Lufthansa’s passenger numbers declined in the first three months of 2009 under the impact of the downswing and the persistently difficult economic situation. The biggest German airline failed in the circumstances to match the previous year’s record figures. The passenger count in the first quarter was down by seven per cent to 12.1 million. Capacity was reduced by 3.3 per cent to accommodate falling demand. Revenue seat–kilometres fell by 7.2 per cent. The passenger load factor declined by 3.1 percentage points to 74.1 per cent. Passenger numbers were down in all traffic regions.

Overall in the first three months of the year, Lufthansa and SWISS together carried 15 million passengers, which is six per cent less than in the first quarter in the previous year. About three million of those were transported by SWISS. The number of flights operated by the Lufthansa Group declined by 4.1 per cent to 187,738.

Freight tonnage transported and utilisation also fell at Lufthansa Cargo in the first quarter. Altogether, the Lufthansa airfreight subsidiary transported 328,000 tonnes of cargo and mail, which is 23.4 per cent less than the year-earlier level. Utilisation in the cargo business fell to 57,6 per cent.

The Lufthansa Group’s first-quarter business figures will be published on 30 April 2009.