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Quest Means Business
US Congress Spars Over Unreleased Gaetz Ethics Report; How Trump's Team Break From Current U.S. Policy; CNN Speaks To US Fighter Pilots Who Shot Down Iran's Drones; India Implements New Measures To Combat Toxic Smog; Reuters: Trump Plans To End $7,500 E.V. Tax Credit; Exploring The Hotel Behind "White Lotus" Season Two. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired November 15, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": So the end of the week and I am afraid, it is not a pretty sight on the markets.
Closing bell is just about to start ringing. There we go. Ding, ding, ding, ding. Push the button, sir. Push the button. Thank you.
Look at the markets. We are down nearly 300 points. It had been 330 at one point. The markets aren't happy about just taking profits from recent
gains. Chair Powell's comments yesterday that rates may not come down as fast and oh well, that's not a bad -- it could have been worse, but not a
bad gavel, all things considered.
Trading is now over. End of the week. The main events of the day.
The ethics report into Matt Gaetz, should it be made public now he is no longer a congressman, even though he is going to be the nominee for the
attorney general.
The Lufthansa Group chief exec, Carsten Spohr in the C-suite. We talk the US market delivery delays and why Lufthansa has so many brands not turn it
into one airline.
And checking in at the White Lotus. I am in Sicily, home of season two, peering behind the scenes and looking forward to season three.
Live from New York, together we are on Friday, November the 15th. I am Richard Quest and I mean business.
Good evening.
Matt Gaetz is the nominee to be attorney general. And now, the congressional ethics report into Gaetz has become a major point of fighting
and contention on Capitol Hill. He is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual misconduct; however, since he
has resigned, the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, says he is going to ask the Ethics Committee not to release the report.
He says it is a breach of protocol, a terrible breach of protocol now he is no longer in the House. Senate Democrats are pushing back, several of their
Republican colleagues also want to see the report before voting to confirm Gaetz.
Tom Foreman is in Washington.
It is not quite as straightforward is it, necessarily, because Johnson is sort of suggesting the Senate can see it, and members of the Senate
Committee. Well, yes, exactly, exactly, sir, there is a bit of wiggle room here.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of wiggle room here and it is important to think about what the accusations have been all of these years,
that he had sex with a 17-year-old woman. He was involved in sex trafficking. He took illicit drugs. He took improper gifts. He gave out
special favors to people, all sorts of things.
There were allegations that he showed pictures on the House floor of naked women telling other members, I had sex with her. I had sex with her.
Gaetz has denied all of it. He says none of it is true, it is all a big smear campaign against him, but the question of this report is important
because, look at the timing here. This report was supposed to come out today. We were all supposed to have it today. It was going to be public
today.
He gets this nod from Donald Trump Wednesday. He resigns 48 hours ago, he resigns and that is when Johnson starts saying well, you know, we only
investigate people who are in the House. He is not in the House anymore, so this report is now off limits -- Richard.
QUEST: I mean, Johnson is technically right.
FOREMAN: Technically right, yes.
QUEST: Providing those who have to make the decision in the Senate have access to the report, because if they didn't have access to the report,
then they would be one hand tied behind the back and blindfolded.
FOREMAN: Yes and there are Republicans in the Senate who are also saying they should be able to look at this report. Honestly, what I think is going
to happen, I think this is going to come out anyway.
QUEST: Yes.
FOREMAN: I think there is a real effort to try to cage it and keep it from coming out. I think it is going to come out anyway. The question is, if it
does come out, even with all of this information, you know, in all likelihood the Trump administration is going to say well, they are still
just allegations. There is no proof, you should approve him. The question is, will it be enough to make enough Republicans say, no, we cannot approve
this guy for that job.
QUEST: To be fair to Matt Gaetz, the Justice Department has looked into it and decided not to proceed.
FOREMAN: Right. Yes. They did not charge him. But this is something that, you know, a lot of people here wrestle with. I am not sure about people
over there, how they wrestle with it over in Europe and other places, but remember when you are not charged it does not mean you didn't do anything.
It just means there wasn't enough there to carry the case forward and charge you.
Donald Trump has presented everything that he wins in any way, shape or form as exoneration. It is not that. And when you're talking about somebody
being the attorney general of the United States, there would still be plenty of people who would say, look, you can't even have these accusations
credibly floating around out there for someone in that job.
[16:05:10]
QUEST: What's the mood in Washington?
FOREMAN: It's terrible. I mean, well, no, terrible -- that's unfair of me to say.
In Trump world, it is great. They're very, very, very happy. They see all of these appointments he is picking as being enormously disruptive to the
way government works, to what they call the Deep State. They are delighted with the idea that he is just slapping around all the opposition and
saying, I will do it my way no matter what is in front of me.
