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

“Today, we reflect on a challenging second quarter that was once again marked by multiple geopolitical crises and uncertainties. Despite our further improvement in load factor and a significant increase in yield, we were unable to fully offset the considerable rise in fuel costs. The continued strong global demand for air travel—primarily in the premium classes—had a particularly positive impact. Our numerous investments in premium products such as Allegris, Swiss Senses, and the FOX service upgrade are beginning to pay off. At the core Lufthansa brand, all three elements of the turnaround program are now taking effect: fleet and product renewal is making visible progress, capacity at the highly efficient Discover Airlines and Lufthansa City Airlines is being continuously expanded, and competitiveness is being enhanced through numerous productivity and efficiency measures. At the same time, the positive trend in the cargo business continues. Lufthansa Cargo significantly increased its operating profit, achieving a margin of over 11 percent in the second quarter. Lufthansa Technik also delivered a solid second quarter and increased its revenue by 11 percent. Especially in a volatile environment, it is apparent that our business model is robust, adaptable, and increasingly resilient.”

Second-quarter 2026 result shaped by high kerosene prices

The Lufthansa Group increased its revenue in the second quarter of 2026 by eight percent year on year to 11.1 billion euros (prior year: 10.3 billion euros). The company recorded an operating profit (Adjusted EBIT) of 383 million euros, a significant decline compared to last year (prior year: 870 million euros). The primary drivers of the earnings decline were fuel costs that were approximately 750 million euros above the prior-year level, as well as financial burdens of at least 150 million euros caused by strikes. Offsetting these were improved yields, which were more than 13 percent above the prior-year level on Asian routes.

The Adjusted EBIT margin contracted to 3.4 percent (prior year: 8.4 percent). Group net income also declined to 123 million euros (prior year: 1.0 billion euros), mainly due to a lower operating result, valuation effects, and one-off tax effects in the prior year. Adjusted free cash flow fell to -365 million euros (prior year: 138 million euros).

Network airlines partially offset costs through strong demand

The Group’s network airlines offered 3 percent less capacity in the second quarter than in the comparable prior-year quarter, with the decline attributable primarily to six strike days in April as well as the group-wide optimization of short-haul operations, including the removal of CityLine’s flight operations from the schedule. The load factor of the group network carriers edged up slightly to 81.6 percent and unit revenues rose sharply by 6.4 percent year on year. Both figures underscore robust demand. This demand strength was driven in particular by the premium segment and by Asian routes.

Due to the sharp rise in kerosene prices resulting from the conflict in the Middle East, fuel costs at the network airlines rose by more than 600 million euros year on year. Unit costs excluding fuel and emissions expenses increased by 3.1 percent year on year mainly as a result of the lower capacity. The key cost drivers were higher personnel expenses and depreciation. Taking last year’s capacity into account, unit costs rose by only about one percent, which demonstrates the consistent cost discipline in the core business.

Overall, the network airlines generated an Adjusted EBIT of 137 million euros, 490 million euros less than in the prior year. This figure also includes an equity result that was 108 million euros lower than in the prior year, attributable mainly to negative currency driven valuation effect of lease liabilities at ITA Airways.

Point-to-point airlines record strong intra-European demand

Eurowings reduced its capacity by six percent compared to the second quarter of the prior year. Unit revenues rose by 9.4 percent, driven primarily by a strong European business. Against the backdrop of the crisis in the Middle East, Eurowings has temporarily suspended flights to the Gulf region — which had previously seen strong growth — and is instead operating additional routes to the Mediterranean region.

Unit costs excluding fuel and emissions expenses rose by 10.9 percent, driven in particular by the reduced capacity as well as higher expenditure on aircraft maintenance and increased charges for fees, catering and personnel in preparation for the introduction of the Boeing 737-8 MAX into the fleet.

The equity result from the SunExpress joint venture was 29 million euros below the prior-year level, due primarily to a challenging demand environment on routes to Turkey.

