Lufthansa weighs cancelling Frankfurt-Beijing route due to competition

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Lufthansa is evaluating whether to cancel its daily Frankfurt-to-Beijing flights as increased competition, particularly from China, and higher costs of doing business in Europe hit its bottom line, a spokesperson said on Friday.

"Lufthansa is continuously evaluating and optimising its entire route network," said a Lufthansa spokesperson.

A final decision on whether to cut the connection from Frankfurt, Germany's busiest airport, will be made in October, said the spokesperson. Lufthansa will operate a daily flight from Munich, Germany's second-busiest airport, to Beijing.

Chinese airlines have been gaining market share on international routes as foreign airlines are deterred by weak China travel demand, rising costs and extended flight times because of the need to avoid Russian airspace.

European airlines are in unequal competition with China, as well as with airlines from the Gulf and the Bosporus, which benefit from low location costs and social standards, and high government investment in the sector, said the spokesperson.

By contrast, European airlines must deal with rising taxes and fees, high regulatory requirements and inadequate infrastructure, which hampers their international competitiveness, added the spokesperson, who called for politicians in Europe to find new industrial policy responses.

(Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Friederike Heine)