But I think for an awful lot of federal workers, an awful lot of middle of the road lawmakers and experts in policy, I think for a lot of people like
that, there is a lot of concern because they're saying look, you've revealed here a lot of plans to break things, a lot of plans to help get
revenge on people you don't like, but not a lot of plans that show how things are going to be rebuilt and how they're going to work again. That's
the big concern for a lot of people.
QUEST: We are very glad to have you to make the points. Thank you very much, Tom Foreman. Have a good weekend. Have a bit of a rest as well,
probably. Thank you.
FOREMAN: Thank you. You, too.
QUEST: Now, as tom was saying, it is the way in which things are moving because many of those nominees and appointees of President-elect Trump hold
views directly opposed to current policy.
Tulsi Gabbard, for instance the pick for National Intelligence, DNI has a lenient view of Syria's president. Washington considers Syria a state
sponsor of terrorism, when she says Assad is not the enemy, because Syria does not pose a direct threat.
Pete Hegseth, Fox presenter, potential DefSec is against women serving. He says it makes it more complicated. Women account for nearly a fifth of
active duty for our forces.
And Matt Gaetz, who we've been talking about, has called on the Justice Department to abolish the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the ATF. He was
objecting to its regulation of firearms. If he becomes AG, he is pretty much in charge of it, along with the FBI.
Jim Sciutto is in Washington. We talked about it and I said we were going to do this today. But now, look, Jim, following on from what Tom says, that
is existing policy, but it is perfectly within the president's bailiwick and his nominee appointees to change that policy, which is what they would
do.
JIM SCIUTTO CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No question. A president can change policy and a president can make
appointments to carry out those changes in policy. I mean, there is a check on that in that the Senate must confirm those appointments. But of course,
the Senate is now Republican controlled, it doesn't mean they will take all of these appointees, but I think we should be clear and it was so good of
you to highlight, these are not just about personality differences here, right, between current serving Cabinet secretaries and those Trump has
chosen, deep, deep differences with what was bipartisan policy, right?
Look at Tulsi Gabbard. She has, you know, the week that Russia invaded Ukraine, she assigned blame for that invasion on the Biden administration
and NATO, as opposed to Russia that was sending the tanks across the border. In addition to as you say, saying, Bashar al-Assad, the murderer of
many thousands of his own people, is not necessarily the enemy of the US.
You know Hegseth against women in the military, but also is a proponent of Trump's America First agenda, which will mean real changes around the
world. It might mean the end of US support for Ukraine. It might mean the US either reducing its participation in or ending its participation in
defense alliances like NATO, or those that the US has with South Korea and Japan.
You know these are not -- they are not just window dressing changes we are talking about here. We are talking about major changes. The other one, ill
mention --
QUEST: Please.
SCIUTTO: Because I just did a long segment on it on my show is RFK, Jr. I mean RFK, Jr. is against vaccines, right, that has -- and has falsely
claimed dangers with vaccines that have saved millions of lives and I am not just talking about the questions about the COVID vaccine, I am talking
about measles.
QUEST: Right.
SCIUTTO: Polio. I mean, he has made false claims that the 1918 flu pandemic came from a research lab or that HIV did. Right? I mean, things that the
science doesn't just not support but contradicts, so if he follows through on those things, America will see an outbreak of diseases that we had
eradicated.
I mean, this is real stuff.
QUEST: All right, I hear you. I hear what you're saying, and this will be obviously part of the confirmation proceedings. And you know, Michelle
Goldberg, writing in "The Times," you'll have seen the editorial. She writes -- she says the institutions are going to be broken this time. And
because -- and "The New York Times" -- but that might be what the American electorate voted for. They voted for change on that size and scale.
[16:10:11]
SCIUTTO: Well, I don't know.
I mean, listen, we don't know exactly what they voted for. Did Americans vote to eliminate vaccines in this country? I don't believe they did. And
if they did, boy, we've got to get ready for the return of deadly diseases right? And debilitating diseases.
Did they vote for -- I mean, by the way, Trump let's talk about the law enforcement agencies. Trump said he was running against the weaponization
of law enforcement agencies, but is now appointing people who have promised to weaponize the law enforcement agencies. So that's a disconnect, right?
If voters were voting for one and then this is what they get. I mean, that's problematic, right? Maybe they were, maybe they think there is some
justification to that. But that's fundamentally contradictory, right?
You know, did folks know that he was going to choose Pete Hegseth who is against women serving in the military? By the way, there are female members
of the US Senate who are Republicans, who served in the military. What do they think about that, right? We are going to see.
QUEST: We have a long way to go. It is only November the 15th or whatever. We have a long way to go.
SCIUTTO: Here we go.
QUEST: Have a good weekend.
SCIUTTO: You, too, my friend.
QUEST: Good to see you.
The Treasury Secretary, the Commerce, and Labor Secretaries, Donald Trump has already done the security, if you will. So now we are waiting for the
various economic and business, and the markets have been rallying on hope for tax cuts and deregulation.
