Strike action and a fall in ticket prices has caused German airline Lufthansa to report lower than expected second-quarter profits.
The German airline has published its financial results for the first half of 2014 showing second-quarter operating profit fell by 17 per cent to €359 million, with net profit falling 32 per cent to €173 million.
Lufthansa has been trying to combat increased competition from low-cost rivals in Europe and Gulf carriers on long-haul routes.
“The second quarter has absolutely not been satisfactory, both as far as one-time effects and pressure on fares goes,” Chief Financial Officer Simone Menne told Reuters. “We have catching up to do over the summer.”
For the full six months to June 2014, Lufthansa posted an operating profit of €114 million, an increase of €41 million on a year ago, although it reported a net loss of €79 million.
The airline said strike action in April by a pilots’ union wiped €60 million from its first half operating result.
Despite this, Lufthansa maintained a forecast for a full-year operating profit of around €1 billion and 2015 profit of €2 billion.
Lufthansa.com