Lufthansa Airlines

Lufthansa Airlines is the largest airline in Germany. It has hubs at the two biggest German airports in Frankfurt and Munich and offers its customers a premium product with transfer connections to the entire world.

The regional airlines Lufthansa CityLine, Lufthansa City Airlines and Air Dolomiti are also part of Lufthansa Airlines, as are Discover Airlines, Miles & More and the equity investment in the Terminal 2 Gesellschaft at Munich Airport.

Fleet renewal is progressing

Lufthansa Airlines is driving forward the modernisation of its fleet. Seven Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners were added to the long-haul fleet in the 2025 financial year, along with one Airbus A350-900. These cutting-edge wide-bodied aircraft are fitted with the new Allegris cabin in all travel classes. They offer additional comfort, are quieter, more economic, more efficient and thus emit less CO₂ than predecessor models.

Lufthansa Airlines has reactivated its A380 fleet in order to expand its capacity and in view of persistent delays in the delivery of new long-haul aircraft. The final aircraft of this type re-entered service at Lufthansa’s Munich hub in the first quarter of 2025. This means that all eight A380s are now back in operation again.

At the end of the reporting year, the Lufthansa Airlines fleet comprised 387 aircraft. ↗ Fleet.

Lufthansa City Airlines expands flight operations

Lufthansa City Airlines has continued to expand its flight operations. The airline took delivery of six brand-new A320neos in the reporting year. As of the end of 2025 the airline was operating eleven A320neo and four A319 aircraft out of Munich. Flight operations started in Frankfurt in February 2026. The Lufthansa City Airlines fleet is set to continue growing to 20 A320neos, four A319s and one A220 by the end of 2026.

Lufthansa City Airlines was admitted as a new Star Alliance member in the reporting year. This underlines the airline’s relevance within the Lufthansa Group in redefining European traffic to and from the Group’s hubs.

Leisure travel to be expanded

The leisure travel segment was strengthened further in the reporting year. One more A330 and two more A320s went into service at Discover Airlines, the Lufthansa Group’s holiday airline. The aircraft had previously been used by other Lufthansa Group airlines. This brought the Discover Airlines fleet at year-end 2025 to 14 A330s and 16 A320s. By 2028, the Discover Airlines fleet is to be expanded from the current 30 to 40 aircraft, partly through the acquisition of four A350s.

In December 2025, Discover Airlines was given a 4-star rating in the Leisure Airline category by the market research institute Skytrax.

Further expansion of product and services for passengers

Since the summer flight plan 2025, Lufthansa Airlines passengers have been able to fly to international destinations not only from Munich but also from Frankfurt using the Airbus A350-900. Over the course of the year, the airline transferred six aircraft of this type from Munich to Frankfurt.

The new Allegris cabin is now also available in ever more aircraft. At year-end 2025, ten A350-900s with the Allegris cabin were already in service in Munich and four Boeing 787-9s in Frankfurt.

Since the start of 2025, a new catering concept has offered Business Class travellers on short and medium-haul routes an even wider range of cold and warm meals. The new meals were created in collaboration with the celebrity chef Johann Lafer. In addition to the wider selection, warm meals can now also be ordered in advance for flights lasting more than two hours.

Lufthansa Airlines introduced an innovative baggage collection and check-in service in the summer of 2025. Passengers can have their bags and suitcases collected from their home or hotel. The luggage is then sealed, taken safely to the airport and checked in. Travellers receive real-time updates via a personalised tracking link and a digital baggage tag receipt.

Lufthansa Airlines and Deutsche Bahn further expanded their intermodal partnership in the reporting year. Passengers of Lufthansa Express Rail will get a Deutsche Bahn city ticket from March 2026 and can therefore also use local public transport in a total of 26 German cities for their travel.

Since summer 2025, Lufthansa Airlines has offered its passengers in every travel class, including on intercontinental flights, unlimited messaging on their own smartphones or tablets via selected apps.

Lufthansa Airlines intends to invest over EUR 70m in a new Future Onboard Experience (“FOX”) by the end of 2026. Starting in spring 2026, all in-flight service elements and processes will be revised as part of the FOX initiative. This will noticeably upgrade the travel experience on long-haul routes in all travel classes.

Miles & More GmbH adds new services

The credit card from Miles & More, the Lufthansa Group’s loyalty programme, has been issued by Deutsche Bank since October 2025. In addition to the familiar benefits, the card offers additional improved terms and attractive new services for the same price.

Miles & More and Marriott Bonvoy, the prize-winning travel platform from Marriott International, signed a strategic partnership agreement in September 2025. This enables Miles & More members to collect Miles & More points for their frequent flyer status when they stay with over 30 hotel brands in more than 10,000 destinations.

Lufthansa Airlines wins at World Airline Awards

In June 2025, Lufthansa Airlines was named the “World’s Most Family Friendly Airline” at the World Airline Awards hosted by market research institute Skytrax. In addition, Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt was recognised as the “World’s Best First Class Lounge”. Lufthansa Airlines also won the Business Traveller Awards in the categories “Best European Airline” and “Best European Business Class”, while Miles & More was voted “Best European Frequent Flyer Programme”.

