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Lufthansa in Corona times: What the record loss of 6.7 billion euros means

2021-03-04T14:19:28.321Z


Record loss at Lufthansa: The airline generated a loss of 6.7 billion euros in 2020. What does this mean for the aviation giant - and the state rescue funds?


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Lufthansa took stock of the crisis year 2020: According to the annual report, consolidated profit fell by 63 percent to 13.6 billion euros.

While Lufthansa carried 145 million passengers in 2019, in 2020 it was only a quarter of the previous year's figure of 36.4 million.

The coronavirus plunged the entire passenger flight industry into a deep crisis: aviation has fallen back to roughly the level of the 1980s.

Nevertheless, the German airline has done better in the past few months, so expected.

Of the nine billion euros that Lufthansa received from the state as security in 2020, there is still a lot left.

Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL


»Lufthansa did not have to take that much of it, and only two billion euros, because it refinanced itself on the financial markets.

This is quite good in that interest rates are lower there.

And you could, for example, come to an agreement with the staff.

By the end of the year, 20,000 jobs had been cut. "

The job cuts were so radical because no one expects aviation to even come close to regaining its former strength in the coming years. The group is under criticism: While many small businesses are struggling to survive, Lufthansa had thanks Billions from the state never have livelihood problems.

Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL


“The question of justice can of course be asked.

On the other hand, it is of course the case that a state that does not have an internationally operating airline, especially an economic nation like Germany, the fourth largest in the world, cannot actually afford it.

It needs its own carrier, it also needs these connections abroad for business.

And in this respect one can justify the fact that the state says: Yes, we are giving money for that. "

However, the industry firmly expects that business meetings will take place at least in part via video conference even after the pandemic and that travel will also fall permanently as a result.

In addition, the corona virus remains unpredictable.

At the moment, nobody dares to dare to predict when air traffic will return to pre-crisis levels.

However, two factors could positively influence the development.

Gerald Traufetter, DER SPIEGEL


“Of course, when there are rapid tests that are carried out by the passengers themselves at home, this famous gargle test, then that is an important measure.

And the second measure, of course, will be: vaccination.

The digital vaccination pass is supposed to come in the EU so that people can actually document: They have been vaccinated or they have already had the disease and fail as carriers, so that of course people get back on the plane with a safe feeling and that too will do."

Conclusion: It could have been worse for Lufthansa, but the future prospects are uncertain.

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2021-03-04

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