Deutsche BA chief operating officer Peter Kranich has resigned after six months in the post, and British Airways has tasked its Munich-based subsidiary with turning around its losses. The moves come as the parent denies wanting to sell its German subsidiary.
Kranich, promoted after Adrian Hunt's move to chief executive, has been headhunted by an undisclosed company and is expected to work out his long notice. Hunt says Kranich's departure is unrelated to BA's reported unease at the subsidiary's continued poor performance, saying that his right-hand man "has been given an opportunity too good to refuse".
Deutsche BA is not obliged to report figures under German law, but industry estimates place its operating loss at around $15 million in the last financial year. The carrier says it is undertaking an internal review and will announce reforms next month.
BA concedes Deutsche BA is performing poorly, but says it has no plans to divest, as it did with Air Liberté in France: "The German market is different. We are confident Deutsche BA will return to profitability," it says.
Deutsche BA has suffered from its parent's shift away from Gatwick on long-haul flights, harming its role as easy alternative to Lufthansa.
The airline blames losses on externals such as fuel prices and dollar exchange rates. Last year turnover fell some 40% to €193 million ($173 million) and the carrier failed to increase passenger numbers beyond 3.3 million.
Deutsche BA competes with Lufthansa on seven major German domestic routes and also has services to London Gatwick from Germany using an all-Boeing737-300 fleet.
Source: Flight International
