendants, pilots and airline administration employees: many have lost their jobs. Like Dirk Effelsberg, for example. He flew for SunExpress Germany, where he last worked as an instructor. At SunExpress Germany, the end was tough, he says. “It was really this family that was torn apart in my eyes.” It was made too easy for Lufthansa, and it would have had to take on social responsibility. After all, Lufthansa had received nine billion euros in government aid to help companies and employees through the crisis.

While SunExpress Deutschland and Germanwings stayed on the ground, Lufthansa founded a new airline in July 2020, which is starting today as Eurowings Discover. “That takes you away,” says the former flight attendant Claus Boschmann. “They could have made us an offer to be taken over here for the new airline, but they didn’t want that.” It was a matter of hiring cheaper staff on more favorable terms. “Flying is nice, I enjoy it, but it shouldn’t be a hobby. I don’t want to have a second job now so that I can more or less finance my job so that I can somehow make ends meet,” says Boschmann.

“What cannot be: that the employees now pay an extra price for it, namely that they have to start part-time work, with fixed-term contracts, with dumping wages”, criticizes Marvin Reschinsky from the service union ver.di. He is certain: “There is another way. At Eurowings, employees start at Eurowings’ tariff conditions.”

Aviation relies on vacation flights

Many airlines are now increasingly relying on private travelers. The cutthroat competition in the segment is in full swing, says Condor boss Ralf Teckentrup. It is astonishing “when companies that have not made any money in tourism in the past and have proven not to have earned any money now say: Tourism is the panacea for employing 800 aircraft”, says Teckentrup.

During the crisis, Condor had parts of its passenger aircraft converted into freighters in order to earn money with cargo. Now Teckentrup has the rows closed again with seats. “I see in the bookings for this summer that there is a strong demand for tourist bookings. And I can at least see in my environment that business travelers are getting stronger and growing again.”

More tourism, less business, that should help the Lufthansa Group out of the crisis. “In summer alone we will fly to Mallorca over 300 times a week, from 24 airports across Europe,” explains Eurowings boss Jens Bischof. “This of course shows that you have to react very flexibly to current events and developments. And the Eurowings brand in the Lufthansa Group as a core tourism competence has of course become even more important strategically,” said Bischof.

Careful hope

Every Eurowings employee will be needed again this summer. And in the midst of the crisis, Bischof is even posting new positions: “We are now the first to hire and switch to growth mode. As the largest German holiday airline, we now have a nice pull. Through the return of tourist bookings and of course through As business is growing towards summer, we are the only ones at the moment or one of the few who are actually already hiring and shifting into forward gear, “says Bischof.

“From January to April we carried out two or three flights a month, which I carried out myself”, summarizes Eurowings flight captain Grünastel. “Now the roster is already filled with ten to 15 flights a month – and the passenger numbers, if I look at the individual flights, are also increasing rapidly,” he says happily. So: it starts again.

There used to be a new flight plan twice a year. This is now readjusted weekly. Every day counts. It is a determined fresh start with cautious hope. But everyone is also aware that this industry will probably be one of the last to leave the pandemic behind.