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Lufthansa Group has landed first prize in the technology category of The Airline Strategy
Awards conferred by the prestigious Airline Business magazine, underlining the technical competence and power of innovation of Lufthansa Technik, the groups subsidiary and the world market leader in MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) services. The award was presented at a ceremony staged by the magazine at the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in London on 14 July 2013.
Accepting the award on the Group’s behalf, Lufthansa Senior Vice President Corporate
Strategy, Sadiq Gillani said: “We are delighted to receive this award, recognizing the
Group’s commitment to developing industry leading innovations, which also contribute
towards economic and environmental sustainability. We are focussed on developing
innovative new ways to reduce our fuel consumption through the combined strength of
Lufthansa Technik and the airlines of the Lufthansa Group. As the global aviation leader,
we will continue on this path shaping the industry, and making flying even more
environmentally friendly.”
The independent jury of respected industry experts said the award went to Lufthansa
Group because of its investments in fuel saving technologies, not only to cut its kerosene bill but also to position the Group favourably with regard to future aircraft support business opportunities. A key criteria is the way in which technology has been integrated into the overalll corporate strategy and in which it is used to support overall business goals.
“As airlines compete amid challenging economic times and high fuel prices, strong
leadership is an essential quality for those that prosper. Over the last 12 years, The Airline Strategy Awards have recognised the industry’s best-in-class at boardroom leadership, and this year’s winners all excel in this regard,” said Max Kingsley-Jones, editor of Airline Business. ”Lufthansa is always there when it comes to innovation”.
Two examples mentioned by the jury are the pioneering test case with a pilot-controlled
tow-tractor – the “Taxibot” – for aircraft operations at Frankfurt this year. The semi-robotic hybrid-electric tug will be used in a series of tests. The long term aim is to move departing planes from the ramp to the runway without the use of the main engines for regular taxiing.
Furthermore, to improve fuel efficiency in flight, Lufthansa is testing new aircraft paint with a sharkskin-inspired riblet texture on two Airbus A340-300s. Eight 10 x 10cm (4 x 4in) test patches have been placed on the fuselage and wings of each aircraft to assess the coating’s durability in regular flight operations – a dirt-repellent texture is imprinted into the surface during painting.
Beyond the technology-driven investments the Lufthansa Group is demonstrating its
responsibility for the climate and the environment by engaging in a wide variety of projects.
These include its efforts to improve fuel efficiency though fleet modernisation and more
effective flight route planning as well as its support for diverse climate protection projects.
A comprehensive overview of the Groups many projects supporting its comprehensive
corporate responsibility commitment – in environmental, economic and social terms – is
provided in the Group’s Balance report, which is also available as an ePaper this year.
http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/responsibility.html
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is an Aviation Group comprising around 400 subsidiaries and affiliates. The Lufthansa Group is dedicated to quality and innovation, safety and reliability. Headquartered in Germany, the Group operates in five business segments – passenger transportation (Passenger Airline Group), logistics, MRO, catering and IT services. Passenger transportation is the Group’s core business: The airlines engaged in the passenger transportation business are Lufthansa Passenger Airlines (including Lufthansa Regional) Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Germanwings as well as stakeholdings in Brussels Airlines, JetBlue und SunExpress. In the 2012 business year, the airlines in the Lufthansa Group welcomed more than 103 million passengers on board their flights, making it Europe’s leading airline grouping. Operating through the Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Brussels and Zurich hubs, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and SWISS jointly serve 253 destinations in 103 countries on four continents. The Group fleet currently consists of 629 aircraft – on order are another 239, valued at more than 23 billion euros at list price and scheduled for delivery until 2025. With its ongoing expenditure in fleet renewal, the Group is consistently making the fleet more cost-efficient and its operations more environment-friendly. End of September 2012 the Lufthansa Group employed more than 120,000 people. In the 2012 business year, it returned revenues totalling 30.1 billion euros and published an operating result of 524 million euros. More details are available at www.lufthansa.com
