Lufthansa was more optimistic on Thursday regarding the evolution of traffic in 2022, raising its forecast for seat supply following having almost halved its loss in the first quarter to 584 million euros (603.3 million francs). .
“Bookings are increasing every week, especially for holiday trips,” boss Carsten Spohr said in a statement.
“This summer, more people than ever before are going on vacation with Lufthansa,” adds the group, announcing a “record summer” from the tourist point of view.
As private travel resumed faster than business travel following the peak of the pandemic, Lufthansa will offer an unprecedented number of 120 tourist destinations.
Capacity, representing the number of seats open for reservation according to expected demand, should reach 75% this year once morest 70% previously announced and 57% in the first quarter, marked at the start of the year by the impact of the Omicron variant .
The group is keeping its forecast of an ‘improvement’ in annual operating profit unchanged — a formula that leaves open the possibility of a loss or a profit, Lufthansa having not given a deadline for a return in green following two years of unprecedented difficulties linked to the health crisis.
The total offer this summer – which thus covers private and business travel – will be 95% of the pre-crisis level for European short-haul flights and 85% for transatlantic connections, specifies the company , which says it has recorded ‘as many reservations in recent weeks as ever since the start of the pandemic’.
The improvement in demand was ‘better and faster than expected’ and ‘the level of reservations makes us confident that we can improve the financial result in the coming quarters’, explains Remco Steenbergen, Chief Financial Officer.
“We must pass on the price increase to our customers,” he said as the group points to “uncertainties” and “the extreme increase in the price of kerosene” linked to the war in Ukraine.
In the first quarter, turnover doubled over one year, to 5.7 billion euros and the adjusted operating loss, an indicator closely observed by the markets, reached 591 million once morest 1.05 billion in the first quarter. 2021.
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