Lufthansa Airlines turnaround programme is on track

Lufthansa Airlines is consistently pursuing its turnaround programme to make itself fit for the future. The programme aims to strengthen operational stability and competitiveness and deliver gross earnings improvements of around EUR 1.5bn in 2026 and around EUR 2.5bn in 2028. More than 700 measures with an impact on earnings have been identified to date that will make a substantial contribution to meeting this target, more than half of which were already being implemented at the end of the reporting year.

Lufthansa Airlines made tangible progress in terms of operational stability in the reporting year. Targeted optimisation measures – especially in ground processes and crew planning – increased punctuality significantly. This lifted punctuality and regularity rates higher than before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Key decisions were also taken to achieve lasting efficiency gains in terms of crew productivity. New needs-based planning rules enable better seasonal crew planning and reduce the personnel requirement significantly. This makes a direct, lasting contribution to improving earnings.

The expansion of flight operations is also going to plan at a structural level. City Airlines had 15 aircraft from the A320 family at year-end 2025. Operations from Frankfurt also started in February 2026. Discover Airlines expanded its operating fleet to develop its capacity on leisure travel routes and further strengthen its market position in this segment. Four A350-900s are also due to be transferred to Discover Airlines from 2027, so that it can add new tourist destinations with a larger range to its portfolio.

Lufthansa Airlines is anticipating further earnings improvements in 2026 in the context of the turnaround programme, to be achieved by the consistent refinement of existing measures and the introduction of new initiatives. One vital lever consists of additional stability measures in operational areas, which should not only increase customer satisfaction, but also reduce the costs of irregularities in flight operations.

Costs are also being optimised in other areas, including the negotiation of MRO contracts and incentive programmes. Productivity measures in the cockpit and cabin also contribute to improving efficiency. Needs-based rostering and new agreements with cabin staff mean that new hires can be avoided, even in growth scenarios.

In terms of revenue, the aim is to increase additional income further and make processes even more professional by introducing new revenue management tools. Lufthansa Airlines therefore remains on track to improve its profitability significantly and ensure its long-term competitiveness.

Changes in the management of Lufthansa Airlines

Francesco Sciortino was appointed to the Airline Board of Lufthansa Airlines on 1 September 2025 as its Hub Manager Frankfurt and Accountable Manager. He took over these roles from Klaus Froese, who served in an interim capacity. Also on 1 September 2025, Heiko Reitz, a member of the Airline Board of Lufthansa Airlines, took over as its Hub Manager Munich.

Collective bargaining agreements signed with UFO

The Employers’ Federation for Air Transport Companies (AGVL), and the trade union UFO signed a new collective bargaining agreement for part-time cabin crew at Lufthansa Airlines in the reporting year. ↗ Employees.

Environmental management system is confirmed

Lufthansa Airlines has again been successfully validated under the demanding European EMAS Regulation (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme). This enables Lufthansa Airlines to set an example for corporate environmental responsibility. ↗ Combined non-financial declaration.

Traffic expanded in the reporting year, yields down

In the 2025 financial year, Lufthansa Airlines carried 65.7 million passengers, 2% more than in the previous year (previous year: 64.5 million). Capacity increased by 3% year-on-year. Sales also climbed by 3%. At 83.4%, the passenger load factor was 0.6 percentage points higher than the previous year’s level (previous year: 82.8%). Yields fell by 2.1% on the previous year, however, primarily due to increasing price pressure in Europe and to exchange rate movements in North America. Traffic revenue increased by 3% to EUR 15,723m year-on-year due to higher traffic (previous year: EUR 15,308m).

Revenue up 3% on the year, Adjusted EBIT improves to EUR 148m

Revenue at Lufthansa Airlines rose by 3% in the reporting year to EUR 17,106m (previous year: EUR 16,564m), in particular due to increased additional income and since the effects of the strikes in the previous year were no longer applicable. Operating income also increased overall by 3% to EUR 17,770m (previous year: EUR 17,196m).

Operating expenses of EUR 17,643m were 2% higher than in the previous year (previous year: EUR 17,300m). The cost of materials and services went up by 1% (EUR +68m). Higher fees and charges (EUR +244m) and increased expenses for MRO services (EUR +76m) were almost completely offset by lower fuel expenses (EUR ⁠-⁠351m) due to prices. Staff costs were 7% (EUR +252m) higher than in the previous year due to higher wage settlements and a higher profit-share payment for employees, as well as to staff transfers within the Group.

In the 2025 financial year, Adjusted EBIT at Lufthansa Airlines improved significantly to EUR 148m (previous year: EUR ⁠-⁠94m). The Adjusted EBIT margin was at 0.9% (previous year: ⁠-⁠0.6%). EBIT came to EUR 178m (previous year: EUR ⁠-⁠116m). The difference to Adjusted EBIT in the reporting year mainly resulted from the reversal of provisions for litigation.