A financial turnaround by Lufthansa last year helped drive up the share price of listed rivals in London on Friday.
The German carrier reported adjusted profits of €1.5 billion, against a €1.7 billion loss for 2021 as passenger numbers more than doubled to 102 million with revenue nearly doubling to €32.8 billion.
The results lifted the stocks of London-listed British Airways owner International Airlines Group, easyJet and Wizz Air together with dual listed cruise giant Carnival Corporation.
Lufthansa Group airlines offered 72% of pre-pandemic capacity in 2022 but reflected on the global shortages across the airline industry last summer as demand surged back, leading to a “short-term overload” of the overall system.
“To relieve the system, airlines around the world cancelled numerous flights, which stabilised flight operations,” the company said.
Group carriers Swiss and Austrian Airlines also generated an operating profit for the full year.
The group expects demand for air tickets to remain strong in 2023 with air travel during the Easter and summer holiday periods looking “particularly robust”.
The most popular destinations are once again Spain, Italy, Greece, and other Mediterranean countries together with high demand for flights to and from North America.
Capacity is expected to increase to around 85%-90% of 2019 levels on average.
But Lufthansa added: “The capacity development will be limited by the bottlenecks still expected in the European aviation system. In the first quarter, capacity will be around 75% of pre-crisis levels.”
Reporting the 2022 results, chief executive Carsten Spohr said: “Lufthansa is back. In just one year, we have achieved an unprecedented financial turnaround.
“With an operating profit of €1.5 billion, the Lufthansa Group has achieved a much better result than expected.
“Demand for air travel remains high in 2023. We are investing billions in new fuel-efficient and state-of-the-art aircraft. With innovative services, a new premium cabin on board, and new digital tools, we want to remain the quality and innovation leader in our industry.
“Likewise, it is our ambition to drive forward effective climate protection, for example by being the first airline group worldwide to introduce Green Fares.
“The Lufthansa Group is already number one in Europe and number four worldwide. For our guests and our employees, we want to continue to grow, shape the future and expand our market position.”