Significant events
Contracts of Carsten Spohr and Remco Steenbergen extended ahead of schedule
On 2 March 2023, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG appointed Carsten Spohr as Chairman of the Executive Board for another five years.
Carsten Spohr has been a member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG since 2011 and its Chairman since 2014. His contract was extended until the end of December 2028.
On 2 March 2023, the Supervisory Board also appointed Remco Steenbergen as Chief Financial Officer for another five years until the end of December 2028. Remco Steenbergen has been a member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG since 2021 as Chief Financial Officer. On 22 February 2024 it was announced that Remco Steenbergen would leave the Executive Board on 7 May 2024 by mutual consent. ↗ Events after the reporting date, p. 39.
Lufthansa Group purchases 22 latest-generation long-haul aircraft
The Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG has decided to order ten long-haul Airbus A350-1000s, five long-haul A350-900s and seven long-haul Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG agreed to the acquisition of these aircraft on 2 March 2023.
They are due to be delivered to the Lufthansa Group from the middle of the decade onwards.
At list prices, the overall order volume is around
USD 7.5bn. ↗ Fleet
Shareholders approve all Annual General Meeting agenda items
The virtual Annual General Meeting of Deutsche Lufthansa AG took place on 9 May 2023. The shareholders approved all of the items on the agenda by a large majority.
Karl-Ludwig Kley, acting Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and Carsten Knobel, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, were re-elected to the Supervisory Board. Karl Gernandt, Executive Chairman of Kühne Holding AG, was newly elected to the Supervisory Board.
Lufthansa Group reaches agreement to acquire 41% of ITA Airways
On 25 May 2023, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance reached an agreement on the acquisition of a non-controlling interest in the country’s national airline ITA Airways.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG applied to the European Commission in Brussels for approval to acquire the minority stake on 30 November 2023.
The European Commission notified the Company in January 2024 that it will carry out an in-depth review of the planned investment in a second phase.
Following approval of the transaction by the authorities and closing, Deutsche Lufthansa AG will obtain a 41% stake in ITA Airways for EUR 325m within the framework of a capital increase. Options were also agreed to purchase the remaining interests at a later date.
Lufthansa Group sells payment specialist AirPlus to SEB Kort
On 20 June 2023, the Lufthansa Group signed a contract with SEB Kort Bank AB of Stockholm (Sweden) for the sale of the AirPlus Group. The purchase price is approximately EUR 450m.
AirPlus will continue to be a member of the UATP global payments network after the sale. The transaction is expected to be completed in summer 2024, subject to the necessary preparations and required external approvals, primarily from various financial regulators.
Lufthansa Group and the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union reach agreement on long-term wage settlement
The Lufthansa Group and the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union have agreed to a long-term wage agreement for the pilots of Lufthansa Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo. On 10 August 2023, the members of the union voted in favour of the negotiated outcome, which had been reached shortly beforehand.
The new wage agreement can be terminated at the earliest on 31 December 2026 and includes a basic salary increase of at least 18% over the period. The term of the framework agreement, which includes improved working conditions for pilots, can be terminated at the earliest on 31 December 2027.
↗ Employees
Lufthansa Group sells LSG group to Aurelius
On 4 April 2023, Deutsche Lufthansa AG signed an agreement with the private equity firm Aurelius on the sale of the LSG group. The sales transaction closed on 31 October 2023.
The business of the LSG group consists of traditional
catering and onboard retail along with food commerce
activities. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
The sale of its Catering division forms part of the Lufthansa Group’s strategy of focusing more on its core airline business. The European activities of the LSG group had already been sold off to gategroup in 2019.
↗ Catering segment
Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s give Deutsche Lufthansa AG an investment grade rating
Rating agency Fitch gave Deutsche Lufthansa AG an investment grade rating of BBB- with a stable outlook in its first assessment on 1 November 2023.
The rating reflects above all Lufthansa’s leading role in the global aviation industry as Europe’s biggest network carrier, as well as its creditworthy diversification across maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and freight, where the company also has leading global market positions.
In addition, Standard & Poor’s raised its rating for the Lufthansa Group to the investment grade BBB- on 4 December 2023. Standard & Poor’s justified the upgrade with the higher than expected average yields, robust demand for passenger flights and industry-wide capacity bottlenecks.
↗ Financial strategy
Lufthansa Group remains sole shareholder in Lufthansa Technik
The Executive Board of the Lufthansa Group decided on 30 November 2023 not to pursue its plans for a sale of a non-controlling stake in Lufthansa Technik. Growth plans developed in the preceding months are now to be implemented independently, without the participation of another shareholder in Lufthansa Technik. To this end, Lufthansa Technik launched the growth programme Ambition 2030.
↗ MRO business segment
Lufthansa Group signs sale-and-lease-back agreement for twelve short-haul aircraft
The Lufthansa Group has entered into an agreement for the sale and lease-back of twelve short- and medium-haul aircraft. The transaction enables the Group to finance capital expenditure in new aircraft with a mix of cash, Japanese operating leases (JOLCOs) and operating leases. The sale-and-lease-back transaction supports the modernisation of the Lufthansa Group Airlines fleet.
↗ Fleet
Lufthansa Group orders 80 new highly efficient short- and medium-haul aircraft and agrees 120 purchase options
On 19 December 2023, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG approved the Executive Board’s resolution to purchase 80 state-of-the-art short- and medium-haul aircraft. The agreements with the manufacturers Airbus and Boeing relate to the purchase of 40 Airbus A220-300s including 20 purchase options, the purchase of 40 Boeing 737-8 MAXs including 60 purchase options, and purchase options for another 40 aircraft from the A320 family. The confirmed order for 80 aircraft is worth around EUR 9bn at list prices. The aircraft will be delivered between 2026 and 2032.↗ Fleet