Lufthansa Returns to Profitability, Cuts Third Quarter Schedule

DALLAS - The ongoing travel chaos continues, and Germany's Lufthansa (LH) is the latest airline to announce that it will impose a limit on its passenger capacity. The move follows British Airways (BA), who earlier this week said that it would pause the sale of tickets for all short-haul services.

Lufthansa revealed that it would offer approximately 80% of pre-COVID passenger capacity during the third quarter. This is much less than planned, with the airline blaming the continuing staffing issues across the aviation industry. LH will be looking to hire around 5,000 new employees in the second half of this year to alleviate its own recruitment problems.

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LH A320 (D-AIZX) in its '5 Starhansa' livery to mark its five-star certification from British aviation consulting specialist Skytrax. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways.

Stabilizing Operations

In an official statement, the Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr said: "Now we must continue to stabilize our flight operations. To this end, we have taken numerous measures and successfully implemented them. In addition, we are doing everything in our power to expand the premium positioning of our airlines again and thus to fully meet the demands of our customers and also our own standards."

Despite the reduction, the German carrier has announced that it has returned to an operating profit for the three months to June. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of €393 million (US$400 million) were made during the second quarter. This compared to a loss of €827 million (US$842 million) in the same period in 2021.

Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777F (D-ALFF) in Frankfurt (FRA). Photo: Lufthansa Cargo.

Strong Cargo Demand

This, it has stated, is thanks to the 'strong increase in average yields and successful cargo segment.' Indeed, LH's cargo business is currently operating 'at record levels,' and its average yields in this segment are well above pre-covid levels.

"Returning to profitability in a quarter that was marked also by high geopolitical uncertainty and rising oil prices is a major achievement. This demonstrates that we are making good progress in recovering from the financial consequences of the Corona crisis," said Remco Steenbergen, Chief Financial Officer.

Featured Image: The airline group expects passenger demand to remain high for the rest of the year. Photo: Lufthansa Group.