The outlook for business is travel is “increasingly positive,” said Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa Group, speaking on a second quarter earnings call. He said business travel volume has recovered to about 60% of 2019 levels. The company operates Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Eurowings.
The company also plans to restore routes that are reliant on corporate travel, including service to China, where the company is doubling its capacity. Some routes currently being launched, said Spohr, can now be added because they have sufficient corporate demand, which wasn’t present two years ago.
Business travel on transatlantic routes, said Spohr, is at 70% of pre-pandemic levels, outpacing short-haul and domestic corporate travel, which he said will remain structurally smaller compared with pre-crisis levels.
Lufthansa reported its highest-ever second-quarter operating profit of $1.2 billion. Total revenue for the quarter was $10.35 billion, a 17% increase year over year. Each of the company’s passenger airlines made a profit.
Capacity for the second quarter was at 82.5% of 2019 levels. Third-quarter capacity is projected to be 88% of 2019 levels, with full-year 2023 capacity at about 85%.
Spohr also said that since the company introduced its “green fares” in February 2023, which include a surcharge to offset CO2 emissions, nearly 300,000 customers have opted for them.
