The group’s turnover, which consists of Austrian Airlines, SWISS, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings in addition to Lufthansa, quadrupled in the first three months of this year to EUR 5.4 billion. According to CEO Carsten Spohr, more was booked than in the same period in 2019, the period before the corona crisis. “The urge to travel is great,” he said in an explanation of the quarterly figures.
Destinations in the US, South America and around the Mediterranean are especially popular. Not only is the holiday traffic picking up, the business market is also flourishing, according to Spohr. The number of business travelers on board is expected to be seventy percent of the old level by the end of this year.
More expensive tickets
Due to rising fuel prices and the economic effects of the war in Ukraine, Spohr expects tickets to become more expensive in the near future. According to the CEO, the rates could increase by almost ten percent compared to last year. As a result, the annual turnover is expected to exceed that of 2019.
The Lufthansa Group is not yet flying at full power. Over the whole of 2022, the target is a capacity of 75 percent of the normal level. Within Europe that percentage is 95 percent, trans-Atlantic at 85 percent. In particular, the relatively low number of flights to Asia puts pressure on the average capacity.
