UAE: Emirates Mocks Lufthansa CEO Over "Blame Games"

Emirates has lashed out at what it says is a concerted campaign by Lufthansa to "externalise failure" by blaming the Dubai airline for its current woes.

In an editorial piece for its public affairs journal, Open Skies, Emirates said it treated these efforts as "a compliment", particularly given the size and reach of the Star Alliance, of which Lufthansa is a founding member.

"For a decade, Lufthansa's attempts at putting forward excuses for the structural problems have remained the same: Lufthansa wants people to believe it is the competitive challenge of Emirates that is the root cause of all its problems," read an article in the magazine entitled "Lufthansa misleads...again".

"In fact, they go to such great lengths to explain the alleged negative effects Emirates has, that the difference between myth and fact tends to get blurred. This supports the attempts to externalise failure - we can only assume this is deliberate."

In particular, the UAE carrier hit out at Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr over an article published in a German newspaper in December, in which the German executive claimed that Emirates did not pay taxes or participate in emissions trading schemes. Spohr also claimed that the European carrier had had to abandon routes as a result of strong competition from the Gulf.

Emirates pointed out that it pays German aviation tax, that it complies with the requirements of the Emissions Trading Scheme and that Lufthansa has increased frequencies and seats on competing routes to Asia over the last decade.

"This approach of blame games is nothing more than a bid to divert attention from inefficiency and the desire to restrict consumer choice, connectivity and growth in Germany," the article concluded.

"We wish Lufthansa good luck in their endeavours, but would strongly encourage that they stick to the facts while doing so."

Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline, has come under increasing pressure not only from long-haul carriers based in the Gulf, but also the rise of low-cost carriers in its home continent.

The airline is attempting to cut costs as it copes with a series of strikes at some of its operating units.

At the end of January, Lufthansa and the UFO union, which represents its cabin crew, agreed to arbitration as a way to resolve a protracted labour dispute that has cost the carrier millions.