The executive president of Spanair, Lars Lindgren, offered a press conference this Thursday where he reviewed the current situation of the company, recalling that the investigation into the Barajas tragedy is still ongoing and predicting a short-term future full of passenger declines in the airline market.
Regarding the Barajas accident, Lindgren stated that he shares with the families the frustration caused by such a complex investigation process as the one being carried out to elucidate the causes of the air accident that occurred at the Barajas airport on August 20. Lindgren does not believe that the investigation "is being slow" but rather "thorough". The president of the airline believes that the accident caused a 40 percent drop in the company's reservations in Spain, although the usual figures prior to the accident have been recovered in the forecasts for the month of December.
For this reason, Lindgren thanks the passengers "for the trust shown in the company" and assures that it complies with "all the protocols required by the European Union for airlines". The Spanair executive did not want to make any assessment on hypothetical causes of the accident until the conclusions of the final report are known and reiterated that the company "is the first interested in knowing the truth".
Possible reduction of flights to the Canary Islands
Regarding the restructuring that the company announced last June, Lindgren assures that "the cuts will not affect the routes that Spanair has with the Canary Islands, although it is possible that the frequency of flights will be modified and even reduced". The executive president of Spanair assures that the airline sees the Archipelago as a stable market with continuous demand, which makes it an important segment for the company.
Due to this stability, the executive predicts a reduction of between three and four percent in the number of travelers, a figure "much less dramatic than in the Peninsula", where the reduction will be much greater, especially on the Madrid-Barcelona air bridge.
Lars Lindgren assures that Spanair will continue investing in the Islands during 2009, "this year, the Canary Islands have accounted for 30 percent of Spanair's global production", he said. In 2008 alone, the airline has transported two and a half million passengers on 16 different routes between the Islands and the Peninsula, he assured.
Thailand is exchanged for the Canary Islands
The executive president of the Spanish airline sees the Thai crisis as an opportunity for the Canary Islands tourist market and, by extension, for airlines in relation to their medium-distance routes. The Spanair executive assured that the Canary Islands can become a recipient of the Nordic tourists who had Thailand as their usual destination, provided they manage to transform this opportunity into affordable prices.
Lindgren believes that the economic crisis situation and insecurity will allow the islands to benefit from the situation this same winter season since tourists will look for safer and cheaper solutions for their vacations. In addition, he stressed that the drop in fuel prices will force companies to lower rates depending on the competition, which will benefit customers and increase demand.
Lars Lindgren concluded his speech by advocating for greater transparency on the part of airlines when setting rates for their customers. "Right now we need translators, nobody understands the tariff system, and that can't be", he said.
