Lufthansa joins major flight cuts

Lufthansa Group said on April 21 it will remove 20,000 short-haul flights from its schedule through October. (newsroom.lufthansagroup.com) The company said the cuts target unprofitable short-haul flying across its six hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels and Rome. It said group capacity will fall by less than 1% in available seat kilometers. (newsroom.lufthansagroup.com) Lufthansa said the reduction should save more than 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel. It said jet-fuel prices have doubled since the outbreak of the Iran conflict. (newsroom.lufthansagroup.com) The first 120 daily cancellations were already put in place for travel through May 31, and affected passengers were notified, Lufthansa said. The group also temporarily removed Bydgoszcz, Rzeszów and Stavanger from the current schedule. (newsroom.lufthansagroup.com) Some routes are being funneled through other group hubs instead of operating as nonstop flights. Lufthansa listed 10 connections being consolidated this way, including Cork, Gdańsk, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Sibiu, Trondheim and Wrocław. (newsroom.lufthansagroup.com) The cuts are tied partly to Lufthansa’s wider restructuring. On April 16, the group said it would permanently remove the 27 operational aircraft of Lufthansa CityLine from the flight program and later retire four Airbus A340-600s and ground two Boeing 747-400s from October. (newsroom.lufthansagroup.com) Lufthansa said about 80% of its passenger-airline fuel needs are hedged, but the remaining 20% still has to be bought at sharply higher market prices. The company said the fuel-saving package is meant to reduce that unhedged exposure. (newsroom.lufthansagroup.com) Other airlines are making smaller reductions. Transavia said it will cancel around 2% of its May and June schedule, while AirAsia X said earlier this month it would cut capacity by 10% and raise fares by as much as 40%. (aviation24.be) (scmp.com) European officials are also preparing for the knock-on effects. Reuters reported on April 21 that the European Union will give airlines guidance on airport slots, passenger rights and public-service obligations if jet-fuel shortages worsen. (reuters.com) Lufthansa said revised route planning for the coming months will be published in late April or early May. For travelers, the summer timetable is still being rewritten. (newsroom.lufthansagroup.com)