Berlin Brandenburg Airport, CEO, Aletta von Massenbach at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit, Airlines in Transition 2026

Transcript

Aletta von Massenbach:Well, first of all, I think what we did after opening the airport 5 years ago, we went through each and every process, we went to each and every step that a passenger undertakes and that an airline is facing to see where can we get better, Where can we improve? Where can we use technology? And how does this all fit together in the overall travel chain? So that's the generic answer to that. But we really, you know, to give you some examples, so we went through check-in, we noticed, you know, the way how the airport was designed, it was not really that suitable for the way how processes work these days. So we adjusted everything around check-in. So we included 100 kiosks in order to give passengers the possibility to gain back autonomy so that they can do the process themselves and they don't have to queue, but they have the possibility to queue. So it depends really on, you know, the airline, the passengers, their needs. So we have everything at the airport. But then we went on with, you know, adjusting security, everything, you know, what, what, you know, you've seen also around the world. So bringing in computer-based tomography-based technology that helps a lot to improve the processes. It's much quicker. People love it, passengers love it, and also we love it because it's just more cost-effective. So it's a win-win situation for everyone. But so we went, you know, then we went to obviously passport control. So we did every, each and every step, looked into where do we need physical things and where do we need technology or where is it changing processes. So So it's a combination of everything that brought us to this very important award, Most Improved Airport. But it's also, you know, we also got the award for one of the most digital airports, and we gained our 4-star with Skytrax, which makes us proud as well. So, you know, when I talk about all these improvements, it's always meant to have a better process. But also to be, you know, more efficient, more efficient for us, meaning more efficiency for the airlines, meaning competitiveness when it comes to charges. So that's, again, you know, generic. But, you know, what did we do? Yes, what we have seen here in Germany, and it's a Germany thing, it's not so much like a Berlin thing, is that, you know, the regulatory costs are very high. So everything that is state-induced, the very high and that's not comparable. So what do we do there? Obviously, we work with the authorities, we convince them, and we are partially successful and we will keep on doing that. We will keep on pushing and keep on convincing and showing the value of aviation for Germany. So that's one thing. The other thing is lots of discipline when it comes to us. We somehow inherited a very costly infrastructure. So that's nothing that, you know, I will just delete or say, okay, I don't want this infrastructure any longer. It's there. We live with it and we make the best out of it. So it's about, you know, discipline and seeing when it comes to operating it, to running it, to look into each and every cent. Where can we save money? This is good for us. This is good for the airlines. So we, you know, only marginally increased our airport charges since the opening, you know, 5 years ago. And we all know what it meant to inflation, to wage costs and all that. And we absorbed it nearly all. And this is, you know, that's what our answer to that is because we understand the competitiveness that we need and we understand the requirements of the airlines. We understand the margin and descent business. So we do everything what is possible on our side. What is important, we see again value of aviation. We see this value in the region, the region we serve. So there is lots of need for connectivity. So we get lots of support from the industry, from commerce, from all the companies that depend on that. So we also have the support from the regional governments. In Berlin and in Brandenburg for further, you know, enlarging the network when it comes to long-haul. But there is something missing. Obviously, there's an airline missing. They are the ones who will fly. And launching something new is always a risk. And to bring in risk for an airline in a situation that we have right now, I know what this would cost and what this means to them. So for us, it's about sharing risk. It's about lots of data exchange, data analytics to see where is the real market potential. It's all about the market. Is there enough potential to feed the airline? And then it's about the new generation of aircraft, the narrowbodies that can fly long-haul. And this is something where I see a very good fit for the market we serve. Yeah, I think it's interesting how you put this, that the new investment What they achieved, I think this is really outstanding. And I think it's very important to show at the end of the day, it's a business, it's a business case. And it's, you know, also it makes sense to invest into this infrastructure. So we invested ourselves huge amounts of money to get BER, our new airport, you know, built and done and opened 5 years ago. So when it comes to differentiating, yes, of course, Frankfurt and Munich, these are Lufthansa hubs. And so for us, it is about, you know, who else could be interested to take over, you know, routes to serve, you know, destinations outside the, you know, Lufthansa network. But still, you know, there's lots of connectivity required. It's air connectivity, so it's feeding. So we need to understand how this can work with our portfolio of airlines that we have currently at BER. Thank you.

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