2023-04-28 13:29:06
Customer satisfaction at Lufthansa and Swiss drops drastically
The Lufthansa Group is growing, but passengers are no longer happy to recommend its airlines. And the largest shareholder criticized Swiss for a “false labeling”.
Customer satisfaction at Lufthansa and Swiss has fallen to a low. And the largest shareholder criticizes that Swiss flights are increasingly being taken over by other companies such as Helvetic.
Foto: Gaëtan Bally (Keystone)
The Lufthansa Group is currently growing as vigorously as the SAirGroup once did. While the negotiations about the integration of the Italian ITA Airways are only a formality, there is already speculation about an entry into the Portuguese TAP. And CEO Carsten Spohr is also interested in the Scandinavian SAS, he sees a strip from Scandinavia to Italy as the home market for his group.
However, while the group is expanding and making solid profits again, customer satisfaction has plummeted. According to one Report of the «Handelsblatt» the net promoter score is only 35. That’s how many passengers would recommend the group’s premium airlines – Lufthansa, Swiss or Austrian. Almost two thirds of customers would therefore rather advise another airline, which in and of itself is extremely bad. However, it is particularly bitter that its own low-cost airline, Eurowings, is even slightly better off with a score of 37.
Before the pandemic, things looked much better. Lufthansa, Swiss and Co. came up with a value of 57, so more than half of their passengers recommended them. Back then, Eurowings was still under control, where the Net Promoter Score was 40. Those times are over now.
Frequent flyer lost in the jungle
According to the «Handelsblatt», this is shown by the example of frequent flyers. Even these flight professionals would have trouble fighting their way through the Lufthansa jungle, they say. While seat bookings are not possible at Lufthansa, it is no problem at Swiss, a manager is quoted as saying that it is simply not fun.
After changes in the frequent flyer program, some have also lost their status like Frequent Flyer, Senator or HON, whereby they then switch to other airlines. There would be more service there anyway, automatic rebooking in the event of delays, and one customer even raves that Air France proactively sent him the form for compensation of 600 euros because of a flight cancellation. In the Lufthansa Group, he would have had to hire a lawyer, he says.
Largest shareholder criticizes Swiss
But there is criticism not only from passengers, but also from the shareholders, and from the largest single shareholder, the logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne. Swiss often uses Air Baltic or Helvetic aircraft on some routes, he said. “I see that as a misnomer,” complains Kühne. For him that is not acceptable, he prefers the original.
And employees are also annoyed about their own group, reports the “Handelsblatt”. A new Lufthansa app should be able to be used by customers of all partner airlines, including Swiss, Austrian and Brussels. Around 18 years after the takeover of Swiss and 15 years after the integration of Austrian, it was thought that this should work with IT under one roof.
But right from the start there was mostly trouble, a lot didn’t work, and apparently the updates made things worse rather than better. CEO Spohr admits that a conscious decision was made to start early with the aim of remedying the app’s weaknesses by the summer. He, too, is annoyed that “something isn’t working out again at Lufthansa”. But he is convinced that the app will be needed in the difficult summer and that the rebooking function will then be great.
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