Lufthansa Group welcomed 7.8 million passengers aboard their aircraft in November 2013, 1.1% up YoY

  • The Lufthansa Group airlines improved sales (measured in revenue seat-kilometres) in November by 2.1 per cent year-on-year
  • The passenger load factor rose Group-wide by 0.4 per cent to 75.9 per cent
  • A total of 7.8 million passengers flew with a Lufthansa Group airline (an increase of 1.1 per cent year-on-year)
  • Cargo business also developed positively, with sales up 5.5 per cent on the same period last year

Cologne, Germany, 2013-12-11 — /travelprnews.com/ — In November, the Lufthansa Group airlines welcomed 7.8 million passengers aboard their aircraft, 1.1 per cent more than in same month last year. Capacity (measured in available seat-kilometres) was increased by 1.6 per cent year-on-year, and all the additional capacity was sold in the marketplace. Furthermore, the airlines raised the load factors of their aircraft by 0.4 percentage points to 75.9 per cent. The use of larger, even more fuel-efficient aircraft enabled the number of flights to be reduced by 3.2 per cent.

The highest growth in sales (measured in revenue seat-kilometres) across the Group was recorded by those airlines that operate routes to and from Asia-Pacific (+4.9 per cent). With an additional 2.6 per cent capacity on offer (measured in available seat-kilometres), this traffic region also reported the sharpest increase in capacity utilisation. The passenger load factor improved by 1.7 percentage points to 79.3 per cent in November, while passenger numbers rose by 4.4 per cent.

Lufthansa German Airlines, which also encompasses Germanwings and Lufthansa Regional, reported the biggest increase in passenger numbers in November (+2.6 per cent). A total of 5.8 million passengers opted to fly with Germanwings or Lufthansa. While capacity was increased by 0.8 per cent, sales rose by 1.7 per cent. As a result, the passenger load factor climbed 0.6 percentage points to 75.1 per cent. In November, Swiss achieved a passenger load factor of 78.6 per cent, compared to 79.7 per cent a year earlier. The four per cent increase in capacity outpaced sales, which grew by 2.5 per cent. Austrian Airlines, meanwhile, boosted its capacity by 2.9 per cent and generated a disproportionately large increase in sales of 4.4 per cent, which lifted the passenger load factor by 1.1 percentage points to 76.4 per cent.

Aided by high seasonal demand in the run-up to Christmas, the cargo business also maintained its positive trend. The Lufthansa Group transported a total of 177,000 tonnes of freight and mail in November, representing a year-on-year improvement of 2.6 per cent. Available capacity (measured in cargo tonne-kilometres) was increased by 5.4 per cent, while sales rose by 5.5 per cent. The cargo load factor thus remained virtually stable at 72.2 per cent (+ 0.1 percentage points).

Investor Info, which contains a detailed analysis of the traffic figures, is available on the website: www.lufthansagroup.com/investor-relations.

Month Change
YOY in %
Cumulative Change
YOY in %
Lufthansa German Airlines1
Passengers (in thousands) 5,772 + 2.6 71,026 + 1.3
Available seat-kilometres (in millions) 14,917 + 0.8 180,349 + 1.1
Revenue seat-kilometres (in millions) 11,209 + 1.7 142,905 + 2.4
Passenger load factor (%) 75.1 + 0.6p. 79.2 + 1.0p.
Number of flights 57,099 – 2.4 664,130 – 3.9
Swiss (incl. Edelweiss)
Passengers (in thousands) 1,220 – 2.7 15,774 + 0.4
Passenger load factor (%) 78.6 – 1.1p. 83.6 + 0.9p.
Number of flights 12,793 – 5.3 153,375 – 3.8
Austrian Airlines
Passengers (in thousands) 838 – 2.9 10.483 – 1.6
Passenger load factor (%) 76.4 + 1.1p. 78.7 + 1.1p.
Number of flights 10,411 – 4.7 125,212 – 3.5
Lufthansa Cargo AG
Freight/mail in 1,000 t 155 + 2.6 1,579 – 1.0
Available cargo tonne-kilometres
(in millions)
1,117 + 4.9 11,519 – 0.7
Revenue cargo tonne-kilometres
(in millions)
810 + 5.4 8,033 – 0.2
Cargo load factor (%) 72.6 + 0.3p. 69.7 + 0.4p.
Number of flights 1,058 – 2.8 10,924 – 1.9
Lufthansa Group2
Passengers (in thousands) 7,830 + 1.1 97,284 + 0.8
Passenger load factor (%) 75.9 + 0.4p. 79.9 + 1.0p.
Number of flights 81,361 – 3.2 953,641 – 3.8

1 Incl. Lufthansa Regional and Germanwings
2 Lufthansa German Airlines (incl. Germanwings), Swiss (incl. Edelweiss), Austrian Airlines

Deutsche Lufthansa AG
Media Relations Lufthansa Group