Airlines
Lufthansa Cuts Costs Faster than Expected, Says CEO
Carsten Spohr expects no need for further state aid for the German group.
Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr oversaw a cost-cutting exercise that saw the exit of all four-engine jets and a fifth of the airline's workforce. (Photo: Lufthansa Group)
Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr oversaw a cost-cutting exercise that saw the exit of all four-engine jets and a fifth of the airline's workforce. (Photo: Lufthansa Group)

Lufthansa Group has taken €3 billion of a €9 billion Covid relief package commitment from the German government and management believes it will get through the pandemic without drawing on the entire allotment thanks to aggressive cost-cutting, Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr reported during a Eurocontrol “StraightTalk” interview Thursday. Since the onset of the Covid crisis last spring, Lufthansa has effectively slashed its cash burn in half, from €1 million per hour to €1 million every two hours, he added.