If the administration does go the stiff tariffs and deportations, it could be a very different reality simply on the grounds of taxation and needing a
workforce.
Rich Lesser is the global chair of Boston Consulting and is with me.
Let's do, first of all, what we are waiting for. What is it your clients want from this administration? And having seen what is already on the
cards, do you think you're going to get it?
RICH LESSER, GLOBAL CHAIR, BOSTON CONSULTING: I think right now, Richard, I have to be honest with you.
This week for me has been focused on climate. I've been in Baku. I think, you know, I just arrived in London, coming out of there. There is a lot of
focus right now on what we need to do to advance that agenda.
Having nothing to do with this election, the world has been behind on the pace of emissions reductions that we need. There is a lot of challenges
ahead including political challenges in multiple places around the world and that's really been where my attention has been focused over the last
week.
QUEST: All right, let's play that through, in a sense.
You tell me, Rich, what if the US becomes disengaged, and please, sir, I know from people who are at COP this year that the talking point was what
happens with a disengaged US in a year that has been the hottest on record, where the 2.5 and 1.5 has all been breached.
So without an engaged US at COP 30, what happens?
LESSER: I think we are already on a path to be probably two-and-a-half to three degrees if we don't change the curve substantially. If major
countries around the world aren't stepping up, that includes the US, then, it is just going to get that much harder to make progress.
Frankly, there is also a massive opportunity for businesses around the world as this transition happens. We are spending about $2 trillion a year
right now. The world needs to spend about $4 trillion a year. That represents millions of jobs, huge amounts of investment. And being
competitive will affect many, many countries, including the US. It is a big opportunity.
QUEST: That is the point. It is a big opportunity and is there a danger the US becomes sidelined, in a sense? Of course, that is slightly hyperbolic of
me because it is such a large economy. But when you end up with the Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds and you've got China leading away as far as it can,
and will Silk Road Belt and Road, et cetera. Russia with energy. I wonder, is there room for optimism that we can meet COP goals?
LESSER: I think it is getting more and more unlikely, harder and harder, that we are going to hit 1.5 degrees. I thought it was a hard lift even a
few years ago, and that's clear.
But the truth is, Richard, every 10th of a degree matters, so 1.7 is better than 1.8, and 2.2 is better than 2.3. So to me, this isn't a case of we are
either going to hit a goal or we are not going to hit a goal. We are going to do everything we can to try to get better.
And a country like the us, which should be a leader in the technologies that are going to be critical, has a really big role to play in that. And
it also feeds I think, a narrative from the president-elect about wanting the US to be the most competitive country in the world to bring jobs here,
to bring opportunities here, to make the US truly competitive.
[16:15:17]
And climate tech is going to be a big part of total global investments in the years to come.
QUEST: Let's talk about climate financing. I do love talking about it, even though it is one of the driest subjects that we can talk about.
If for no other reason --
LESSER: Well, you're one of the few.
QUEST: Well, I will tell you why. Because over the years, I've been you know, I've been in business journalism and I know it is really where it
really is all about the bogs and the drains. How do you get the things done and who is going to pay for it? With the highest minded principles in the
world, everything eventually comes down to how are you going to do it and who is going to pay for it?
And at the moment there are great opportunities, there are tremendous, tremendous new technologies that are crying out for money. Is the
investment there, do you think?
LESSER: Well, in the highly developed countries, I think the investment is there and it is really a question of these technologies continuing to come
down in cost and putting the right incentives in place and continuing to refine those incentives that allow us to get the technologies themselves
cheaper and cheaper.
Where it gets really hard is when you get to lower and middle income countries. Their costs of capital are higher, the risks are perceived to be
higher, and therefore there isn't as much capital as we need and the challenge is not to think we can do that just with government money, it
just won't happen.
We need to create an environment where private capital from around the world wants to finance these projects.
There was a nice announcement, I don't know if you caught it from the Multilateral Development Banks about finding $120 billion a year to support
climate financing and crowding other capital by the end of this decade. It is not enough, but that was actually a meaningful announcement that, you
know, I am sure with all the other news may have gotten missed here.
QUEST: Oh, I think -- I am afraid it did. I might be interested in executions, but sometimes even multilaterals development organizations
don't get much attention.
Thank you, sir. I am grateful. Have a good weekend. Oh, well, you're in London, of course --
LESSER: You, too, Richard.
QUEST: Of course, have a good weekend. Plenty of things. Go and see a show, have a good meal. Thank you, sir.
It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live tonight from New York. A CNN exclusive. The US Air Force pilots who took on a massive Iranian drone attack against
Israel. You'll hear from them, coming up, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:13]
QUEST: Well, as the Israel-Hezbollah war intensifying, according to sources the Hezbollah is considering a US-Israeli ceasefire proposal that was
relayed to the Lebanese government on Thursday night.
