Poppy


There are some things in England that are incomprehensible to outsiders, for example the separate and widely spaced faucets for hot and cold water or why the English overtake on the right in left-hand traffic but only on the left on escalators in the subway (I never know what I should do when someone comes towards me on a staircase).

This week I saw many people in London with a red paper flower, which they wore on their lapel with obvious pride. On television, every BBC presenter or reporter wore such a paper flower. The paper flowers, called Poppy, come from the Royal British Legion, and you get them in exchange for a small donation. The money benefits soldiers and veterans. The obvious popularity of these Poppies shows how proud people are of the army (my British colleagues humorously made it clear to me between the lines that this might not be the case in Germany).

Species protection for Lufthansa?


In Friday’s SZ it is reported that the federal government wants to protect Lufthansa from rivals such as Emirates. Lufthansa is exerting considerable pressure on the federal government on this issue. Lufthansa fears that market shares in the lucrative long-haul travel business will be lost, because competitors spare their German customers the feeder flight to Frankfurt or Munich.

I don’t understand. Lufthansa has decided to handle its long-haul flights via the Frankfurt and Munich hubs. There is no Lufthansa direct flight from Hamburg to New York, and I have now experienced several times how stressful it is to fly with Lufthansa via Frankfurt. So why shouldn’t I be allowed to access the services of competitors such as Continental or Emirates, who fly directly? I save at least 2 hours as well as a lot of stress, mostly caused by planes arriving too late in Frankfurt. In the meantime, I don’t give a damn about my frequent traveller status with Lufthansa and only fly over with Continental. This is usually even cheaper, and the service is not a bit worse than Lufthansa’s, rather the opposite. The frequent traveller benefits at Continental are also even better than at Lufthansa.

Perhaps it is time for Lufthansa to rethink its strange hub concept and not turn to the federal government just because competitors offer a better service and fly to the airports that Lufthansa does not want to provide with a direct connection.

The state restriction of selection reminds me of something.