Lufthansa Group's corporate sales "are gaining some further traction," Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said on a Thursday morning earnings call, without going into much additional detail.
Even with "recent weeks put aside" due to the shutdown of the U.S. government—a large Lufthansa client, Spohr said—"we see some development from the U.S.," he said.
In Germany, corporate volumes also are "somewhat growing," Spohr said, adding that the technology, consulting and finance industries were strong. "It's not crazy, the growth. [But] compared to what we have seen now for quite a few years, it was worth mentioning it."
Overall, Lufthansa's "booking outlook is robust, and we are well-positioned to capture further upside as demand continues to recover more and more," Spohr said, noting that premium bookings remain above last year's levels.
Lufthansa Q3 Metrics
Lufthansa reported record third-quarter revenue of €11.2 billion, an increase of 4 percent year over year. Revenue for the passenger airlines increased to €8.9 billion from €8.8 billion in Q3 2024. Net income was €966 million, compared with €1.1 billion reported a year prior. Third-quarter capacity increased 3.2 percent year over year.
The company reported "softer yields," particularly in North America and Europe, partly attributed by currency exchange rates. Third-quarter revenue per available seat kilometer for passenger airlines fell by 2.2 percent year over year "due to the highly competitive environment in the continental European business and the expected temporary slowdown in demand on the North Atlantic," according to an earnings report.
Still, excluding currency effects, "RASK remains stable versus the prior year," Spohr said. "Looking ahead, we plan continued growth on the North Atlantic in line with the market. … Growth on the continental network nevertheless will be more limited."
Lufthansa projects full-year 2025 capacity to increase 4 percent year over year. The company also projected full-year 2026 capacity to increase 4 percent, with long-haul increasing in the mid- to high single-digit percentages and short-haul broadly flat.
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