Lufthansa maintains 2018 profit forecast

SYDNEY: Lufthansa’s chief executive is expecting another record summer in terms of bookings but is still sticking to a forecast for profit to fall this year given rising oil prices and the cost of expanding its Eurowings business.

“Basically we are looking for a record summer, even outperforming the record summer of last year,” said Carsten Spohr.

“That applies to the load factors and we are quite positive on the yield situation for this summer,” he said.

Global airlines yesterday slashed their forecast for industry profits for this year due to a spike in fuel costs.

Lufthansa was growing its Eurowings budget unit via acquisitions, and Spohr said Lufthansa could grab more opportunities when they arose.

While Alitalia would make a good addition to its collection of premium brands, alongside Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian units, it needed restructuring first.

Lufthansa has no plans to reduce capacity in light of higher oil prices. It has, however, cut capacity following delays to aircraft deliveries due to engine issues.

“Our forward bookings are so strong I am happy with all the growth we can realise,” he said.

Spohr said Lufthansa’s A320neo fleet was only at half the productivity it should be and was still working with Airbus and engine maker Pratt & Whitney to fix the issues. Lufthansa had also ordered A320ceo planes to make up for the delays.