Tag: Germany

Lufthansa and DHL to sue over Frankfurt Airport plan

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

German flagship airline Lufthansa plans to go to court over the expansion plan for Frankfurt Airport because of limits on night flights under the plan.

Lufthansa will take legal action against the planning approval for the airport expansion in view of the night flights issue.

DHL will also go to court over the expansion plan for Frankfurt Airport.

TUI’s holiday airline TUIfly and charter airline Condor said they would also sue over the issue.

In September, Frankfurt airport operator Fraport, the state of Hesse, the city of Frankfurt and several municipalities neighbouring the airport reached a compromise on the building of a new runway and a third terminal, with the condition that local residents are to protected from air-traffic noise by limitations on night flights.

The planning approval ultimately would permit just 17 flights between 11pm local time and 5am local time.

Lufthansa said the company welcomes the decision to expand Frankfurt airport. However, Lufthansa has requested more passenger and cargo flights than have been granted under the planning approval.

Lufthansa has requested approval to schedule 41 overnight flights between 11pm local time and 5am local time, Rhiel said.

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Cologne extends night flights as airlines fight Frankfurt ban

Posted by | Feb 7, 2008 | |

Germany’s two leading cargo airports are taking diverging approaches to night flights for cargo and express airlines. Cologne/Bonn will permit night flights until 2030 but proposals to reduce flights at Frankfurt to just 17 flights a night are being opposed by airlines.

The existing permit for night operations at Cologne/Bonn will be extended from 2015 until 2030, although the airport operator will have to improve noise protection measures. There are currently about 120 take-offs and landings at night at Cologne/Bonn, mostly operated by cargo and express carriers.

Airport chief Michael Garvens welcomed the permit extension as “a fundamental contribution” to the airport’s future. It would give companies “relying on night flights” the planning security to invest over EUR 200 million within five years, and would guarantee 10,000 jobs, he said.

UPS completed a EUR 135 million expansion programme at its European air hub at Cologne in early 2006. This doubled the hub’s sorting capacity to 110,000 packages an hour. UPS operates both intercontinental and intra-European flights to and from its Cologne hub.

FedEx will transfer its Central European hub from Frankfurt to Cologne in 2010. The airport authority will spend about EUR 70 million building a new 50,000 sqm freight terminal that it will lease to FedEx, while the integrator will invest about EUR 70 million in sorting equipment and in the stationing of three MD-11s.

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DHL wins global freight contract with Siemens

Posted by | Feb 7, 2008 | |

DHL is able to use both its Express and Global Forwarding services to launch the Drop Shipment Program for Siemens.

DHL Global Forwarding has been selected as preferred international carrier for Siemens’ air and ocean freight and Customs Brokerage business in the U.S. The global contract awarded to DHL will support Siemens in improving service levels, reducing costs and streamlining their overall supply chain.

DHL has also been re-awarded the exclusive contract for the Siemens Energy and Automation Europe to U.S. Drop Shipment Program. Siemens selected DHL as the only provider endorsed for its U.S. to Worldwide business and received the freight forwarding endorsement for all regions.

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Zumwinkel to quit his roles at Deutsche (Germany)

Posted by | Feb 6, 2008 | |

Klaus Zumwinkel is to retire as Chairman of Deutsche Telekom and Chief Executive of Deutsche Post, ending the tenure of a man long backed by the German government but criticised by other shareholders in the companies.

People close to Mr Zumwinkel said, given that he turned 65 in December, the moves were “inevitable”. But government officials said Berlin had become wary of backing him for positions other than as chairman of Post, an appointment he will take up.

Last year he fought for a minimum wage for postal workers, a move that saw rivals ditch plans for letter services – and gave the Social Democrats in the left-right coalition government a cause to champion.

However, an outcry ensued in December when he took advantage of the ensuing spike in the Post stock price to sell shares in the company.

This added to pressure at Telekom, which ousted top executives after rising client defections in 2006. Blackstone, the private equity group which holds 5 per cent in the telecoms group, lobbied for Mr Zumwinkel’s departure.

The US investor, along with other Anglo-American investors, said Mr Zumwinkel was too busy sorting out problems after Post’s unhappy foray into the US to devote enough attention to a troubled Telekom.

The German government owns about a third of each company’s stock, giving it the most powerful voice on both supervisory boards. The finance ministry, Telekom and Post declined to comment.

Mr Zumwinkel has yet to declare his intentions publicly. For a while he even kept key investors guessing, a delay that might have made succession trickier at both companies.

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Deutsche Postbank shares soar

Posted by | Feb 6, 2008 | |

Shares of Germany’s largest retail bank Deutsche Postbank AG rose by as much as 11pct in early trade Wednesday, following a report by Financial Times Deutschland daily on a possible merger of the bank.

Deutsche Postbank shares traded off earlier highs, up 9.1pct at EUR 56.18, outperforming Germany’s blue-chip DAX index, which was trading just 0.6pct higher.

According to the newspaper, Deutsche Post Chief Executive Klaus Zumwinkel is looking to expand Deutsche Postbank operations through a merger, citing people close to the company.

U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) is conducting exploratory queries, the newspaper reported. Deutsche Bank AG (DB), Allianz SE (AZ) and ING Groep NV (ING) were among the first potential partners contacted, the newspaper said.

Deutsche Post, Deutsche Bank, Allianz and ING declined to comment on the report.

Morgan Stanley wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Zumwinkel has said on several occasions that Deutsche Postbank “currently” isn’t up for sale, but with the deregulation of Germany’s postal market, “one could think more intensely” about the future for Deutsche Post’s stake in Deutsche Postbank.

And the complications of having Deutsche Post as a minority investor may be uncomfortable for any potential banking merger partner, the analyst said.

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