Frankfurt – Germany’s national carrier Lufthansa profited from the bankruptcy of rival Air Berlin by transporting more passengers and cargo in January.
Lufthansa took over parts of the Air Berlin business and expanded its short- and medium-haul flights under the Eurowings brand.
Including the group’s various other brands such as Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa said Friday it carried 8.7 million passengers last month – a 10.1-per-cent increase on last year’s figures.
The German firm was also able to hike its prices in the wake of Air Berlin’s collapse, although its planes were not quite as full as in the previous year, at 75.6 per cent capacity.
Capacity increased for cargo transport to 66.3 per cent, a 0.9-per-cent increase. The total cargo business carried came to 807 ton-kilometres.