Frankfurt (AFP)

Saved from bankruptcy by the German state, the air giant Lufthansa will remain shaken for a long time by the Covid-19 pandemic, with a heavy loss expected in 2020, years of heavy demand, leaving the threat of layoffs to hover.

The leading European airline group, which plans to cut 22,000 jobs, suffered a net loss of 3.6 billion euros for the first six months, including 1.5 billion in the second quarter, when the peak of the pandemic caused the almost total shutdown of world aviation.

"We are in a gap," commented boss Carsten Spohr, who does not expect "until 2024" that traffic will return to the level before the pandemic.

With a 96% year-on-year drop in passenger numbers for the April to June period, Lufthansa's revenue plunged 80% to € 1.9 billion.

With 1.5 billion euros, the cargo branch and the maintenance branch, Lufthansa Technik, alone achieved almost all of this result.

For this division, the group is "looking for ideas" and "studying" the possibility of a partial IPO or partnerships to generate liquidity and repay more quickly the aid of 9 billion euros granted by the German government.

The subsidiaries Brussels Airlines and Austrian respectively posted half-year operating losses of 182 and 235 million euros, and Swiss of 266 million Francs.

- Layoffs -

To achieve 15% more productivity, the company, of which Berlin became the largest shareholder with the rescue, is engaged in a vast savings program and plans to cut 22,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

"Like all companies, we face enormous challenges and are forced to make hard and painful cuts," said Spohr.

The fleet, of 760 planes currently, will be reduced by a hundred aircraft, the management board will have to be reduced and 20% of management positions will be eliminated.

But, after promising "innovative" solutions to preserve jobs, the boss ruled Thursday that it had become "unrealistic" that these cuts are made without layoffs.

In question: "the evolution of the market" and negotiations for the moment "disappointing" with the unions on wage cuts or more part-time.

An agreement avoiding layoffs for cabin crew is currently being voted on by employees.

For ground staff, talks will continue on Friday, the Verdi union said, calling on Lufthansa to avoid pay cuts "which threaten the lives of employees."

8,000 employees have already left the group, mainly in other countries and 75,000 employees were on short-time work in June, Spohr said.

- Supply growth -

For the rest of the year, Lufthansa forecasts a "clearly" negative operating result in the second half of the year, despite the gradual increase in its offer.

Compared to the level before the crisis, the group wants to offer in the fourth quarter 55% of its short and medium haul offer and 50% of long haul, against 20% on average in July, with the prospect of reaching two thirds in 2021.

Since the end of June, half of its planes, almost all grounded at the height of the pandemic, have returned to the air and tourist flights have picked up better than business trips, which are more profitable.

In three months, Lufthansa has seen 1.4 billion euros in cash evaporate, mainly because of refunds to customers, which reached the unprecedented level of 2 billion euros in total since the beginning of the year.

Before the precious injection of public money by Berlin, negotiated for weeks between the management, the German government, and the European Commission, before being finally approved at the end of June by the shareholders, 2.8 billion euros remained in the funds. accounts on June 30.

Since the beginning of July, the group has obtained 2.3 billion euros: 300 million by the rise of the State to the capital up to 20%, a billion of guaranteed loan and a billion of public funds without voting rights.

The company now has sufficient funds for "at least twelve months", assured Spohr, being optimistic: "aviation has recovered in the past; it can do it and will do it again"

© 2020 AFP