Lufthansa group chief executive Carsten Spohr has said the German airline group “is back” after returning to profit in 2022.
“In just one year, we have achieved an unprecedented financial turnaround. Demand for air travel remains high in 2023,” Mr Spohr said.
He was speaking after annual financial figures showed Lufthansa to have generated a profit last year, and doubled both its revenues and passenger numbers.
Lufthansa posted an operating profit of just over €1.5bn for 2022 – a turnaround from a €1.6bn loss in 2021. The profit is still 34% below 2019, but the airline only flew 72% of its pre-pandemic passenger numbers last year.
Net debt fell by just over €2bn, down to €6.9bn and Lufthansa said it expects further strong profit growth this year, despite downsizing its summer schedule due to staff shortages.