On the ground, Israel is keeping up airstrikes on Southern Beirut. Fourth day in a row of these, the IDF says it is targeting Hezbollah
infrastructure. The Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes have killed at least 43 people across the country on Thursday.
And we are hearing exclusively now from the US Air Force pilots who took down a swarm of Iranian drones that were sent to attack Israel, that was
back in April, you'll remember well.
The pilots say the attack was so big, their planes ran out of missiles. Natasha Bertrand joins me now from the pentagon.
I've heard some of the interviews, and I can't imagine what it must be like actually being up there doing it in real life, you know, it is not a video
game, and it must be terrifying.
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: And they had very little practice before this very large scale drone attack, and it was
actually unclear at that point how the F-15 fighter pilots, how the jets themselves would perform, particularly against such a small, slow moving
target like a drone that is actually very difficult for radars to detect.
Here is a bit more of what they told me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Let's go, go, go, go, go.
BERTRAND (voice over): As missiles and drones exploded overhead, US troops scrambled to get fighter jets in the air.
MAJ. BENJAMIN "IRISH" COFFEY, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE: The scale that we expected for the most dangerous was vastly under probably four or five
times under what actually occurred on April 13th.
BERTRAND (voice over): Iran had fired over 300 missiles and attack drones at Israel, an unprecedented strike. In their first interview since that
night, F-15 pilots and crew callsigns, Irish, Sonic, Rifle, and Voodoo describe trying to hit dozens of missiles and slow moving drones while
flying over a thousand miles per hour.
CAPT. LACIE "SONIC" HESTER, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE: It just took a few seconds that all of a sudden, the next sweep of our radar, we just see all
of these dots. And I think that first picture was a little overwhelming, I think for me in the back seat, just seeing how many are airborne and how
many are tracking in our direction.
BERTRAND (voice over): For the F-15 squadron shown here at their home base in Lakenheath, England, this was the first real test against a large scale
drone attack.
BERTRAND (on camera): Can you talk a bit about how difficult that was to take down these very small, slow moving drones?
COFFEY: You're talking about something that is on the very edge of a fighter aircraft's ability to detect what we call find, fix, track, target,
and engage. We weren't sure if our radar, the best radar in the inventory, is in this airplane behind us. No one really knew whether or not its
capability to find these things even existed.
BERTRAND (voice over): Several of the F-15's air-to-air missiles failed to launch, leaving live munitions hanging on the wing.
BERTRAND (on camera): I mean was there anything that really surprised you about that night? Anything that went wrong?
MAJ. CLAYTON "RIFLE" WICKS, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE: I mean, a lot of stuff went wrong. We had lots of jets that were coming back with hung ordnance.
BERTRAND (on camera): And that's treated as an emergency, isn't it?
WICKS: Yes. It is. So they are by default, an emergency aircraft.
BERTRAND (voice over): Rifle was managing operations at an undisclosed base in the Middle East, where missiles and drones were exploding overhead. The
chaos is shown here for the first time.
Pilots called in asking what to do as debris fell on runways.
WICKS: Really all we could tell them was like, hey, stay airborne as long as you can with the gas that you have. Don't divert because even our, you
know, divert air fields, we don't know what's going on there either. So, if stuff is blowing up over our heads very likely, stuff is blowing up there
too.
BERTRAND (voice over): Many troops refused to head to bunkers.
LT. COL. CURTIS "VOODOO" CULVER, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE: There was an airman at one point standing next to a fuel truck with tons and tons of jet
fuel in it, just pumping gas into the jet with stuff exploding over the base. I mean, the courage of that person to stand up and do that for an
ally is incredible.
BERTRAND (voice over): Almost every single plane that landed had to be reloaded.
BERTRAND (on camera): So had you ever seen that situation before where these jets were using all of their munitions and then they have to come
back and get, you know, all of those replaced at once?
WICKS: We train to it. I'd never actually seen it.
BERTRAND (voice over): Ultimately, US and allied forces shot down nearly every projectile Iran launched at Israel -- Sonic, Irish Voodoo, and Rifle
all received awards this week for valor in combat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERTRAND (on camera): So you know, we all heard about this massive Iranian barrage that night, the first of its kind, an unprecedented attack. But
this is the first time, obviously, that we've heard from the pilots that were involved in shooting those down. And as you could hear from that, a
lot went wrong.
And so now what they are planning to do moving forward is just refine their tactics, how best can they confront these kinds of large scale attacks in
the future, given that this kind of drone warfare is really the future of fighting now.
[16:25:06]
QUEST: Completely, and we can certainly know that from what we are hearing in Ukraine and Russia. Thank you. Excellent stuff. Glad to have you. Thank
you.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS on a Friday, Donald Trump could be planning to scrap a major US subsidy for electric car buyers and guess who will benefit most if
the EV tax credit goes away? No prizes, but have a guess.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:28:34]
QUEST: Hello, I am Richard Quest. More QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment.
