German
2024

Annual Report

Connecting people, cultures and economies in a sustainable way

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Lufthansa Group generates an operating profit of EUR 1.6bn under difficult conditions

Driven by ongoing high demand for air travel, the Lufthansa Group expanded its capacity again in 2024, flying a total of more than 130 million passengers safely to their destinations. At the same time, 2024 was characterised by enormous challenges and pressures which significantly affected our earnings position. We were therefore unable to match the previous year’s good financial results. The Lufthansa Group’s Adjusted EBIT fell to EUR 1.6bn in the 2024 financial year, which represents a decrease of 39% on the previous year’s high level. Despite this fall in earnings, we wish to enable our shareholders to participate in our positive result. We will therefore table a proposal at the Annual General Meeting to pay a dividend of EUR 0.30 per share.

  • Statement by Carsten Spohr
  • 3 questions for Till Streichert
People still have a great desire to travel. We are therefore expecting continued high demand for flights which will support our operating and financial performance.

Carsten Spohr Chairman of the Executive Board

Our full focus will remain on value creation through the sustainable improvement of profitability and the generation of strong free cash flows.

Till Streichert Member of the Executive Board, Finance

  • Bar-chart-euro
    37,6

    Revenue

    in €bn

    +6%
  • 1,6

    Adjusted EBIT

    in €bn

    -39%
  • Money-hand
    4,4

    Adjusted EBIT margin

    in €bn

    -3,2 pts
  • Cash-flow-euro-1
    840

    Adjusted free cash flow

    in €m

    -54%

Connecting people, cultures and economies in a sustainable way

The Lufthansa Group connects people, cultures and economies in a sustainable way. This is and will remain the Lufthansa Group’s mission statement and also the title of our Annual Report for 2024.Our airlines operate some 3,000 flights every day to more than 300 destinations in around 100 countries. We connect families, friends and business partners, promote social interactions, prosperity and international understanding, and secure production and supply chains. Every day we bring the world a little closer together and create opportunities for dialogue and cross-border cooperation.

Purpose Lufthansa Group

Best connections from Europe to the world
Multistop
Award
Scrum-master
Airplane-maintenance
People-group
Two-gears
Leaf

  • Passenger Airlines

    1046

    Adjusted EBIT

    in €m

    - 49%

    • Passenger Airlines

    The Passenger Airlines business segment comprises Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines – which offer their customers a premium experience, with high-quality products and services – as well as Eurowings, which is positioned as a value carrier with an exclusive focus on point-to-point traffic.

    The earnings position of Passenger Airlines deteriorated significantly in financial year 2024, despite ongoing capacity growth. Earnings at Passenger Airlines were impacted by delays to the delivery of new aircraft, strikes, inefficiencies at Lufthansa Airlines, decreasing yields and irregularities in flight operations.

    Adjusted EBIT at Passenger Airlines fell by 49% in financial year 2024 to EUR 1,046m. Our Lufthansa Airlines core brand was almost exclusively responsible for this decline and was by far the worst affected in terms of its earnings volume. Lufthansa Airlines therefore launched a comprehensive turnaround programme in the 2024 financial year to increase efficiency and improve product quality. This programme aims to make the airline once again fit for the future and profitable on a sustainable basis.

  • Logistics

    Bar-chart-increase
    251

    Adjusted EBIT

    in €m

    + 15%

    • Logistics

    In addition to Lufthansa Cargo AG, the Logistics business segment includes the airfreight container management specialist Jettainer group, the time:matters group, which specialises in particularly urgent shipments, the subsidiary Heyworld, which specialises in tailored solutions for the e-commerce sector and CB Customs Broker.

    Having returned to normal the previous year, the Logistics segment performed well in financial year 2024. A turnaround materialised over the course of the year and Lufthansa Cargo reported very strong year-on-year performance, especially in the fourth quarter. One of the drivers behind the good performance was the upturn in demand for e-commerce, particularly in Asia, to which Lufthansa Cargo responded by shifting capacity.

