The social unrest at Brussels Airlines revolved around the pay and employment conditions of the staff. In mid-January, pilots went on strike for a day and at the end of February, flight attendants stopped work for three days. The pilots threatened a new strike at the end of March, but this was averted.
“As soon as a strike is threatened, we see an immediate impact on our travelers,” said Nina Öwerdick, the financial director of Brussels Airlines, in a press release. “When there is uncertainty, people stop booking.” Brussels Airlines estimates that the social unrest has cost it approximately 14 million euros. In the meantime, agreements have been reached for both pilots and cabin crew.
The parent company Lufthansa has also had several strikes in recent months. The impact of these actions for the group amounts to approximately 350 million euros, it was stated on Tuesday when the quarterly figures were published. The German airline has therefore decided to cut costs. Projects are put on hold and recruitments reconsidered.
More passengers, but also more losses
With more than 1.66 million passengers, Brussels Airlines performed 4 percent better in the first quarter than in the same period last year. Turnover also increased: by 3 percent to 289 million euros. But society suffered more losses. The operating loss amounted to 58 million euros, compared to 43 million euros a year earlier.
The first quarter of the year is traditionally weaker in the aviation sector as travel demand is lower. It is not abnormal for an airline to make a loss. Brussels Airlines also maintains its ambition to make more profit this year than in 2023. The operating profit then amounted to 53 million euros, a record.
Lufthansa group suffered an operating loss of 849 million euros in the first three months. In the same period last year, a deficit of 273 million euros was recorded. However, turnover increased by 5 percent to 7.39 billion euros. Lufthansa also expects an effect of 100 million in the second quarter as a result of strikes, which resulted in fewer bookings for April and May. Profits will only rise again in the second half of the year, it was said on Tuesday. There were already 16 percent more bookings for the summer months than last year.
Earlier this month, Lufthansa announced that it will not achieve its profit targets for this year as a result of the strikes. The capacity target – around 94 percent of the time before the corona pandemic – will also not be achieved, but will be 2 percentage points lower.