The CEO of Lufthansa, Carsten Spohr is talking to us about the airline's expansion into the United States and I visit the hotel that hosted season
two of series "White Lotus" where the manager told me the show has brought unexpected problems. All of that only after the headlines, because this is
CNN and here, the news always comes first as you would expect.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged Russia's president to withdraw from Ukraine. In their first phone call since 2022, Mr. Scholz condemned Russian
aggression towards Ukraine and urged peace. The Kremlin says any agreement would have to recognize what it calls new territorial realities.
President Biden says stronger ties between the US, Japan and South Korea should outlast his administration. The three leaders met on the sidelines
of the APEC Summit in Peru. It is President Biden's last major meeting with his Pacific rim counterparts. He and China's President Xi are set to meet
on Saturday.
Construction was shut down in New Delhi in India on Friday to help combat toxic smog. People were urged to take public transport and avoid burning
wood or coal. Air pollution in Northern India spiked to dangerous levels and limited visibility in the region.
[16:30:10]
E.V. makers, electric vehicles are urging Donald Trump to preserve the E.V. tax credits. Reuters says the policies on the President-elect's chopping
block. People who buy E.V.s are eligible for a tax break. The industry says it helps spur demand and create jobs in states won by President Biden.
Removing the subsidy might actually help Elon Musk and Tesla because they are much more advanced, they're more mature in the market and it could push
smaller and more profitable E.V.s out of the market because they cannot compete without the subsidies.
Anna Stewart is with me. That is not the reason Donald Trump would do it. He sort of believes that E.V.s are neither necessary nor particularly
welcome.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: And yet his very good friend is Elon Musk, so that is slighter, slighter query. This comes as no surprise. In July, the
President-elect on the campaign trail said he would end the E.V. mandate on day one, which is confusing because it's not a mandate, it's a tax credit.
But clearly this has been in the pipeline, so no real surprise is there. But isn't it interesting?
Once again, Richard, every single day it seems, any business story we talk about ends up being some sort of win for Elon Musk.
QUEST: When you talk about Elon Musk and the various wins, I can't quite fathom it. No, no, no. Think about it. At one level, the money he's made,
OK? In terms of, just the stock he's got in Tesla, for example. Secondly, SpaceX, all the other ones, the private companies that stand to gain too.
And yet, this new role of the Department of Government Efficiency, how it all fits in. Can you square that circle?
STEWART: Money, power and influence. It sounds like all that campaign money was really worth it. I think Tesla of all of the companies, and let's not
forget, we have Tesla, SpaceX, X, Neuralink, xAI, the boring company, quite a few. But Tesla's probably the one that stands to gain the most in terms
of this is a public company. Removing some of these tax credits will only help Tesla. And Tesla's ultimate goal is to go not just electric vehicles,
but self-driving.
And so, having the ear of government to loosen regulations there, that could be the absolute ticket for Tesla.
QUEST: Can Donald Trump afford to fall out with Elon Musk? The history of people sort of falling out with the president tonight is legendary.
STEWART: Yes, but can Elon Musk afford to fall out with Donald Trump?
QUEST: If you're the richest -- hang on, if you're the richest man in the world, arguably, yes. Now you're going to tell me, ah, but Donald Trump
could, could harm his businesses, aren't you?
STEWART: I am. He will always probably be the richest man in the world, and honestly, I don't see them falling out anytime soon. But you've got to
remember that Elon Musk has goals, big goals, and he wants to get them, to them fast. So for him, falling out with Donald Trump would definitely slow
that down. So I would see that as a -- as a loss. But these two have to be good friends for years, Richard. Like us.
QUEST: Like -- what are you doing this weekend?
STEWART: Oh, I think I'm going to see Paddington with my nephew.
QUEST: There we are.
STEWART: Rock and roll.
QUEST: You live an exciting life. Let us know how it was. Thank you, Anna Stewart. Going to see Paddington. That's put a thought into my brain,
that'll be there right the way through the weekend.
The chief executive of Lufthansa Group is expanding into the United States. And there is a new terminal at JFK to prove it. It'll be the first, L.H.
will be the first tenant of Kennedy's T6 in a couple of years. And Carsten Spohr told me it'll be high end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARSTEN SPOHR, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LUFTHANSA GROUP: This is one of the most premium focused markets in the world. And with our global premium
strategy, this fits nicely into that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:36:50]
QUEST: The Lufthansa Group chief executive, Carsten Spohr tells me that JFK's new terminal will be part of his premium strategy. Lufthansa will be
the first tenant of T6 when it opens in 2026. Here you can see an animation. Lufthansa owns roughly 12 -- no, it's got 11 airlines and when
eTA comes along it'll be 12. It has Austrian, Swiss, Brussels, Eurowings, 49 percent of ETA, and so on and so forth.
