FRANKFURT: Fraport is in talks to bring more budget flights by carriers such as Ryanair, Easyjet or Lufthansa’s Eurowings to Frankfurt airport, the chief executive of operator Fraport said.
Low-cost carriers in the past focused on flights to and from regional airports such as London Stansted or Cologne/Bonn where it was cheaper to operate, but they have been increasingly moving to major hubs to be closer to densely-populated metropolitan areas and legacy carriers’ long-haul routes.
“We have been very restrained in that (low-cost) area for a long time. But in the long run we won’t be able to escape it,” Fraport’s CEO Stefan Schulte said in an interview.
“I expect that we will be able to present initial results within the next half year.”
Only a few low-cost carriers, including Spain’s Vueling and Iceland’s Wow Air, offer flights from Frankfurt, accounting for just 4 percent of passengers. That compares with 20 to 30 percent at other major international hubs.
“That shows you what we can expect in Frankfurt in the next five to 10 years,” Schulte said.
Adding low-cost flights would ease Fraport’s dependence on Lufthansa, which accounts for more than 60 percent of passengers at Frankfurt airport, and offers an opportunity for growth as legacy airlines grapple with competition from budget carriers and airlines such as Emirates and Etihad.
Schulte would not be drawn on which low-cost carriers could come to Frankfurt but said new budget routes could be an opportunity to add under-represented destinations in Italy or eastern Europe to Frankfurt’s flight schedule.
He said he would be open to Lufthansa bringing its no-frills airline Eurowings to the hub.
“But we are just as open to other budget carriers,” he said.
Fraport may offer budget carriers financial incentives for a limited time to offer new routes from Frankfurt, Schulte said.
Frankfurt airport eyes more low-cost flights
Frankfurt airport eyes more low-cost flights
The Family Office to host global investment summit in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: The Family Office, one of the Gulf’s leading wealth management firms, will host its exclusive investment summit, “Investing Is a Sea,” from Jan. 29 to 31 on Shura Island along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
The event comes as part of the Kingdom’s broader Vision 2030 initiative, reflecting efforts to position Saudi Arabia as a global hub for investment dialogue and strategic economic development.
The summit is designed to offer participants an immersive environment for exploring global investment trends and assessing emerging opportunities and challenges in a rapidly changing financial landscape.
Discussions will cover key themes including shifts in the global economy, the role of private markets in portfolio management, long-term investment strategies, and the transformative impact of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies on investment decision-making and risk management, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
Abdulmohsin Al-Omran, founder and CEO of The Family Office, will deliver the opening remarks, with keynote addresses from Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
The press release said the event reflects the firm’s commitment to institutional discipline, selective investment strategies, and long-term planning that anticipates economic cycles.
The summit will bring together prominent international and regional figures, including former UK Treasury Commercial Secretary Lord Jim O’Neill, Mohamed El-Erian, chairman of Gramercy Fund Management, Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, chairman of the editorial board at Al Arabiya, Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade Dr. Amer Bisat, economist Nouriel Roubini of NYU Stern School of Business, Naim Yazbeck, president of Microsoft Middle East and Africa, John Pagano, CEO of Red Sea Global, Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon, MBE, co-founder of Stemettes, SRMG CEO Jomana R. Alrashed and other leaders in finance, technology, and investment.
With offices in Bahrain, Dubai, Riyadh, and Kuwait, and through its Zurich-based sister company Petiole Asset Management AG with a presence in New York and Hong Kong, The Family Office has established a reputation for combining institutional rigor with innovative, long-term investment strategies.
The “Investing Is a Sea” summit underscores Saudi Arabia’s growing role as a global center for financial dialogue and strategic investment, reinforcing the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objective of fostering economic diversification and sustainable development.
