Haupt Says GoodBye To New York And To Lufthansa

     Tuesday evening September 16, the classic Manhattan townhouse that now serves as home to the Austrian Consulate in America was filled with well-wishers—including all the big names in the USA travel press—as Nils Haupt, long-serving head of corporate communications at Lufthansa Cargo, ended a short two-year stint on the passenger side of the corporation, performing PR duties in America. Taking a few brief minutes to raise his glass and say thanks and goodbye, he now prepares to depart these shores and the airline business as well, moving back to Germany to take up the reigns as head of PR at ocean shipping line Hapag Lloyd.
     From the look and feel of his audience one would have though Herr Haupt had served here for several decades. Genuine warmth and good feeling filled the formal room, which housed beautiful art and a handsome fireplace that seemed ready to spark itself the instant the temperature dropped outside.

Airline Emergency To Ocean Critical List

     If Nils Haupt is moving from an airline business in Europe that looks like a perpetual emergency room, with several legacy carriers either in deep financial lockjaw or owned by Etihad, then his duties in Hamburg can be likened to working at a company locked in the ICU. According to recent figures Hapag is losing lots of money due to falling rates, despite its growing business volumes.
     The Hamburg-based carrier reported a first-half 2014 loss of €173.3 million, €100 million more than its loss in the first half of 2013. Much of the loss was due to a drop in its average container rate, which declined from $1,522 per 20-foot container in the first half of 2013 to $1,424 per TEU in the first half of 2014. But none of that seemed to matter as this evening was for Nils.
     “What a wonderful man,” said Lufthansa Manager Corporate Communications USA, Christina Semmel, Nils’ colleague and member of the USA Lufthansa team, who spoke for many in the room.
     “Nils will be missed for his common decency and his easy going but thoroughly professional way of doing business here.”
     Nils recalled his days in air cargo, singling out legendary Lufthansa Cargo MD-11 fleet Captain Fokko Doyen for his great humanitarian effort to carry airborne relief into Nairobi.
     The event was later covered in the press and has since become a major charitable effort for Lufthansa Cargo, which continues today.
     “I have many wonderful memories of my time at Lufthansa and shall always treasure this period of my life, both here and in Germany,” Nils said.
     “But the offer from Hapag is a great opportunity to be part of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I look forward to the challenges of my new assignment.”
Geoffrey/Sabiha