The German airline Lufthansa more than doubled its profits in 2023, figures released on Thursday showed, as another round of worker pay strikes affected passengers.

Germany’s national carrier saw its profit margin surge above an already-healthy increase the previous year as international aviation recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.

How the figures break down

Lufthansa reported a net profit of €1.67 billion ($1.82 billion) for 2023, far exceeding a figure of €791 million in 2022. 

It is a second straight year of profits for the group, which includes the subsidiaries Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines, after two years of losses because of COVID-19-related border closures.

Revenue soared by 15% to more than €35 billion, while a total of 123 million passengers flew with Lufthansa and its daughter airlines — up 20% from a year earlier but still below pre-pandemic record levels.

 “The Lufthansa group has regained its financial strength,” chief executive Carsten Spohr said in a statement, adding that 2023 was “one of the three best years in Lufthansa group’s history.”

More to come…

rc/kb (AFP, Reuters)

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