Lufthansa Group's total revenue increased 4.9 percent to €7.8
billion year over year in the fourth quarter, and traffic revenue was flat at €5.9
billion.
Both volume and load factor declined year over year in the
quarter, during which time the airline group faced a seven-day
strike that resulted in about 4,700 canceled flights. On an earnings call, Chairman
and CEO Carsten Spohr said the controversial
€16
fee for global distribution systems had a "neutral impact on our
bottom line" despite a "slight adverse effect" on bookings. "We
have lost some bookings outside our home markets, but this and higher GDS
charges have compensated from the [Distribution Cost Charge] income," he
said.
For the full year, the group reported in January that its number
of passengers and load factor hit all-time
records in 2015. Spohr said on the recent earnings call that Lufthansa's
load factor for business class on long-haul routes increased 2.5 percentage
points year over year.
Lufthansa reported a net profit of €1.7 billion for 2015, up from €55
million in 2014. Spohr said in a statement the improvement "is not only
due to lower fuel costs but also to the favorable developments in our passenger
volumes and to our capacity discipline."