    This enabled Lufthansa Cargo to improve its earnings significantly year on year. Adjusted EBIT improved to EUR 251m

  • MRO

    Bar-chart-increase
    635

    Adjusted EBIT

    in €m

    + 1%

    • MRO

    Lufthansa Technik is a world-leading independent provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for civil commercial aircraft. Lufthansa Technik AG serves more than 800 customers, including airlines, OEMs, leasing companies, operators of VIP jets, governments and armed forces.

    Lufthansa Technik once again reported a positive course of business in 2024. Strong demand for flights led to rising demand for maintenance and repair services as well as other Lufthansa Technik products and services, which in turn had a positive impact on revenue and earnings.

    Lufthansa Technik was thus once again able to surpass its very strong result for the previous year and report Adjusted EBIT of a record EUR 635m.

Stories

  • 41 percent stake in ITA Airways finalised

    The acquisition of a 41% stake in ITA Airways by Deutsche Lufthansa AG was completed on 17 January 2025 by means of a EUR 325m capital contribution. As a result, the Italian airline is now part of the Lufthansa Group, where it becomes the fifth network carrier. Options for the acquisition of the remaining shares in ITA Airways may first be exercised over the course of 2025.

    ITA Airways will be preserved and developed as a strong brand. Its modern, environmentally friendly Airbus fleet currently consists of 99 aircraft, including 22 long-haul aircraft, made up of Airbus A350-900s, Airbus A330-900neos and A330-200s. ITA Airways flies to nearly 70 destinations around the world. The airline welcomed some 18 million passengers on board its aircraft in 2024.

    This makes Italy another home market for the Lufthansa Group. The country is already the second most important international market for the Company, after the USA, and alongside the existing home markets Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. Rome Fiumicino is a five-star airport and will be the Lufthansa’s sixth and most southerly hub. Milan Linate is a metropolitan airport in the economic powerhouse of northern Italy, with the second-largest catchment area in the EU, and will play an outstanding role in the Group.

    We are proud to finally welcome ITA Airways to the Lufthansa Group. With our investment, we will now strengthen the Italian and European aviation market and the position of the Lufthansa Group as number one in Europe. Our joint passengers worldwide will benefit from improved offers and optimized connections as early as this upcoming summer flight schedule

    Carsten Spohr Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG

  • Lufthansa Airlines launches turnaround programme

    Lufthansa Airlines launched a turnaround programme in financial year 2024 with the goal of increasing efficiency, reducing complexity and improving quality, thereby making the airline stronger for the future. The turnaround plan includes shifting more short-haul traffic to more efficient flight operations that are better aligned with each market segment. Further efficiency gains are set to be achieved through network optimisation as well as increasing flexibility and automation.

    The measures planned to impact earnings as part of the turnaround programme will add up to a volume of EUR 2.5bn in 2028.

  • Fleet renewal continues

    The Lufthansa Group has made important decisions in recent years in relation to the ongoing modernisation of its fleet. In particular, this entails the retirement of larger four-engine aircraft, which are less fuel-efficient, and their replacement with modern, more efficient aircraft types. This enables the Lufthansa Group to reduce its fuel consumption, carbon emissions and the costs of maintenance and operational irregularities. As part of the long-term fleet strategy, the number of aircraft models operated on long-haul routes is continuously being lowered to further reduce the level of complexity throughout the Group.

    The Lufthansa Group added to its existing aircraft orders in December 2024, placing orders for five more Airbus A350-1000 long-haul aircraft.

    With the state-of-the-art A350 long-haul jets, we are accelerating the largest fleet modernization the Group has done so far. We are investing more than ever before to make air transport more sustainable, to achieve our CO₂ reduction targets and at the same time offer our customers the highest level of comfort with a first-class travel experience.”

    Carsten Spohr Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG

    At year-end 2024, there were a total of 242 aircraft on the Lufthansa Group’s order list. There are also options to buy a further 182 aircraft. The aircraft on order include in particular the long-haul aircraft Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A350-900/1000, as well as the short- and medium-haul aircraft A220-300 and 40 Boeing 737-8 MAX.

  • New Lufthansa Allegris in-flight product in service

    On 1 May 2024, the first scheduled flight of an Airbus A350 with the new Lufthansa cabin product Allegris took off from Munich to Vancouver.