With the best part of 700 planes plus, it's a fleet that's on par with the big U.S. carriers. Now, United Airlines has 950 -- 45, Delta 745, Americans
965. When Lufthansa takes over ETA, as it surely will, it will have the best part of 820.
Carsten Spohr trying to expand in the United States. He joined me in the C suite in the sky. And he said the U.S. was a major, growing, significant
market.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPOHR: The size of the Lufthansa Group is nicely portrayed by the fact we have 11 flights a day now into JFK if you add eTA to it. So, this is a
flagship of our premium strategy in one of our most important markets for sure.
QUEST: Are you going to be able to bring them all together in one?
SPOHR: Well, that is -- that's the idea. And depending how many more airlines we buy. No, just kidding. We'll --
QUEST: We'll get to that. We'll get to that.
(CROSSTALK)
SPOHR: Just kidding. But eTA is a big step forward. It's three flights a day in the summer. We fly from Rome to JFK. So, that brings our number from
eight up to 11. And again, this is one of our most premium focused markets in the world. And with our global premium strategy, this fits nicely into
that.
QUEST: The significance of the U.S. to Lufthansa Group, at one level, it can't be overstated because it's so -- from North, South, East, West, and I
look at the number of gateways that you have here, but at the same time, it's also amongst the most competitive, isn't it?
SPOHR: It is and has been for many, many years. But anyway, we have been growing up to 26 destinations in the U.S. now. And in the summer, it's more
-- 60 flights, more or less every day, or up to 60 flights a day we bring into the U.S. Of course, our partnership with United is the backbone of our
success as well. So jointly we basically manage one-third of the transit landing capacity between United and us, and we try to grow that market
share, absolutely.
QUEST: You've got Austria and Swiss and Lufthansa. Lufthansa's just got a new business class and a new first class, but you really need to find a way
to use that on the other airlines as well to save the money and to get the cost savings.
SPOHR: And we do. And you have different seat covers in different colors. So obviously Lufthansa will show it's blue and gray and Swiss will show its
red. And behind that, the seat is the same. Surely the purchasing process is the same. The insurance process is the same. The I.T. is the same. So,
whatever the customer does not perceive as an add on value to the seat. In terms of diversity or complexity, we streamline where the customer sees the
value. This is where the European USP kicks in.
[16:40:02]
Switzerland has a different hospitality than Austria, Belgium than Germany. We try to keep that uniforms, the Meals. This is where the Europe wants to
be different, not just from the U.S., but also from each other. We try to portray that in our European business model.
QUEST: The economic situation in Germany is not good.
SPOHR: It is not good.
QUEST: And Lufthansa is still the largest part of the -- of the group. And Germany is also about to go into a political crisis or is in a political
crisis as well. How concerned are you?
SPOHR: Well, as a German citizen, I'm a little bit more concerned than as the head of Lufthansa. As head of Lufthansa, we have brought down our
revenue share below 25 percent in Germany. So, we are much more international than we were used to five, 10 years ago. But still it's our
strongest market. So it is, of course, it's a crossover, but I think people have understood over the last years, not just in Berlin, but also in
Brussels, you need to focus on the economy.
Just to focus on values and on climate is not replacing the fundamentals of growth, of creating wealth for your citizens. So, I'm pretty sure we have
seen the low point and both Brussels and Berlin will turn politics back to more competitiveness in Europe or in Germany, respectively.
QUEST: On the aviation, what more problems are? How many supply problems, engine problems, aircraft delivery problems? It just goes on and on. Well,
how does it -- how does it effecting you?
SPOHR: Let's talk about the one problem we do not have.
QUEST: Right.
SPOHR: Demand. Our industry is as sexy as looked after from the demand side as it has never been. I think COVID even helped the industry to show its
value. So that I think is very comforting. People want to fly, be it for business, not to the same degree as before, but to a certain degree.
Leisure is booming around the world. That is a positive driver. On the other hand, indeed, supplies chains are interrupted and in my view, it will
be until the end of the decade.
QUEST: Really?
SPOHR: It's not just the visible supplies and OEMs and aircraft and engines, it's the underlying supply chains which will take years to fix.
QUEST: It's difficult.
SPOHR: It is and it's --
QUEST: It's frustrating.
SPOHR: Yes, to be honest, even though I'm on T.V., I will say, yes, it is frustrating also for me because these airplanes, you know, help you to get
your sustainability targets achieved. They provide better service for the customer because in our case, new seats are equipped. They are less noisy
and sitting inside. I think your focus right now in the Lufthansa top management is the customer experience.
We are not as reliable as we want to be, I think as an industry, but you're now asking me for Lufthansa. So, if you want to be. Back to punctuality
levels we have seen before, you want to be back to baggage levels we have seen before. You want to go back to customer satisfaction as we had seen it
before. If you are a global player, home-based in Europe, you need to be as much better as you are more expensive in the way you produce your product.
