Frankfurt (AFP)
Taking advantage of a strong rebound in demand, the leading European airline group Lufthansa halved its net loss in the second quarter.
The German group forecasts for the next three months an increase in traffic to 50% of the pre-crisis level as well as a return to profits for the first time since March 2020.
As a result of "an increase in bookings and the number of passengers" encouraged by "easing of travel restrictions", the company posted between April and June a net profit of -756 million euros against -1.5 billion over this period last year, according to a statement.
"For the month of June alone, bookings have doubled compared to the start of the quarter," said German Lufthansa, which also includes Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines.
The group, saved from bankruptcy by the German state, is going through a vast restructuring which involves a reduction in the number of planes in the fleet.
30,000 jobs out of 130,000 have already been cut, resulting in 1.1 billion euros in savings out of the 1.8 billion targeted.
A measure "which hurts a lot, but which is necessary to safeguard the remaining 100,000 jobs", commented the boss, Carsten Spohr.
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