    Through its gradual changeover to the next-generation seating product, Lufthansa Airlines is offering its passengers a new travel experience in every class on long-haul routes.

    At the end of the 2024 financial year, there were already seven A350s with the Allegris in-flight product in service, some of which have featured the new Allegris First Class since November 2024. This is to be installed successively in spring 2025 in the remaining A350s that Lufthansa Airlines received in spring / summer 2024.

    Around 90% of Lufthansa Airlines’ long-haul fleet will fly to destinations around the world with the Allegris product by 2028.

    The Allegris Business Class recently won the German Design Award 2024.

  • Best airline app 2024

    The Lufthansa Group won a prize for the best airline app at the World Aviation Festival (WAF) in 2024.

    The Lufthansa Group app had previously been rated by customers and nominated for the final round. An expert jury saw the four nominees face off in a “Battle of the Airline Apps” and ranked the Lufthansa Group highest among the major players in the industry. The Lufthansa product beat competing apps from Emirates, Qatar Airways and Air India.

    The Lufthansa Group App puts our customers at the center and provides them with user-friendly services, transparent information and support throughout their journey. I am proud of the entire team for the great progress we have made in recent years. The award for the Lufthansa Group app encourages us to continue developing our digital services for our airlines.”

    Dieter Vranckx Chief Commercial Officer Lufthansa Group

    The World Aviation Festival is a leading global conference for the international airline industry, which revolves around technology, the passenger experience, digitisation and sustainability in aviation.

  • Lufthansa Cargo Center to be modernised

    In September 2024, Lufthansa Cargo presented the future of its central cargo hub at Frankfurt Airport to guests from the fields of politics and business as well as its employees, customers and project partners. This project has an investment volume of almost EUR 600m.

    The cargo airline intends to complete a comprehensive modernisation project – LCCeco – by 2030, which will make its Lufthansa Cargo Center (LCC) Europe’s cutting-edge airfreight hub. This clearly reflects Lufthansa Cargo’s commitment to doing business in Frankfurt.

    In times of global tensions and changing customer demands, we need innovative solutions that meet our, our customers' and society's needs. This is only possible with a modern infrastructure. For our customers, we want to optimize efficiency and quality and make our service even faster and more seamless.

    Ashwin Bhat CEO of Lufthansa Cargo

    The modernisation comprises the successive renewal of all central functions by 2030. which involves the cargo handling warehouses, storage and conveyor technology, technical facilities, administrative buildings and IT equipment. With a total surface area of some 330,000 square metres, or around 46 football pitches, the Lufthansa Cargo Center is one of the biggest airfreight hubs in Europe.

  • Lufthansa Technik drives growth programme

    Lufthansa Technik is continuing to pursue its Ambition 2030 growth programme. This programme aims to expand Lufthansa Technik’s leading global position in the technical servicing of aircraft fleets. In the engine business in particular, a permanently increased level of demand for repair and overhaul services is expected, since the number of older engines in global flight operations remains high due to delays in deliveries of the newly developed engine types, while these new engine types require a higher level of maintenance intensity.

    The Ambition 2030 programme therefore envisages wide-ranging capital expenditure over the next few years for the expansion of core business, additional bases and a greater international presence – potentially also by means of acquisitions – as well as the expansion of digital business models. By 2030, Lufthansa Technik therefore aims to increase its revenue to significantly beyond EUR 10bn and its Adjusted EBIT to in excess of EUR 1bn.

Key figures 2024

  • CO2-reduction
    87,5

    Specific CO₂ emissions

    in g/passenger kilometre

    -1%
  • People-group
    101709

    Employees

    +5%
  • Passenger-adult
    131,3

    Passengers

    in millions

    +7%

Stories

  • Reducing carbon emissions with sharkskin

    The Lufthansa Group is the first airline group in the world to equip aircraft in its fleet with the AeroSHARK surface technology developed by Lufthansa Technik and BASF. This transparent film features microscopic ribbing modelled on the aerodynamic characteristics of sharkskin. Ribbing reduces the aircraft’s air resistance, cutting kerosene consumption and carbon emissions by around 1% in the current development phase. Further development may enable savings of up to 3%.

