Air München interview from September 1969 with Mattias Gleim, commercial director of Bavaria Fluggesellschaft:

 

AIR MUNICH:

Mr. Gleim, 6 domestic German routes are currently being flown according to plan by the airline companies working with Lufthansa. Your company, the Bavaria airline, operates daily routes from Munich to Hanover and back. What are the regulations with Deutsche Lufthansa?

MATTHIAS GLEIM (BAVARIA airline):

Our contract includes, among other things, that we fly the route at our own economic risk, but Lufthansa makes its sales organization available for us and takes over the ground handling; For this, Lufthansa receives a commission from the traffic revenue that corresponds roughly to the rates of a general agent. This means that all IATA agents book, of course, all interline sales offices for this route, which is otherwise operated under the LH flight number.

AIR MUNICH:

What is your experience with the Munich-Hanover route? Was it possible to increase the number of passengers on this route?

MATTHIAS GLEIM (BAVARIA airline):

The volume on the Munich-Hanover route is, if you consider that the non-stop service has only been available since April 1st. J. is flown to be described as relatively satisfactory. The break-even point in order to fly economically profitable is with the device used - the 84-seat BAC 1-11 - here with 34 passengers, and we actually did not expect this break-even point in the start-up period for this route is exceeded, which then happened. The route has established itself well, and the targeted advertising measures have apparently been well received in the relevant circles. The route is preferred by business travelers, which means that at least a certain stagnation cannot be avoided during the holiday season.

We only regret very much that we had to stop this traffic during the closure period at Riem Airport, although we were operating with our tourist traffic ex Neubiberg.

AIR MUNICH:

Experience shows that the German charter companies are fully booked during the main travel season. Were you able to arrange the scheduled service with the tourist flights without having to purchase or charter additional aircraft?

MATTHIAS GLEIM (BAVARIA airline):

In cooperation with Lufthansa, we were able to plan the Munich-Hanover flight plan and back into the revolutions of our aircraft in such a way that we operate early in the morning with a Munich-Hanover plane with an immediate return to Munich, then the plane goes into tourist traffic, and in the evening it comes in Aircraft in the same form used again in the regular service Munich-Hanover, so that it is possible if z. B. these two pairs of scheduled flights are served by one machine, this device can be used in the meantime either for two shorter flights or a long flight ex Munich in tourist traffic.

AIR MUNICH:

Do you see possibilities, based on your previous experience, to expand these planned domestic German services, or would the basics (agreements with DLH and individual federal states) then have to be changed?

MATTHIAS GLEIM (BAVARIA airline):

There are undoubtedly certain possibilities to take on further domestic German services. We are in constant contact with both Deutsche Lufthansa AG. as well as with the interested countries. Another liner service, namely Hanover-Stuttgart, has already been handed over to Bavaria, which will carry out this service from November 1, ie with the start of the winter flight schedule, with a pair of flights on working days. The corresponding opposite course to this is flown by Lufthansa itself. The question of expanding to services of the same type cannot be generally clarified; it always depends on the individual case. We have an interest in continuing to take over such services, but only on the condition that the respective route promises to be flown with economic success.

AIR MUNICH:

Do you intend to expand your fleet of aircraft in the near future? If so, with which types?

MATTHIAS GLEIM (BAVARIA airline):

We have ordered another BAC 1-11 - our third one - and will receive it in the first few months of the coming year. You are also probably aware that we have taken 3 options for the VFW 614 from the United Flight Technology Works in Bremen. If this machine is technically developed in the way it promises to be on the drawing board, so to speak, we believe that with this first German jet device - which, by the way, we were the first German company to order - we will receive a very practical addition to our fleet from an economic point of view.

We intend to use this device - as before with the BAC 1-11 - in both tourism and scheduled services. Of course, as part of the planning, we are already looking at the possibilities of expanding our fleet further in the following years, but as you know yourself, this always requires extensive research, both in terms of market research and in technical and economic terms are not yet completed.

AIR MUNICH:

How do you assess the position of your company in the context of German air tourism in the next few years?

MATTHIAS GLEIM (BAVARIA airline):

We believe that air tourism will continue to expand in the years to come, but within a reasonable framework and believe that our company can also participate in this growth based on the principles of thorough commercial thinking. There is no doubt that the competition is getting fiercer, the jet device on the German market has increased, but if the supply of foreign carriers continues to increase at dumping prices, the profitability of the German air transport companies can also be threatened; there are certain foreign companies that z. B. receive an export bonus that equates to subsidization.

Furthermore, many of these overseas ventures have lower costs, e.g. B. with regard to the level of wages and salaries and other general costs. We can only hope that official measures will keep the appropriate balance between the companies participating in this traffic and that real competition will be ensured with the same starting conditions.

Source: Air München 3/69 issue 28 (pages 15 + 16)