Lufthansa outpaces previous earnings projections, raises FY 2022 forecast by 50%

Lufthansa has raised its earnings forecast by 50% after outpacing its earnings projections in October and November 2022.

The German airline group expects to generate 50% more revenue in the 2022 financial year and achieve record results in its Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Technik business lines, according to a statement released by the airline.

“The Group therefore expects to be able to generate Adjusted EBIT of around €1.5 billion ($1.58 billion) in the 2022 financial year (previously: more than €1 billion ($1.05 billion)),” the airline revealed in the statement.

Alongside strong demand for air travel, the German carrier highlighted that its average yields in the passenger business remained well above pre-crisis level.

“The booking situation for the coming months indicates a continuation of the positive trend in the Group’s passenger business,” Lufthansa added.

Lufthansa will report its full year 2022 results on March 3, 2023.

Lufthansa also recorded good demand on transatlantic routes and pent-up travel demand coming out of a profitable third quarter. In June 2022, the German airline announced that it would bring back the Airbus A380 by the summer of 2023.

However, staff shortages have caused operational issues for the airline group.

In November 2022, the airline group announced plans to hire 20,000 new employees to address staff shortages which forced Lufthansa to cut thousands of flights during the peak summer season of 2022.