Learn from us, privatise AI, says Lufthansa CEO

San Francisco: As the country debates on whether Air India (AI) be privatised or the government continue to pump in oxygen to keep the ailing carrier afloat, Carsten Spohr, CEO, Lufthansa German Airlines, is of the view that national ownership "does not help". Lufthansa — Europe's largest carrier — was privatised
in 1997. "I have definitely good arguments to believe that national ownership does not help," Spohr said when asked for his views on government ownership of airlines. "Coming from German history of government involvement in Lufthansa a few decades ago, we know it doesn't always help to make an airline more flexible and cash rich."
"It does help to have a national attribute to the carrier. We call ourselves Lufthansa German Airlines but we are fully privatised. We can change our name tomorrow. Why don't we do it? Because we believe that "German" is something which helps Lufthansa. This industry is not like the normal industry so to have links with the country, with the culture, the style helps," said the former pilot who was regularly flying to Delhi and Bangalore and was incharge of "AI relationship" till two years back.
19/05/11 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Air India May 2011, Foreign May 2011