- Group Airlines welcomed around 60 million passengers on board in the first half of 2017 – more than ever before
- Historical records were also reached for supply, sales and utilization
- In June, the Group Airlines welcomed around 12 million passengers on board and therefore 18% more than one year before
- Seat load factor in June was 82.8%, therefore up 2.6 percentage points above prior-year’s level; all Group airlines also showed increase
- Pricing environment continues to be positive
The airlines of the Lufthansa Group welcomed on board around 12 million passengers in June 2017. This shows an increase of 18% compared to the previous year’s month. The available seat kilometers were up 12.3% over the previous year; at the same time, sales increased by 15.9%. The seat load factor improved accordingly, rising 2.6 percentage points to 82.8%, compared to June 2016.
The currency adjusted pricing environment in June was positive.
In the first half of the year, around 60 million passengers were transported, 17.2% more than in the first half of 2016. Overall, the Lufthansa Group carried more passengers than ever before in the first half of 2017. The seat load factor has reached a historical peak of 79%. The figure was 2.7 percentage points higher than in the previous year.
Cargo capacity increased 2.9% year-on-year, while cargo sales were up 8.1% in revenue ton-kilometer terms. As a result, the Cargo load factor showed a corresponding improvement, rising 3.3 percentage points in the month. Overall, the cargo capacity in the first half of 2017 was 2.9% higher than in the previous year. At the same time, cargo sales in this period increased by 7.1%, resulting in a load factor of 2.7 higher percentage points.
Network Airlines
The Network Airlines Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS and Austrian Airlines carried 8.8 million passengers in June, 6.7% more than in the prior-year period and therefore up to 5.1% more than the previous year’s month. Compared to the previous year, the available seat kilometers increased by 2.6% in June, at the same time the number of flights were reduced by 1.9%. The sales volume was up 6.2% over the same period, raising the seat load factor by 2.8 percentage points to 83.2%. In the first half of the year, the Network Airlines carried 45.5 million passengers and therefore 5.9% more than in the same period of the previous year. During this period, the seat load factor for Network Airlines increased by 3 percentage points to 79.3%.
Lufthansa German Airlines transported around six million passengers in June, a 2.7% increase compared to the same month last year. A 0.5% increase in available seat kilometers in June faced a 4% increase in sales. Hence, the seat load factor was up to 84%, therefore 2.9 percentage points above the prior-year level. In the first half of 2017, Lufthansa German Airlines carried 31.2 million passengers, 4.8% more than in the same period of the previous year. At 79.9%, the seat load factor was 3.4 percentage points higher than in the first half of 2016. As a result, Lufthansa German Airlines was able to achieve a historic peak of its flight capacity in both June and the first half of the year.
Point-to-point Airlines
The Lufthansa Group’s point-to-point airlines – Eurowings (including Germanwings) and Brussels Airlines – carried around 3.2 million passengers in June. Among this total, 3 million passengers were on short-haul flights and 0.2 million flew long-haul. This amounts to an increase of 79% in comparison to the previous year. June capacity was 108.7% above its prior-year level, while the sales volume was up 114.2%, resulting in an increase in seat load factor by 2.1 percentage points, equaling 80.9%. On the short-haul services, the available seat kilometers increased by 73.5%, at the same time, sales increased by 79.4% in the same period. This resulted in a 2.7 percentage points higher seat load factor on these flights than in June 2016. The seat load factor for the long-haul services decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 80.8% during the same period; a 329.5% increase in supply was offset by a 322.3% increase in sales.
The point-to-point airlines carried a total of 14.5 million passengers in the first half of the year, 76.1% more than in the same period of the previous year. At 77.4%, the seat load factor was 0.9 percentage points higher than in the previous year.