Additional Businesses and Group Functions

Additional Businesses and Group Functions include the Group’s service companies, above all Lufthansa Aviation Training and Lufthansa Systems, as well as the Group Functions for the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa AirPlus Servicekarten GmbH was sold in July 2024.

Lufthansa Aviation Training benefits from high level of demand for training

Lufthansa Aviation Training GmbH (LAT) is one of the world’s leading aviation training companies, providing vocational and professional training for cockpit and cabin crew at twelve international training centres. LAT’s customer portfolio includes the companies of the Lufthansa Group as well as more than 250 German and international airlines.

The need to train cockpit and cabin crews remains high in the Lufthansa Group in particular, due to continuing demand for flights and planned acquisitions of new aircraft types. LAT was thus once again able to achieve a year-on-year increase in its training volume and the load factors for the simulators in its Pilot Training segment.

In the summer of 2024, LAT opened a new and innovative training centre in Brussels featuring a large number of modern training simulators where safety and service training courses can be provided in line with the latest standards. A virtual reality training area rounds off the modern equipment at this new training centre in Brussels.

LAT’s European Flight Academy (EFA) once again registered growing numbers of students in the reporting year.

In order to also improve the level of sustainability in its pilot school, LAT conducted various test flights in 2024 with an electrical version of the DA-40 single-engine training aircraft, together with this aircraft’s manufacturer Diamond. Participation in these tests enables the EFA to develop a deep understanding of electrotechnology early on and thus paves the way for it to continue to offer training courses to the latest standards.

LAT is also continuing to expand its business beyond the field of traditional airline training and offers simulators for helicopters and business aviation jets and in the field of spaceflight training.

LAT’s Adjusted EBIT amounted to EUR 21m in the 2024 financial year (previous year: EUR 16m).

Lufthansa Systems demonstrates continuous strength in a dynamic environment

In the 2024 financial year, Lufthansa Systems continued its successful development as a leading provider of IT solutions for the airline industry.

Lufthansa Systems’ IT solutions are and will remain a key factor in its successful relationships with around 350 customers who are increasingly focusing on digital transformation and efficiency gains. Via targeted capital expenditure in innovation, data analytics and automation, Lufthansa Systems was not only able to meet the needs of its existing customers but also establish new partnerships in strategic markets.

Within the Lufthansa Group, it strongly expanded its business for the third consecutive year and thus made a significant contribution to the Lufthansa Group’s digitalisation. It has considerably expanded its business in the field of digital solutions and services in particular.

Including all its equity investments, Lufthansa Systems generated an Adjusted EBIT of EUR 2m in the reporting year (previous year: EUR 4m).

Sale of AirPlus completed

On 31 July 2024, the Lufthansa Group completed the sale of AirPlus International GmbH (formerly Lufthansa AirPlus Servicekarten GmbH). AirPlus is a leading international provider in the global market for payment and billing services.

With the completion of this transaction, AirPlus, along with all of its international subsidiaries and branches, was transferred from Lufthansa Group to SEB Kort Bank AB, headquartered in Stockholm. Its sale had been contractually agreed in June 2023. The purchase price was approximately EUR 450m.

The sale of this payment expert forms part of the Lufthansa Group’s strategy of focusing even more strongly on its core business.

Adjusted EBIT of AirPlus in the reporting year came to EUR -34m (previous year: EUR -56m). The net result on disposal was EUR 92m.

Group Functions result is below previous year’s level

The earnings for the Additional Businesses and Group Functions business segment are largely determined by the Group Functions, whose earnings reflect the currency hedging and financing activities carried out by Deutsche Lufthansa AG on behalf of the companies in the Group. The result is therefore generally heavily exposed to exchange rate movements.

The operating income of the Group Functions declined by 9% to EUR 1,581m (previous year: EUR 1,745m) in the reporting year. This reflected low exchange rate gains in particular. Operating expenses of EUR 1,831m were 6% lower than in the previous year (previous year: EUR 1,958m), due above all to reduced exchange rate losses and lower variable salary components as part of staff costs. Adjusted EBIT of EUR -250m was 17% down on the previous year (previous year: EUR -213m).

Result for Additional Businesses and Group Functions up on previous year

Operating income from Additional Businesses and Group Functions amounted to EUR 3,230m in the 2024 financial year and thus matched the previous year’s level (previous year: EUR 3,245m).

At EUR 3,465m, operating expenses were likewise in line with the level for the previous year (previous year: EUR 3,499m).

Adjusted EBIT rose by 16% in the reporting year to EUR -173m (previous year: EUR -206m). In particular, this reflected improved earnings contributions from the service companies in the areas of general administration and IT innovations, supported by the lack of negative earnings contributions from AirPlus due to its sale in July 2024. EBIT amounted to EUR -108m (previous year: EUR -252m). The difference in relation to Adjusted EBIT in the reporting year mainly resulted from the disposal gain from the sale of the AirPlus companies.