Lufthansa Group has too much short-haul capacity, with feeder losses eating into much of the profit generated by long-haul flying, Chief Executive Carsten Spohr said in Frankfurt this week. The group is reshaping its network around more profitable long-haul routes while trimming short-haul flying, including the retirement of Lufthansa CityLine’s entire CRJ-900 subfleet in April and a larger shift of regional operations to lower-cost units.
Spohr pointed to progress in keeping connectivity across Lufthansa’s six hubs — Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels and Rome — despite using fewer short-haul aircraft and less short-haul production. The company’s restructuring is aimed at preserving network reach while improving economics, with the expected efficiency gains feeding directly into the bottom line.
The change in strategy comes as Lufthansa continues to concentrate feeder traffic through lower-cost operators such as City Airlines and Discover Airlines. That approach reduces reliance on the traditional regional model and reflects a broader effort to remove capacity that no longer supports the group’s profit mix. By cutting short-haul exposure, Lufthansa is seeking to limit the drag from unprofitable European flying and strengthen returns from its intercontinental network.