So, for us in Lufthansa, there is no alternative to premium, premium, premium. We have been doing, you know, dealing with the eTA story for two
years, I think, we made a big step last week or this week, actually, sorry. So, this now is our next --
QUEST: I was skeptical. You and I talked about it at the time when you made it (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: the It'll be difficult and it'll end in tears.
SPOHR: For Lufthansa, Italy is our second most important non-home market. Number one is U.S., number two is Italy. And also connecting, by the way.
We are bringing more Americans to Italy than we're bringing Americans to Germany.
QUEST: Say that again.
SPOHR: We're bringing more Americans to Italy than we bring Americans to Germany as Lufthansa. Even though we don't have eTA yet in our portfolio.
So, that shows the importance of those two markets for us, the U.S. and Italy. Connecting them directly I think is one of the big next strategic
steps for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Look, Carsten Spohr talking to you about Lufthansa. Africa's e- commerce market is expanding rapidly worth more than $277 billion last year, according to the market research firm Emark Group. One tech company,
Jumia launched in Nigeria some years ago has been dubbed the Amazon of Africa, which is why Eleni Giokos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here on the outskirts of Abidjan, the economic hub of Cote d'Ivoire, also known as
Ivory Coast, Jumia's newest integrated warehouse is nearing completion. These facilities aim to streamline operations to increase the efficiency of
the e-commerce delivery process.
HAZIM OURO SAMA, HEAD OF LOGISTICS, JUMIA, COTE D'IVOIRE: Coming here, we are able to double the capacity of articles we inbound. We can inbound now
more than two million articles.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Jumia's platform provides 64,000 retailers a marketplace to sell their goods. The company says two million customers
make purchases from the site every quarter. And it's now focusing on growth.
[16:45:01]
SAMA: It was important to expand this on Ivory Coast, clearly, because it is one of the biggest and more dynamic cities in West Africa.
GIOKOS (voice-over): This 36,000 square meter facility in Cote d'Ivoire is one of five new integrated warehouses that are being replicated in Egypt,
Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria.
LUCIA MUNOZ DE BLAS, GROUP SUPPLY AND CHAING OFFICER, JUMIA: We were also taking the opportunity to standardize across countries the same processes
layout. E-commerce will never survive without logistics, and logistics need to be efficient. Having one roof integrated facility with warehouse sorting
centers, so everything is in one, it's easier to manage, it's more efficient, it's better for our customers and for our sellers.
GIOKOS (voice-over): The Abidjan warehouse is expected to be completed early next year. In the meantime, the benefits of a more streamlined system
are already being felt at the Lagos facility in Nigeria, which opened in June.
RICHMOND CARLOS OUT, CHIEF SUPPLY CHAIN OFFICER, JUMIA NIGERIA: We are doing close to 45 percent more than what we were doing six months ago.
Previously, we used to deliver within two days within Lagos. Now we deliver within one day within Lagos.
GIOKOS (voice-over): And they say this expansion is just the beginning as they look for new ways to grow Africa's e-commerce ecosystem.
DE BLAS: E-commerce as a whole in Africa is having good impacts, is giving more visibility to sellers, is helping the customers across the country to
be able to have all the goods that they need.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Connecting Africa. The second of HBO's White Lotus series took place in Sicily. I visited the hotel where it was all set. And so how much little
screen time can help a business?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the White Lotus in Thailand Cup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And there you are, that's the teaser. Thailand, for the next season of the hit HBO show, White Lotus. HBO, CNN, we're all part of WBD, Warner
Brothers Discovery. Now, the first season was Hawaii. The second season -- the third season's Thailand. The second season was Sicily.
[16:50:03]
I was in Sicily just recently for World of Wonder. And I visited that hotel where White Lotus is to see how far being a White Lotus affects your
business.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the White Lotus. I am Valentina, the resorts manager
How was your boat ride?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was bellissimo.
QUEST (voice-over): The White Lotus Hotel on the east coast of Sicily.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Italy's just so romantic. Oh, you're going to die. We're going to have to drag you out of here.
QUEST (voice-over): No, in reality, it's the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace.
As the setting of season two of the hit HBO show, this hotel has become a celebrity in its own right.
LORENZO MARAVIGLIA, GENERAL MANAGER, SAN DOMENICO PALACE: I have to say it worked as an accelerator of business for us. We had recently reopened our
door just after COVID. And first thing that happened to us is the White Lotus. And so, that really brought a lot of attention.
We met some goals that usually hotel do meet within eight to 10 years. On the second year of operations.
QUEST (voice-over): White Lotus brought a flood of fans. And the fans have brought unexpected problems.
MARAVIGLIA: The very first month after the show got released, we were blocking an average of 500 people at the door, daily.
QUEST (voice-over): The irony is, this hotel was an institution long before the cameras found it.
It's been welcoming famous guests for decades, like King Edward VIII, Oscar Wilde, Elizabeth Taylor. And their history actually dates way back to the
time of the Italian Renaissance. It was also, at one time, a convent.
