LUFTHANSA has shrugged off Brexit uncertainty to launch a new daily flight between Glasgow and Frankfurt, handing a boost to Scottish exporters and the country’s tourism industry.
The German airline giant said it introduced the route in response to the growth of the Glasgow financial services sector and “incoming” demand from tourists, with Scotland becoming increasingly popular as a visitor destination within Germany.
It hands a major boost to Glasgow Airport following the decision by Ryanair in February to close its base at the airport and slash the number of routes it operates from the city to five from 23.
The service builds on the Glasgow to Munich route launched by Lufthansa in October, which runs five times per week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Lufthansa already operates several flights between Germany and Edinburgh Airport.
Andreas Koester, Lufthansa’s senior sales director for the UK, Ireland and Iceland, said he expects demand for the new Glasgow to Frankfurt route to come from the Scottish city’s growing financial services sector, the University of Glasgow and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area.
Asked whether more tourists are coming to Scotland from Germany because of sterling’s weakness since the Brexit vote, Mr Koester said it was “simple mathematics” that holidays in the UK have become cheaper. “But having said that, if you talk about Brexit so far, we don’t really see a big impact, except the currency devaluation,” he declared. “The demand out of the UK, overall, is stable. It is even growing, I must say.”
Pressed on whether Lufthansa was concerned the UK’s exit from the EU will bring barriers to trade between Scotland and Germany, he added: “We have to see [what happens] when it comes. It is still a blurry picture [and] there are lots of discussions going on. Whatever the result will be, the Lufthansa Group will deal with it in a constructive way.”
Mr Koester conceded that the Brexit vote has led to “disappointment” within the German business community, “but from the Lufthansa point of view… we will deal with it,” he said.
“We serve many countries with political and economic challenges. This is our daily business and our job is to make the best out of it, to and provide the best service to the people in these regions despite these challenges. Brexit will be the same for us, despite the disappointment. We will make the best out of it, for sure.”
Glasgow Airport commercial director Francois Bourienne highlighted the importance of the Frankfurt route to Scottish manufacturers, including distillers and engineering companies which provide parts for the oil and gas industry, in reaching markets around the world. “One of the positive things right now is the cheap pound makes exports stronger for the UK,” Mr Bourienne said. He added: “Not only are Lufthansa giving these [companies] strong global reach, they are also very strong in Italy, Sweden, Austria and Central European countries where we don’t really have great access to from Glasgow. So, it is a nice addition to the network.”
Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said the Frankfurt route will provide access for Scottish exporters into a “particularly important German market”. He said: “Germany has been one of the top six markets for us with the existing membership, so it is one I think we can build on for growing exports, particularly for SMEs.”
He hopes the route will boost inward investment into Glasgow from Germany, which is already backing industrial and commercial property deals. And he emphasised the “hubbing offer” Frankfurt provides in reaching other destinations. “We can’t get direct flights to everywhere, so we need to have the maximum range of opportunities through hubbing,” Mr Patrick said.
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