    AeroSHARK has already been fitted on 19 aircraft in the Lufthansa Group: the entire Boeing 777-300ER fleet at SWISS (twelve aircraft), five Boeing 777F at Lufthansa Cargo, one Boeing 777-200ER at Austrian Airlines and one Boeing 747-400 at Lufthansa. Three more Boeing 777-200ERs from Austrian Airlines and additional Boeing 777Fs from Lufthansa Cargo will be equipped with the AeroSHARK surface technology in the near future. The Lufthansa Group’s entire AeroSHARK fleet already saves around 15 tonnes of kerosene and 48 tonnes of CO₂ every day. Airlines outside the Lufthansa Group are also using AeroSHARK, which underlines the importance of this innovation to boost fuel efficiency.

  • More sustainable flights worldwide with Green Fares

    The Lufthansa Group extended this successful fare for more sustainable flying to its long-haul flights and therefore to its global route network at the end of 2024. Green fares can be booked on more than 850,000 flights a year and in all travel classes. The more sustainable ticket includes offsetting flight-related carbon emissions for individual passengers. Green fares are part of a growing portfolio of more sustainable travel offers from the Lufthansa Group.

    In February 2023, the Lufthansa Group became the first airline group in the world to introduce green fares on short and medium-haul routes. Following a successful trial run on selected intercontinental connections, the fare can now be chosen for regular bookings on long-haul routes, providing an additional option within the Lufthansa Group’s existing fare structure.

    We have set ourselves ambitious goals to make flying more sustainable. To achieve this, we are investing billions of euros every year in new aircraft and pioneering technologies, among other things. With our innovative Green Fares, we are also involving our customers and offering them – as the first airline group worldwide – the opportunity to actively contribute to more sustainable aviation on more than 850,000 flights. Extending Green Fares to the Lufthansa Group's global long-haul network is an enormously important and consistent step – not only for us, but for the entire aviation industry.”

    Dieter Vranckx Chief Commercial Officer Lufthansa Group

    More than two million passengers have chosen the green fares since they were launched in February 2023, offsetting almost 190,000 tonnes of carbon emissions caused by their flights. This corresponds to the amount of carbon emissions produced by more than 1,300 flights from Munich to New York with an Airbus A350.

  • Top scores again in ESG ratings

    The Lufthansa Group received positive ratings for its ESG performance from several rating agencies once more in 2024.

    In the reporting year, the internationally recognised US rating agency MSCI once again analysed sustainability management at the Lufthansa Group, and the Group’s MSCI ESG rating of AA is significantly above the average for the sector for the third year in a row.

    In the ISS ESG Corporate Rating 2024 the Lufthansa Group was again given Prime Status with a C+, one of just two airlines to receive this accolade.

Lufthansa Group expects significant earnings increase in 2025

Lufthansa Group anticipates that the course of business in 2025 will be positive. This expectation is based in particular on the ongoing strong demand in the Passenger Airlines segment, which is reflected at the start of 2025 in the form of continued positive developments in new bookings. Orders in the MRO segment are also a sign that demand remains strong. At the same time, the Lufthansa Group expects that 2025 will be a year of transition. The turnaround programme at Lufthansa Airlines will not yet have achieved its full potential, although some initial successes are expected, and the majority of the next-generation aircraft on order will not have been delivered by year-end, although further deliveries are expected. The positive effects on earnings in 2025 will therefore be fairly slight.

The Lufthansa Group anticipates that available capacity for Passenger Airlines in 2025 will be around 4% higher than the previous financial year. A clear year-on-year increase in revenue is also forecast. The Lufthansa Group expects Adjusted EBIT in 2025 to be significantly higher than the previous financial year. The main drivers are expected to be further capacity growth in the Passenger Airlines segment, likely fuel price movements and expected growth in the Logistics and MRO business segments.

Dates 2025

Financial calendar

  • Release of 1st Interim Report
  • Annual General Meeting 2024 (virtual)
  • Release of 2nd Interim Report
  • Release of 3rd Interim Report
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