On November 2, 2023, Lufthansa, the German airline, celebrated a remarkable summer season, boasting a profit of 1.5 billion euros in the third quarter. The company made this exciting
announcement on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Lufthansa's subsidiary, Brussels Airlines, also reported its most profitable summer to date.
Lufthansa's total revenue soared by 8 percent, reaching an impressive 10.3 billion euros, marking the highest third-quarter revenue ever achieved. Additionally, Lufthansa's various airlines individually displayed robust profitability, with an operating profit of 1.4 billion euros, a staggering 91 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
The achievement in the second quarter had already set the stage for Lufthansa's "record summer," as declared by CEO Carsten Spohr. He also expressed optimism in the airline's ability to generate an operating profit of 2.6 billion euros for the entire year, as initially planned. If realized, this would be Lufthansa's third-best financial result ever, trailing behind the successful years of 2017 and 2018, during which the airline benefited from the bankruptcy of Air Berlin.
Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, equally thrived during this summer season, marking its most profitable quarter ever. Between July and September, the Belgian airline served a total of 2.4 million passengers on more than 17,000 flights, boasting an average load factor of 82.5 percent.
According to their press release, "Adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes, an indicator of a company's profitability) for the third quarter amounts to 72 million euros. This represents an increase of 41 percent compared to last summer, which was already a record-breaking season for Brussels Airlines."
Looking ahead, the airline anticipates that 2023 will be a record year in terms of financial performance and aims to break even in the fourth quarter. CEO Dorothea von Boxberg expressed her confidence in the company's path towards sustainable profitability, emphasizing the need for growth. As part of their expansion plans, Brussels Airlines is actively seeking new talent across all departments, currently advertising 240 job vacancies, with the goal of recruiting at least 360 new employees in the coming year. Photo by Harri J from Doha الدوحة, Qatar, Wikimedia commons.