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German flag carrier 
Lufthansa has announced that it has cut 20,000 short-haul flights from its summer program across the wider Lufthansa Group in response to the rising fuel prices that have become a major byproduct of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. The Cologne-based Star Alliance founding member says that it stands to save tens of thousands of metric tons of fuel as a result, which, in turn, will save it meaningful sums of cash.
Lufthansa has targeted unprofitable routes with these cuts, with the first wave having already been implemented and set to last until the end of May. However, with these short-haul cancellations spread across the entirety of aviation’s Northern Hemisphere summer season, they will last until October when all is said and done. The news comes hot on the heels of the announcement that the group’s regional ‘CityLine’ arm would be closed.
Tens Of Thousands Of Short-Haul Flight Cuts
In a statement released yesterday by Lufthansa, the German flag carrier confirmed its intentions to slash 20,000 short-haul flights from its summer schedule between now and October. This, the Lufthansa Group says, will result in more than 40,000 metric tons of fuel being saved. While its “fuel supply [is] secured for the coming weeks,” Lufthansa notes that the price of this resource “has doubled since the outbreak of the Iran conflict.”
As such, the German flag carrier will be hoping that its ability to save more than 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel over the summer will make a major financial difference when it comes to protecting its bottom line. The flights that are being cut are on routes that have proven to be unprofitable, with the consolidation efforts not just limited to Lufthansa’s German hubs. Indeed, the Group explains that network hubs outside of Germany will also be hit:
“The schedule adjustments reduce the number of unprofitable short-haul flights across the Lufthansa Group network. The planned consolidation of the European network is being carried out across Lufthansa Group’s six hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels, and Rome.”
Where Has Been Hit Hardest?
Lufthansa has been keen to reassure passengers that they will “continue to have access to the global route network, particularly [on] long-haul connections.” What’s more, the cancellation of these flights, which were previously operated by its regional ‘CityLine’ arm, only reflects a 1% reduction to the wider Lufthansa Group’s summer capacity in terms of available seat kilometers. Still, for those affected, the cuts will be a bitter pill to swallow.
The implementation of these cuts began yesterday, with 120 daily services shelved until at least the end of May, and affected passengers have been notified. For three destinations, this has meant a total withdrawal of scheduled Lufthansa operations: these are Bydgoszcz and Rzeszów in Poland and Stavanger (Norway).
Alongside the temporary removal of these Polish and Norwegian destinations, another “ten connections are being consolidated within the Lufthansa Group via other hubs.” The destinations in question here include the likes of Cork, Gdańsk, Heringsdorf, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Sibiu, Stuttgart, Trondheim, Tivat, and Wroclaw.
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Not Lufthansa’s Only Recent Cuts
Unfortunately for Lufthansa and its passengers, the shelving of 20,000 short-haul flights over the summer does not represent the only major cut that the German carrier has been forced to make in recent times. Indeed, as detailed in the video below, the airline has also taken the drastic measure of closing its regional subsidiary, Lufthansa CityLine, citing not only the rising fuel prices but also various labor disputes as key reasons for the move.
The closure of Lufthansa CityLine, which had long been in the works but was brought forward due to the aforementioned factors, was announced last week as part of a wider restructuring effort at the German flag carrier. This cost-cutting initiative will also see the airline retire its last Airbus A340-600 quadjets by the end of the summer, as well as decommissioning two Boeing 747-400s. Needless to say, it will be hoping for a change of fortune.
