Business passenger numbers for the Lufthansa Group in the fourth quarter of 2023 were still about 30% lower than in the same period in 2019, according to Remco Steenbergen, CFO, speaking on a fourth quarter earnings call. He said he expects the corporate segment might get up to 80% of 2019 levels in 2024. The group includes Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines

Carsten Spohr, CEO, said that “pent-up demand is not going to jump out of the bottle,” adding that the corporate segment would “come up slowly.” He noted that working from home is being reduced, and video conferences are reduced “further and further and turned into real meetings, so I think this trend will be there.”

There is also, according to executives, an opportunity for an increase in corporate travel because of the group’s Asian network expansion. Spohr said that region historically is the part of the network with the highest corporate share. “We’re growing more into Asia this year than in any other destination or region,” he said, “so, I think we [will] see a miracle, whatever you want to call it, effect on corporate in that regard.”

Lufthansa reported fourth quarter 2023 revenue of nearly $9.7 billion, a 5% increase year over year. Total 2023 revenue was more than $38.7 billion, representing a 15% increase over 2022, making it the company’s third-best full-year result in its history.