Recovering auto sector boosts Lufthansa’s BHX services

RECOVERING business in the automotive sector is thought to be a major factor for a growth in passengers travelling between Birmingham Airport and Germany.

Latest figures from German airline Lufthansa show a 13.4% increase in its volumes from Birmingham last year. The airline has said much of the growth was due to increased business travel.

The figures show passenger numbers grew from 360,972 in to 2009 to 409,246 last year.

Marianne Sammann, Lufthansa UK General Manager, said the airline was delighted by the growth.

“The figures are very encouraging and well above the average, although still not back to the levels of before 2008,” she said.

“We think that a lot of the extra volume is due to automotive companies from the West Midlands travelling to Germany on business. This would tend to suggest there has been a pick-up in this sector and more people are needing to use our services.

“We have also found that 52% of travellers from Birmingham make connecting journeys and we have seen growth in flights to Europe (20.6%), the Middle East (77.4%) and South America (21.4%).”

The data also shows that of the top 20 connecting services out of Birmingham, Delhi was the number one destination, followed by Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Nuremberg and then Mumbai.

The popularity of the sub-continental routes could be due to a lack of direct flights between India and Birmingham.

Air India suspended its services three years ago claiming it wanted to protect its slots at Heathrow. A campaign to have the Birmingham flights reinstated was launched from the airport last year and quickly attracted the support for more than 20,000 people.

Despite this, direct flights have still not been reinstated and airlines such as Lufthansa have felt the benefit.

Strong repeat business and a stable fare structure are also thought to be factors in the growth.

However, despite the growth, the airline said there were no plans to increase capacity from Birmingham, which is Lufthansa’s third biggest UK airport.

The airline currently operates 62 flights a week out of Birmingham: 26 to Frankfurt; 19 to Munich; and 17 to Dusseldorf.