Lufthansa Group profits fall to €1.6bn in 2024
March 6, 2025
Lufthansa Group has reported its financial results for 2024, increasing its fourth-quarter profit by €66 million to €468 million but seeing its full-year operating profit fall to €1.6 billion, from €2.7 billion the previous year.
The airline group recorded its highest-ever annual revenue at €37.6 billion, driven by a record peak in load factor.
Passenger numbers rose by 7% to over 130 million, reflecting strengthening demand for air travel post-Covid.
However, in line with the drop in profits, the 2024 operating margin fell to 4.4%, down from the previous year’s 7.6%.
Lufthansa blamed the decline compared to the previous year on “various effects, particularly in the first half of the year: strikes weighed on the passenger airlines with around €450 million. The airlines also had to absorb a significant decline in average yields at the beginning of the summer due to the large industry-wide increase in capacity. Significantly higher costs, especially in Germany, also had a negative impact. Productivity in flight operations also suffered from further delays in aircraft deliveries.”
Looking ahead to 2025, the company expects earnings to surpass last year’s levels significantly.
Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa, said: “Aviation is and remains an industry of the future with sustained strong demand. Especially in unstable times, it enables international understanding through cultural and economic exchange.
“At the Lufthansa Group, we can look back on the strongest year in our history in terms of revenue, with a new load factor record. I would therefore like to thank our guests for their loyalty and all our employees for their great commitment.
“Looking back, 2024 was a year of two halves for the Lufthansa Group. In the first six months, we still had to cope with a significant decline in operating profit – due, among other things, to strikes, delayed aircraft deliveries and operational challenges at our hubs.
“The trend was reversed in the course of the year with two consecutive quarters in which we generated revenue of over 10 billion euros each for the first time, and in the fourth quarter we exceeded the previous year’s profit.
“The further internationalisation of the Lufthansa Group through the integration of ITA Airways, the significantly improved stability in flight operations and the growing satisfaction of our customers – all this shows that our strategy is right and our measures are taking effect.
“However, there is no question that we now also have to achieve an economic turnaround for our core brand Lufthansa. This year, 2025, will be a year of transformation for us with a clear goal: to further strengthen our position as the global number one outside the United States.”
