Opportunities at an individual level
For the highly dynamic global airline industry, opportunities can arise both externally – from new customer requirements, market structures, ongoing consolidation or changes in the regulatory environment – and internally – from new products, innovations, quality improvements and further competitive differentiation.
The Lufthansa Group continuously identifies opportunities through market observation and in the course of ongoing reviews of existing products and processes. Opportunity management is also an integral part of the annual strategy and planning processes. Potential opportunities are assessed in scenario analyses and if their overall impact is positive, are pursued by means of targeted measures. They are managed by established planning and forecasting processes as well as by projects.
Macroeconomic opportunities
Economic environment
The Lufthansa Group’s forecast for 2026 is based on the expectation that future macroeconomic conditions and sector developments will correspond to the description given in the ↗ Forecast. Improvements in the global economic situation or a faster recovery of the global economy may lead to higher demand and therefore to higher revenue than forecast.
Opportunities beyond those specifically planned for could arise, particularly if the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East come to an end. This would probably lead to a lifting of the restrictions in international aviation, which could have a positive impact on the Lufthansa Group’s costs and competitive position.
Ongoing stimulus measures and the reduction in interest rates in the main global economies could also lead to a further upswing in demand and thus to higher revenue for the Lufthansa Group.
Sector-specific opportunities
Development of markets and competition
In line with the expectations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Lufthansa Group’s forecasts assume that the airline industry will continue to grow as a whole, despite global challenges such as ongoing resource bottlenecks and geopolitical uncertainties. Additional opportunities could arise for the Company, leading to an improvement in earnings, if procurement markets develop better than forecast and demand, especially for business travel, is stronger. The conditions for this include stable political conditions and capacity growth in the overall market aligned with changes in demand.
Market consolidation
The consolidation trend in the fragmented European airline sector is expected to continue. The Lufthansa Group sees economic opportunities in taking an active role in this market consolidation and profiting from the greater market relevance that would result, as well as from economies of scale and synergies.
Technical innovations
The entire aviation industry is particularly dependent on developments and innovations by aircraft and engine manufacturers as well as technology partners. In view of the increasing focus on climate protection and stricter climate legislation, the development of technologies with lower or no emissions could accelerate.
Company-specific opportunities
Initiatives to increase efficiency and promote cooperation throughout the Company
The current economic situation continues to make it necessary for the Lufthansa Group to reorganise and optimise processes. A Group-wide transformation programme has been launched to manage this long-term reorganisation. It comprises several fit-for-the-future initiatives, including the turnaround programme at Lufthansa Airlines, as well as additional interdepartmental initiatives to optimise the Group-wide matrix organisation. They are intended to enable closer cooperation between the Network Airlines, faster decision-making with greater devolved responsibility and more agile responses to market changes. The aim is also to realise more synergies across the Group by pooling competences.
In addition, the Lufthansa Group has a Company-wide cultural initiative to promote cooperation across departments and hierarchies. This enables the Company to adapt faster to changes and react more flexibly.
Other opportunities arise if the planned programmes and initiatives have a faster or greater impact than expected, and additional improvement opportunities are identified and implemented. In this case, net profit for the period could develop better than currently forecast. ↗ Risk of failure to achieve cost-cutting targets.
Fleet modernisation
The Lufthansa Group benefits from strategically renewing its fleet. Modernising the fleet structure helps to increase fuel efficiency, cut emissions, increase fleet productivity and reduce maintenance and staff costs, thus directly improving earnings.
For the Lufthansa Group, additional opportunities would arise if the optimisation of the Group fleet and the positive earnings effects could be realised faster than expected as a result of favourable purchasing opportunities and the resolution of bottlenecks in the supply chain.
Partnerships and cooperation
Partnerships with other airlines are important to strengthen the market presence in key traffic regions. The Lufthansa Group’s joint ventures are therefore being developed with the aim of expanding partnerships.
Connecting new markets as part of existing and new cooperation agreements creates an opportunity to reach additional customers and generate revenue.
Development of customised products and services
The further sharpening of the customer focus is a core element of the Lufthansa Group’s strategy. The key aspects here are individualisation, digitalisation and sustainability. Initiatives such as Lufthansa Allegris, SWISS Senses, the Future Onboard Experience (FOX) and the introduction of Starlink internet are examples of the new and innovative ground and in-flight products and services that have been developed. They create opportunities to increase ticket revenue, and particularly additional income.
Innovation and digitalisation
It is vital to consistently exploit the potential for innovation and digitalisation in order to stay relevant in a market environment that is defined by higher customer expectations of digital services and competitive pressure to be efficient. Artificial intelligence offers additional opportunities to automate processes, improve decisions, make flight operations more efficient and ultimately to optimise the customer experience. Efficiency gains, cost savings and additional income that exceed planned amounts as a result of innovation and digitisation represent an opportunity for the Lufthansa Group.
Sustainability
Sustainability aspects are playing an increasingly important role for the Lufthansa Group. The Group therefore works continuously to improve its environmental efficiency. Technology partnerships across sectors, as in the field of sustainable aviation fuels for example, present opportunities for the Lufthansa Group to gain early economic benefits from new technologies. A strong performance in ESG ratings can also result in better financing terms.
Customer loyalty
The use of artificial intelligence is making the development and active management of customer relationships increasingly relevant. To reflect this increased importance, the Group is developing its loyalty programme, which previously focused on customer status, into a harmonised Group loyalty ecosystem, which addresses the systematic development and management of active customer relationships and focuses on the consistent commercialisation of these relationships. This development aims to significantly expand the target group for the loyalty programme and in particular to address a younger and more international clientèle. In addition, customers are to be retained within the Lufthansa Group increasingly by means of new products and additional services to realise new revenue potential in these areas.
Opportunities from the legislative framework
Political decisions at national and European level continue to exert a strong impact on the international aviation sector and thus also on the Lufthansa Group. Opportunities may arise from an improvement in the regulatory framework, from progress on the Single European Sky, for instance, from more competition-neutral legislation or state subsidies for sustainable technologies. ↗ Legal and regulatory factors.
Financial opportunities
Financial market developments also represent opportunities for the Lufthansa Group. Favourable changes in fuel prices, exchange rates, interest rates or a better credit rating than in the assumptions used for planning and forecasting may result in lower expenses, higher income, a reduction in liabilities and better financing terms.
Since changes in fuel prices, exchange rates and interest rates are also substantial risks as defined in the Lufthansa Group’s risk management system, the relevant comments can be found in the chapter ↗ Financial risks.