ILARIA ALBER-GLANSTAETTEN, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, SAN DOMENICO PALACE: It was originally a Dominican convent. First started around 1430.
Wow. And it was a Dominican convent until 1866 when, the Italian state decided to secularize a lot of clerical buildings around the country. And
they tried to wrestle the convent out of the hands of the Dominican Order. But there was a loophole in the story, so the family that originally owned
the property was able to take it back and turn it into a hotel.
QUEST (voice-over): They say this sort of fame lasts for at least two or three years. So, as long as the glitter of Hollywood remains.
QUEST (on camera): Da, da, da, Dave Winley^.
QUEST (voice-over): Well, this Mediterranean resort will have an extra sparkle.
ALBER-GLANSTAETTEN: No, Richard, they're not white lotuses.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And you can find the full story of my travels to Sicily. It's Quest's World of Wonder. How to Make a Canolo. Canolo. We try that as well.
It's Saturday 2:30, 7:30 in London, 8:30 if you're watching in Sicily. The fight that everyone is talking about, and it kicks off tonight, Mike Tyson.
58-year-old former heavyweight champion will face the former YouTuber Jake Paul who's 31 years junior.
Tonight's fight is taking place in Arlington, Texas at NFL's Dallas Cowboys. It will be free to watch with a Netflix subscription. Andy Scholes
is with me. Andy. How realistic is this fight?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Richard, you got to go into a fight like this with very, very low expectations, right? You know, I grew
up Mike Tyson. He was -- he was a world wonder when it came to boxing, right? He would go into those matches, knock people out in that first
round. But the last time we saw him in a real boxing match was 20 years ago. And back then, he looked like he was not, you know, there anymore.
Way past his prime. That was 20 years ago. 58-years-old now. This match was supposed to be in July, but Tyson had a serious ulcer, said he was spitting
up blood and lost 26 pounds. They moved it to now. He's facing a guy, Jake Paul, 27 years old. You know, he just got into boxing a few years ago, but
he's looked pretty good in the matches that he's -- that he's competed in. So, you know, like I said, temper your expectations for this.
It's always fun to see Mike Tyson doing what he was so good at. Yes?
QUEST: Why is it? Why is he doing it? Tyson. Is it for the money? Is it for some vast amount? Why?
SCHOLES: Yes. There's -- he's reportedly getting paid 20 million, Richard. So, you know --
QUEST: For 20 million, I'll go into the ring with you.
SCHOLES: Deal. I'll do it for a grand. No, you know, Richard, they are -- they are changing the rules a little bit for Tyson. It's a real boxing
match. But it's not going to be 10 to 12 rounds like a normal heavyweight bout.
[16:55:08]
Only going to be eight. The rounds are only going to be two minutes, not three. Mike Tyson's 58 years old. They're trying to, you know, with the
stamina they're expecting from him, shorter rounds. And also, bigger boxing gloves, 14 ounces, so a little extra padding there. We'll see. You know,
there's some people out there that think Tyson is going to win this bout. I am not in that camp. I think that -- it could be ugly. But we'll wait and
see, you know? We could be -- we could have a big surprise here.
QUEST: I'll give you a fiver. How about that? Five bucks.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHOLES: How about I get punched in the face for five bucks?
QUEST: We're just -- we're just arguing. We know what sort of person we both are. We're just talking about the price now. That's the old joke goes.
All right, sir. Thank you very much. Have a good weekend.
SCHOLES: You too.
QUEST: We'll take a profitable moment after the break. I wonder how much they'll pay me to hit myself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment. What did the American people vote for? Now, I'm not being funny. How far did they vote for change? And what they
are now getting as a result of the nominations, is it justifiable on the basis of that result? To be honest, yes, R.F. Kennedy was a name in the
frame during the campaign. So, it's entirely possible and likely that you can say, no, we knew he could have a major position in the government.
Same with Elon Musk. Same with all of these more provocative decisions. Donald Trump had made it quite clear during the campaign, subsidies on
E.V.s would be phased out. There would be changes at Ukraine, there would be changes at foreign policy, taxation, tips, overtime, et cetera. But how
far does it go in terms of changing the rule of law? When Matt Gaetz or Donald -- let's say when Donald Trump say he pardons the July 6th rioters
and everybody says, that's against the rule of law.
[17:00:05]
Can there not be an argument that says, well no, the rule of law meant they should never have been prosecuted in the first place? You see, where you
sit is where you stand is where you believe is where you view which is why I post the question. What did America actually vote for? And how far can
that be interpreted in what -- I'm sorry. I've got to do this because we've got them in the studio.
In the weeks ahead, in the battles months as it goes through from one side to the other, how far is that what people actually voted for? I don't know.
I do know what's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. I'm
traveling next week in Miami. If you see me, say hi.
END
