Carsten Spor, CEO of Lufthansa, promised German tourists a few significant increases in ticket prices over the next summer. In other words, ticket prices for the Germans are waiting for a one-way increase, directed only upwards, without any hope of lowering. In his official statement, Herr Spor announced the figures for the first quarter of 2022, and apologized to passengers, saying that the company “does not expect an easy summer” including due to lack of staff, despite growing demand and rising fuel prices and maintenance.
“We had to raise ticket prices due to increased costs. I’m afraid we will have to do it several more times in the summer, “Mr. Spor warned tourists.
Other figures in the report are more optimistic. He said that the German carrier received more bookings last week than in the same period in 2019, and Lufthansa as a whole intends to reach 85% from 2019. The number of passengers this quarter increased by 171% compared to the same period in 2021, from 3 million to 13 million. However, this is only 57% by 2019. Earnings before tax, depreciation and interest (EBITDA), which amounted to -1.4 billion euros in the first three months of 2021, increased by 1.1 billion euros in the same quarter this year.
Mr. Spor also added that the Lufthansa Group, together with the budget carrier Eurowings, has significantly expanded the range of flights to resorts, especially for the German market, to only 120 destinations. “Demand is high now, especially in the United States, South America and the Mediterranean,” he said. He is optimistic that in the second quarter of 2022, the carrier will return approximately 75% of its capacity in 2019, including 95% of its pre-crisis capacity on European highways and 85% of its capacity in 2019 on transatlantic flights. Unless, of course, several times the price increase scares away frugal German tourists.