Carsten Spohr, the CEO of the Lufthansa Group, can hardly be triumphant. The Lufthansa group is well on its way to recording a financial year of among the best the group has ever had.
According to estimates, the Lufthansa Group now expects to achieve adjusted EBIT of over €2.6 billion by 2023. This result should be one of the three best in the history of the Lufthansa group. According to company estimates, the Lufthansa Group could even approach the financial targets the company has set itself for 2024.
Supply lagging behind demand
For the company's CEO, " our outlook continues to be positive for customers, employees and shareholders.. The profit forecasts show that we are on track to achieve the objectives we have set ourselves for the medium term on the capital markets".
" This will enable us to make the investments required to ensure premium quality for our customers.. There are also excellent prospects for our Lufthansa long-haul fleet. Again this year, two additional A380s will resume regular service, and others will follow with new Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s in 2024, a year we are very optimistic about," says Carstens Spohr.
Strong global demand for air travel has led to an increase in passenger numbers on Lufthansa Group airlines.. Let over 55 million passengers between January and June. This represents an increase of 30% compared with the same period in 2022. In the second quarter, 33.3 million passengers travelled on the Group's airlines, representing 84% of the 2019 level.
Faced with rising demand, the Lufthansa group has increased its capacity. However, this is still well below the growth in traffic. In the first half of 2023, it was 19% higher than in the previous year.. But still 21% below pre-crisis levels.
In the second quarter capacity offered amounted to 83 % of that for 2019. An offer that Lufthansa considers conservative, and which it justifies by the bottlenecks at airport service providers and air traffic control. No mention is made in the group's official press release of the objective of rebuilding margins.
Passenger revenue up
Continued high demand, particularly in premium classes, led to an increase in average revenues of 13% compared with the previous year, despite limited supply. In the 2nd quarter, Lufthansa Group flights posted a seat load factor of 83%. This is back to the level recorded during the Covid crisis. Flight punctuality improved to 70%.
For the rest of the year, the Lufthansa Group expects demand for air tickets to remain high, especially in the premium classes. The Group reports bookings from August to December 2023 of more than 90% of 2019 volume.. While tourist travel remains the driving force behind demand, Lufthansa Group sees an improvement in business travel. The Group expects business travel reached 70% of the pre-crisis level at the end of the year. And it will continue to improve its offering. It plans to restore 88% of pre-crisis capacity. The company therefore expects a further slight increase in average revenues for the 3rd quarter. Adjusted operating profit for the third quarter should therefore be higher than in 2019, at €1.3 billion.
