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The Lufthansa Group announced a significant drop in its second-quarter operating profit, falling 56 percent to €383 million, due to expensive jet fuel and internal crew strikes. Despite the increased ticket prices, the company does not expect to offer cheaper tickets in the second half of the year. CEO Carsten Spohr now suggests a possible profit decline for the whole year, with a forecasted range for the adjusted operating profit from €1.7 billion to €2.2 billion.

Prior to this, the company had anticipated surpassing the previous year's €1.96 billion earnings. Air France-KLM and IAG with British Airways reported smaller profit margins due to reduced losses. The higher fuel costs were partially offset by higher ticket prices, according to CFO Till Streichert. Spohr stated that price increases will continue, even as customers increasingly book flights at short notice.

He believes people still want to fly and can afford higher prices. The supply situation for jet fuel has stabilized, with refineries increasing capacity and new supply chains from Nigeria established. War risks to fuel availability have also decreased. Despite ongoing fluctuations, fuel costs are expected to rise to €8.7 billion for the year, €200 million less than expected in May.

Gulf airlines benefitted from the Iran war as their competitors, such as Emirates or Qatar Airways, had to close their Persian Gulf hubs temporarily. European passengers paid significantly higher ticket prices for Asian routes. The Gulf airlines are now back to normal operations with competitive pricing, primarily targeting price-sensitive private customers while business customers prefer direct connections.

Many companies also banned their managers from layovers in the Gulf. The Lufthansa Group aims to grow in long-haul travel, with a potential one percent reduction in its European offerings under review. The overall network will remain static this year after the board originally projected up to 4 percent growth. The second-quarter passenger numbers dropped four percent to 35.6 million, but the quarterly turnover increased by eight percent to €11.1 billion.

Overall, the profit despite a positive tax effect from the previous year and current burdens fell 88 percent to €123 million.