AB25: anniversary reflections from Juergen Weber

To mark the 25th anniversary of Airline Business, 25 leading airline industry executives who have helped shape the sector over the last quarter century, give their reflections on the last 25 years and the challenges for the years to come.

Lufthansa's supervisory board chairman Jurgen Weber on how Lufthansa has positioned itself over the last 25 years and on tapping the potential from consolidation and partnerships He writes:

"Stability and control are the essence of safe flying and succeeding as a business. On average, the airline industry is confronted with the challenge of new innovative cycles every 10 to 20 years. Keeping the craft on course and in trim and finding the right power-setting to master any potential rough ride is a task requiring entrepreneurial initiative, a sense of proportion and adaptive skills. How has Lufthansa managed to build a true airline group that finds itself well-positioned on the industry's leaderboard today?

Airline deregulation and its European variant of liberalisation led to a particularly dramatic cyclical change for all players at the time they were introduced. In the beginning, many airlines quarrelled and resisted change; only a few were bold and jumped in at the deep end".

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• Read more about Lufthansa's alliance strategy as part of our wider recent feature on airline partnerships and consolidation;
• Latest details on Lufthansa's relaunch of in-flight high speed Internet connectivity, nearly four years after the demise of the old Connexion by Boeing service;
• Watch our video on Lufthansa's cabin concept for its new ultra-large Airbus A380s

• Read all 25 leader perspectives and messages and contributions from other senior figures
• Airline industry figures give their reflections on the last 25 years in our special video report
• Follow the ups and downs of the industry since 1985 with our interactive airline industry timeline

Source: Airline Business