Michael will be taking part in a Regional Airports Roundtable panel discussion at GAD 2013 in Nice, 4-7 November.
What is the most important thing you are working on this year?
Due to the market weakness of Air Berlin we restructured our passenger airline customer portfolio. We have structured our business on a broader basis. On the one hand we captured with SunExpress another new home base carrier, on the other hand we acquired new airlines such as Ryanair and Norwegian.The last few years have seen a big focus on the passenger experience across the industry – where are best returns on this investment to be found?
As an airport with mainly European connections we strongly compete with other modes of transport such as high-speed trains. In order to strengthen our competitive position, we have focused on the acceleration of all ground processes. We have adopted automatic check-in and tripled the capacity of security checkpoints.Where has progress been made in airport-airline relations and what continues to give you the biggest headaches?
The joint development of the new and Cologne based airline brand “Germanwings”, under which Lufthansa will now concentrate their overall decentralised European network. What gives me still a headache are the distortions of competition caused by the dumping price policy of loss making regional airports.What market trends are having the biggest impact on your business?
The airline consolidation and the national passenger tax put our business on the brakes.Tell us about something innovative your airport has done recently....
Cologne Bonn Airport offers its passengers a free wireless network around the clock.What do you predict will be the biggest changes in the industry in the long term (10+ years)?
Our industry is so volatile, that forecasts over a longer period of time are not possible. But we do believe that the low-cost carriers will further displace legacy carriers from their decentralized European networks.What is your favourite destination that you fly to and why?
Mauritius, because it is the paradise on earth.
Michael Garvens has been Chairman of the Management Board of Cologne
Bonn Airport since February 2002. Before obtaining the position as CEO of GlobeGround Berlin he has been
associated with the Lufthansa Group in different positions for over 10 years.
Amongst others, he was employed by Lufthansa Airport and Ground Services as CEO
in Friedrichshafen and Leipzig.
Michael Garvens serves as Vice-President of the Cologne Chamber of
Industry and Commerce and is a member of the Board of Trustees at Cologne University of Applied Sciences. He sits at the Advisory Boards of HDI Gerling
and Deutsche Bank and is deputy Chairman of the Advisory Council of Lufthansa
Consulting GmbH.
To hear more from Michael Garvens at GAD 2013, register for the event here.
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