10 INTERVIEW
Planning for a positive balance to rekindle the aviation industry Stefan Molnar, Lufthansa General Manager Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and the Mekong Region The outlook for international air traffic has been strongly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although there are signs of recovery, challenges still exist, especially different countries’ travel restrictions and long periods of quarantine after travel. What will be the adaptation of airlines to the difficult situation and new reality? UPDATE recently asked for the views of Mr. Stefan Molnar, General Manager Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and the Mekong Region for Lufthansa Group with its airlines Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS International Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings. What do you feel about Thailand’s attractiveness as an aviation hub in the ASEAN region and as the regional hub for hi-tech aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)? Thailand has become a major aviation hub in the Asia-Pacific region, especially because of the Thai government’s policy of Industry 4.0. In this context, the aviation industry has been already defined as one of the core industries Thailand intends to invest into. The expansion of U-Tapao International Airport as part of the Eastern Airport City development will potentially turn the country into an aviation hotspot in Asia-Pacific. The emergence of the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at U-Tapao also accommodates the production of aircraft parts and aircraft-related products, putting Thailand in a strong position to establish itself as a regional center for MRO services. In other words: Thailand is a key aviation hub – now and even more so in future when our industry returns to pre-pandemic levels. What have been the main opportunities in Thailand for Lufthansa Group? Before Covid-19, the Lufthansa Group Airlines Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines were the largest European airline group flying to Thailand, with a long-running history of more than
UPDATE 4/2020
60 year s. Thailand is one of our major mar kets in Asia and Bangkok one of the major hubs in the region. Normally, we offer 28 flights weekly, mainly to and from Bangkok as well as seasonal flights between Phuket and Switzerland. In the past three years, we have strengthened our presence in Thailand by increasing our capacity with premium products and services. For example, we operated the world’s largest aircraft, the Airbus A380 as only European air line , flying between Bangkok and Fr ankfur t, and also introduced flights between Bangkok and our Munich hub, Europe’s only five-star air por t. It goes without saying that we strongly believe in Thailand returning to former strength once the Coronavirus crisis is over. With EEC initiatives in place, Thailand will have plenty of oppor tunities to thrive and to remain what it has always been: a highly attractive destination for traveler s and a highly attractive market for investment. That being said: we are ready to increase our flights in and out of Thailand as soon as the situation allows for it.
