Lufthansa posts 2.1 billion euro loss after ‘drastic decline’ in air fling in the first quarter

Lufthansa reported a immense loss for the first quarter and acknowledged restructuring used to be predominant as its results were “critically impacted” by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The German airline reported a catch lack of two.1 billion euros ($2.35 billion) for the first three months of the twelve months on Wednesday. This compared to a lack of 342 million euros over the identical period the twelve months sooner than.

It comes as passenger numbers dropped by extra than 26% in the first quarter, compared to a twelve months ago. 

Write-downs contributed to the loss, with Lufthansa recording an impairment mark of 266 million euros on decommissioned plane. It furthermore wrote down 100 million euros on the guide price of its catering unit LSG North The United States and 57 million euros on budget airline Eurowings.

Wednesday’s results were on the origin scheduled for April 30, nonetheless were postponed on account of the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“World air traffic has come to a digital standstill in recent months. This has impacted our quarterly results to an extra special extent. In behold of the very behind recovery in attach a query to, we should always now capture a long way-reaching restructuring measures to counteract this,” Carsten Spohr, chairman of the govtboard of Lufthansa, acknowledged in a dispute.

There are indications that the 2d quarter will furthermore be closely impacted by the pandemic, as fling bans the enviornment over continued to hit airways. 

Lufthansa reported a 98.1% fall in passenger numbers in April from a twelve months ago, whereas passenger and freight numbers in Could well also were furthermore “critically decrease.”  The neighborhood parked 700 of its 763 plane in April and Could well also. 

The airline acknowledged it would now not quiz the recent crisis to pause sooner than 2023, and forecast that 300 airplanes will remain parked in 2021, and 200 in 2022. 

“From mid-June, however, the Lufthansa Community’s airways will seemingly be critically expanding their schedules to around 2,000 weekly connections to extra than 130 destinations worldwide,” the corporate dispute acknowledged.

“The aim is to compose as many destinations accessible all over again for holidaymakers and enterprise travellers.”

With a map to prick prices, the German airline acknowledged it had diminished the hours of 87,000 workers and postponed or cancelled some initiatives planned prior to the crisis.

Furthermore, Brussels Airlines and Austrian Airlines — section of the Lufthansa neighborhood — will prick their fleet by 30% and 20% respectively, along with as decrease their headcounts by 25% and 20% respectively. 

There will furthermore be extra restructuring measures in pretty about a firms which shall be section of the wider Lufthansa Community.

These measures come after an settlement with the German govt for financial enhance. The company agreed at give up as a lot as 24 capture-off slots to rivals at Frankfurt and Munich airports in commerce for 9 billion euros ($10.05 billion) in enhance from the German govt.

As section of the deal, the German govt will get a 20% stake in Lufthansa.

Shares of the airline are down extra than 42% twelve months-to-date.