DUESSELDORF (Reuters) -Germany’s Lufthansa is bracing for weaker demand in the third quarter for flights to the United States after a boom in the summer, according to CEO Carsten Spohr.
Speaking at a business journalists’ event late Thursday, Spohr said “the first quarter was better than the previous year, but we are seeing a levelling-off in the third quarter.”
The Lufthansa group of airlines, which includes Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and ITA Airways, flies to the United States 60 times a day.
Spohr said the drop-off in demand in the third quarter was partly offset by stronger demand for flights from the U.S., where prices are higher, adding that the airline would increase the proportion of seats it markets there.
Spohr said a restructuring currently underway at Lufthansa was on track and that it was expected to make a gross profit contribution of around 1.5 billion euros ($1.73 billion) by 2026.
($1 = 0.8660 euros)
(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff, Writing by Friederike Heine, Ediitng by Miranda Murray)
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