The unfolding transformation of the aviation industry towards sustainability

Anlee Do

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry suffered tremendously, airlines grounded the fleets, entry restrictions changed constantly, and the freedom to fly disappeared for a while. Right now, the aviation industry has come back strongly, especially for the passenger business. Besides all usual stakeholders of the industry, we are taking extra care of an additional important one: the environment.

While tourism plays a major role in the recovery of the aviation industry, Lufthansa Group, the largest aviation group in Europe, looks ahead toward a sustainable future for its operations. The company has set very clear goals of becoming CO2 neutral by 2050 and halving net emissions by 2030 compared to 2019. Lufthansa Group is actively using latest technology and innovation to achieve this important target.

GTCC UPDATE interviewed Ms. Anlee Do, also known as Anh-Thu Van Do, who has been Lufthansa’s new General Manager of Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the Mekong region since September 2022. Her fascination with the travel and aviation industry began in her childhood as her father was working as a tour guide specialized in European destination and then running a travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City. She started at Lufthansa as a management trainee in Germany and has now been with the company for more than 14 years. After gaining several opportunities to work abroad, rotate between different departments as well as develop personally and professionally, she gained the chance to return to Thailand after seven years. Under her leadership and with her extensive experience, she has the passion to lead the teams in the region with strong focus toward a sustainable future for flying.

Under your leadership, what will be changed in the focus of Lufthansa Group in Thailand and the South-East Asian region?

My focus for Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and the Mekong region is to connect customers to Europe in the most sustainable way. Lufthansa Group has been playing an active part in educating the market and our partners about solutions and offers to significantly reduce the amount of CO2 related to flight activities.

What concrete steps is the Lufthansa Group taking to push towards green aviation and sustainability?

First and foremost, it's about avoiding CO2 That's why we are thrilled to have Deutsche Bahn as a member of the Star Alliance and as an intramodal partner this year. With the on-going collaboration, there are many flights in Germany that can be connected to our hubs via train connections and that avoids CO2 emissions to the environment. We are working with Deutsche Bahn to create a seamless travel experience from the plane to the train. Currently, we can reach more than 30 destinations by train from our hubs, and more to come in the future.

The second point is the significant reduction of CO2. Lufthansa is now investing 2.5 billion euros per year in new aircraft that use less fuel and produce less CO 2. We have also developed a functional biomimetic technology called "AeroSHARK" together with BASF, the world's leading chemical and coatings manufacturer. AeroSHARK is an innovative riblet film, which successfully mimics sharkskin in order to reduce significantly aerodynamic drag and this in turn increases fuel savings for flight opertaions. It is cost-effective, scalable, retrofittable and sustainable.

People are familiar with the concept of sustainable travel and appreciate the efforts of brands that are committed to this issue. Willingness to pay is higher when it comes to sustainable travel or wellness focus.”

The very important driver in reducing CO2 emission is by using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which is made from used cooking oil or biomass, and this can be blended with Jet-A fuel. SAF can reduce 80 per cent of CO2 emissions, which is very significant and can have an immediate impact. The Lufthansa Group was the largest SAF customer in Europe in 2021 and among the top three worldwide.

The last point is compensation. We are carrying out many climate projects around the world to protect the planet, but unlike the switch to SAF with immediate reduction of CO2, compensation is more long-term.

What are the current/major trends in Thailand’s tourism and hospitality sector, and how will the trends affect the aviation sector?

The first major trend is that everything now is online. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw that people's behavior had changed, especially in terms of travel. Nowadays, people go online to get inspired, plan and buy a trip at the touch of a finger. This aspect will grow much faster in the future.

Second, the topic of sustainability is becoming more and more important. People are familiar with the concept of sustainable travel and appreciate the efforts of brands that are committed to this issue. Willingness to pay is higher when it comes to sustainable travel or wellness focus.

Finally, people want individuality and personalization rather than one-size-fits-all offerings. Individualization is the key; the new product we are launching, Lufthansa "Allegris," is no longer about the seats that we sell in each compartment, but about the most personal experience customers can have on board our intercontinental flights. There are 14 different types of seats, tailored to different travel needs, e.g., maximum comfort in Economy Class with Sleeper Row, honeymoon suite in Business Class, extralong seat for tall passengers or the exclusive suite experience in First Class. The new concept has already been launched on selected United States routes.

How do you see the future of the aviation Industry and tourism in Thailand and the South-East Asian region? What is Thailand’s strength compared to the aviation industry in other South-East Asian countries? Will Thailand still be the region’s centre of aviation in the next 10 years.

I believe that Thailand will remain the centre of aviation in the region because it is an attractive destination for tourism and for business. The Lufthansa Group has been present here even during the toughest time of the pandemic, and that shows our commitment to Thailand market, as well as our region. We are always looking for opportunities to grow our network in a sustainable way and South East Asia is a focus region for the Lufthansa Group.

What are some of the biggest challenges that Lufthansa Group has been facing during the past years? Are the challenges significantly different between the pre-and the post-COVID periods?

Due to the attractiveness of Thailand, the biggest challenges are the competitive market landscape and being relevant to all customer segments that we want to target. During the pandemic, we were required to deal with global border closures for 2.5 years, fleet grounding, and delayed openings in Asia Pacific. After the reopening of borders, the main challenge was to ramp-up the operations. However, no industry can go from 30 per cent to 90 per cent capacity in three months, especially our strategy remains being a premium airline group and having the best connectivity to Europe and sustainable flying solutions from Thailand. We did not stop flying during the pandemic and our commitment to the market is now stronger than ever. In order to offer the best connectivity to Europe, we connect Bangkok daily to our hubs in Munich, Vienna and Zürich. We have a wide range of products to meet the travel needs of different customer segments and, most importantly, Lufthansa Group is the market leader in sustainability.

What are the current routes for Lufthansa Group’s commercial flights and flights connecting Thailand and Germany. Is there a plan to increase the routes between the wo countries as well as business growth in accordance with the recovery of the tourism and hospitality industry in Thailand (e.g., more direct flights)?

Currently, it is Munich to Bangkok. We are always looking for opportunities to sustainably expand our route network, and South-East Asia is a priority region for the Lufthansa Group. As we invest in renewing our fleet, we will put a new aircraft into service every two weeks during the next 12 years. We will be keenly attuned to further opportunities to connect the Kingdom of Thailand with the European continent.

Interviewed by Paula Fleischmann, GTCC trainee, Membership, Events and Communications

Contact details: Anlee Do General Manager Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the Mekong region Lufthansa Group ppb.thailand@dlh.de https://www.lufthansagroup.com