Overall, Adjusted EBIT in the point-to-point airlines segment fell by 101 million euros in the second quarter of 2026 to -37 million euros. Here too, the primary driver was the sharp rise in fuel prices, which caused a cost increase of 71 million euros year on year.

Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo post earnings increases

Demand for Lufthansa Technik’s maintenance, repair and overhaul services remains consistently high. Revenue rose by 11 percent year on year to 2.2 billion euros (prior year: 2.0 billion euros), with revenue from external customers even increasing by 23 percent. Operating profit (Adjusted EBIT) of 157 million euros slightly exceeded the prior-year level (prior year: 149 million euros).

Lufthansa Cargo was able to expand its capacity in the second quarter by two percent year on year. This was attributable in particular to increased cargo space capacities, including the marketing of ITA Airways’ belly capacity.

Against the backdrop of the crisis in the Middle East, demand in the air freight business remained persistently high. Consequently, yields rose considerably by 27 percent year on year. Unit costs were higher than the previous year, though this was due to passed-on kerosene costs. Overall, Lufthansa Cargo generated a markedly improved Adjusted EBIT of 116 million euros (prior year: 73 million euros).

The Lufthansa Group’s balance sheet remains consistently stable

Operating cash flow fell by approximately 600 million euros in the first half to around 2.3 billion euros. The change is primarily driven by a lower operating result as well as lower advance ticket payments as of end of June, owing to shorter booking cycles compared to the prior year. Net investments of 1.0 billion euros (prior year: 1.6 billion euros) were attributable mainly to final payments for eight aircraft deliveries as well as advance payments for future fleet additions. Adjusted free cash flow in the first half of 2026 stood at 1.0 billion euros, roughly in line with the prior-year level.

The Group also maintained a stable balance sheet in the second quarter of 2026. As of 30 June 2026, net financial debt including net pension obligations stood at 8.3 billion euros, in line with the level at year-end 2025. As of end of June 2026, total liquidity available to the company amounted to 10.7 billion euros, likewise matching the figure at year-end 2025.

Till Streichert, Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG:

“The second quarter was characterized by exceptionally high fuel costs and heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Nevertheless, thanks to robust demand, rising yields and the strong performance of Lufthansa Cargo, we were able to achieve a positive result. At the same time, our balance sheet remains consistently strong at 10.7 billion euros in liquidity. Even though uncertainties for the second half of the year remain high, we are confident that the consistent execution of our strategy, cost discipline, network optimizations and persistently high demand will offset a significant portion of the cost increases. However, the growing volatility of fuel prices in recent times, as well as the considerably shorter booking cycles in the passenger airline business, are making forecasting increasingly difficult. For this reason, we are now projecting a full-year earnings range of 1.7 to 2.2 billion euros in Adjusted EBIT — the upper end of this range therefore continues to represent a result significantly above the prior year.”

Outlook: Range added due to high kerosene price volatility

The Lufthansa Group now expects an Adjusted EBIT of between 1.7 and 2.2 billion euros for fiscal year 2026. The upper end of the range continues to represent a result significantly above the prior year and thus remains in line with the previous earnings ambition. The range reflects the heightened uncertainty stemming from high kerosene price volatility and shortened booking cycles in the passenger business. Key influencing factors for the further earnings development include the trajectory of fuel costs, unit revenues, the operational stability of flight operations and the air freight business. The Lufthansa Group now expects full-year capacity to be in line with the prior-year level. The forecast for Adjusted free cash flow of approximately 0.9 billion euros remains unchanged.

Further information

Further information on the results of individual business segments will be published in the report for the second quarter of 2026. This will be published simultaneously with this press release on 4 August 2026 at 7:00 a.m. CEST at https://investor-relations.lufthansagroup.com/en/investor-relations.html.

Traffic figures for the second quarter of 2026 will also be published at 7:00 a.m. CEST at https://investor-relations.lufthansagroup.com/en/financial-reports-publications/traffic-figures.html

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