Lufthansa reports healthy gains, boosts recovery

German airline giant Lufthansa reported a net profit of 809 million euros ($814 million) for the third quarter on 27 October, as the group extended a strong recovery COVID-19 Epidemic.

Lufthansa suffered heavy losses When the coronavirus halted global air travel, and had to be bailed out by the German government in 2020. But a strong rebound in demand from the reopening of economies has lifted the company’s fortunes.

A net profit of 809 million euros from July to September compared to a loss of 72 million euros in the same period a year earlier. CEO Carsten Spohr said the group “has left the pandemic behind and is looking optimistically into the future”.

“The desire to travel and thus the demand for air travel continues unabated.” Third quarter revenue nearly doubled year-on-year to 10.1 billion euros. In the third quarter, more than 33 million passengers flew with the group’s airlines, up significantly from a year earlier.

The group – which includes Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines – already announced earlier this month that it was significantly raising its earnings forecast for 2022 due to strong demand. In August, Lufthansa reported its first net profit since the pandemic.

,Strike action by pilots and ground staff The cost to the airline in the July-to-September period was about 70 million euros,” it said.

However, Lufthansa’s pilots agreed not to strike again until at least the end of June next year, after reaching an agreement with owners over higher pay last month.

The group narrowed a massive net deficit of €6.7 billion in 2020 and €2.2 billion in 2021 due to the pandemic, but its finances have stagnated earlier than expected due to a slowdown in demand for air travel.

The German government sold its remaining stake in Lufthansa last month, putting the airline back into private hands.