On Thursday, Lufthansa, a German airline, announced its second-quarter adjusted pre-tax profit nearly doubled to 1.09 billion euros ($1.19 billion), not only exceeding the market's expectation of 1.04 billion euros but also significantly higher than the 341 million euros of the same period last year. The company expects the full-year adjusted pre-tax profit to exceed 2.6 billion euros, a substantial increase from the previous estimate of 1.5 billion euros.
While some analysts believe that the surge in demand and the resulting strong profit could lose momentum in the second half of the year due to inflation squeezing consumer spending, competitors like International Airlines Group (IAG) and Ryanair, Europe's largest budget airline, have noted the current economic uncertainty and maintain a cautious stance on passenger demand for the remainder of the year.
However, Lufthansa, which owns Austrian Airlines, SWISS, and Eurowings, seems more optimistic about the market outlook. The company reported that the average booking volume for the second half of this year has reached 90% of pre-pandemic levels, with higher travel demand, especially for premium seats, leading to an increase in capacity to 88% of 2019 levels in the third quarter. Additionally, the company plans to return two A380s to regular service in the second half of this year, with more Boeing and Airbus jets expected to join the fleet next year.
Lufthansa stated that considering the reopening of China, Japan, and other key markets, as well as the expected increase in business demand, the company will increase its capacity for Asian routes.
