Lufthansa sees revenue drop 80%, no full recovery until 2024

Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa on Thursday reported a net loss of €1.49 billion for the second quarter, when the coronavirus crisis halted passenger traffic.

The airline also forecasted demand will not reach pre-virus levels before 2024: “Especially for long-haul routes there will be no quick recovery”, CEO Carsten Spohr said in a statement.

Lufthansa said it carried 96% fewer passengers during Q2 and experienced an 80% drop in revenue, to €1.9 billion from €9.6 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.  It added that most of the revenue came from its cargo and maintenance businesses.

In May, Lufthansa has agreed to a €9 billion bailout plan from Berlin, which will also include the German government taking a 20% stake in the airline group, making it its biggest shareholder.

Last month, the company announced 1.000 more job cuts and the retirement of 22 aircraft, including eleven Airbus A320s, six A380s and five Boeing 747-800s.

In July, Lufthansa’s offerings reached only around 20% of last year’s level. It said short and medium haul capacity would increase to 40% in the third quarter and long-haul capacity to 20%.