Europe's leading airline group, Lufthansa, announced on Tuesday that its net profit for the third quarter dipped by 8% year-on-year, weighed down by higher maintenance costs, expenses and staff salaries.
The group, which also owns Austrian, Swiss, Eurowing and Brussels Airlines, posted a net profit of €1.1 billion in July - September.
It has outlined its cost-cutting programme to support the company's performance.
The Q3 results contrast with the exceptional profit posted by the group during the corresponding period in 2023, when it recovered from the Covid-19 health crisis.
Demand nevertheless increased in the third quarter of 2024, enabling the group to post a 5% increase in sales, which rose to €10.74 billion, the "best quarterly income in its history," it said in a statement.
Nearly 40 million passengers travelled between July and September on the group's airlines, a 6% increase.
Flight load factors reached 87%, slightly higher than at the same time last year.
However, increased capacity in the airline sector pushed down ticket prices for passenger flights by 3.5% year-on-year. The fall was particularly sharp for flights to Asia (-14%).
This loss of income comes on top of increases in maintenance, personnel and other costs that continued to affect Lufthansa in the third quarter.
After a series of strikes, the airline's ground staff won an average pay rise of 12.5% at the end of March.
The group intends to implement a savings programme to "increase efficiency," in particular by focusing on the more profitable long-haul flights.
