The recent strikes in air transport are thwarting Lufthansa’s profit plans. After an unexpectedly high loss in the first quarter, CEO Carsten Spohr only expects an operating profit (adjusted EBIT) of around 2.2 billion euros for the current year, as the group surprisingly announced in Frankfurt. That is around half a billion less than previously targeted, meaning the previous year’s result of almost 2.7 billion seems out of reach.
In the first quarter, Lufthansa’s flight attendants and ground workers stopped work. Security staff also fought for more money with strikes at several airports. According to the information, the strikes cost the company around 350 million euros in the first quarter. Although airlines are usually in the red during this time, this time the group’s operating loss of 849 million euros was more than three times as high as the year before.
The collective bargaining conflicts in Germany have now been resolved. However, its consequences for short-term ticket bookings extend beyond the first quarter. Added to this are the unresolved conflicts at the Austrian subsidiary Austrian Airlines. Spohr therefore expects a further impact on earnings of around 100 million euros for the second quarter of the year. Lufthansa sometimes has to wait longer than expected for new aircraft. This is also why the flight offerings in the second quarter are not expected to grow as much as initially planned. In addition, management wants to improve punctuality with a smaller capacity expansion.