In the first quarter of 2005, Lufthansa succeeded in boosting sales and the capacity utilisation of its passenger airlines…
In the first quarter of 2005, Lufthansa succeeded in boosting sales and the capacity utilisation of its passenger airlines. However, the weakness of the German economy compared with other European countries and the moderate increase in capacity impacted the traffic performance of the Lufthansa Group.
From January to March 2005 the Group airlines carried about 11.2 million passengers – 1.8 per cent fewer than in the first quarter of the prior year. Available capacity rose by a moderate 2.2 per cent. Since sales increased by 2.9 per cent, the passenger load factor climbed 0.5 percentage points to 73.2 per cent.
Market conditions for the Group`s cargo business remain difficult. In the first quarter Lufthansa Cargo transported 414,633 tonnes of freight and mail, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.1 per cent. The cargo load factor declined 3.7 percentage points to 65.2 per cent. With the introduction of the summer timetable, Lufthansa Cargo implemented a number of measures to optimise its network. These will have a positive effect on the company`s performance in the second quarter.
The overall load factor (passengers and cargo) of the Lufthansa Group declined slightly by 1.7 percentage points to 69.6 per cent.
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