Lufthansa passenger count rises in first half of 2008

Lufthansa posted a rise in passenger numbers in the first six months of 2008. More than 28 million flew with Lufthansa in the period from January through June, an increase of 5.4 percent on the year-earlier level. Capacity rose by 5.8 percent in the same period. Revenue seat-kilometers were up by 5.5 percent. The seat load factor reached 78.2 percent (-0.3 percent).

Overall, Lufthansa and SWISS together carried close to 35 million passengers in the first half of the year, which is about 29 percent more than in the comparable period in the previous year. Of the total, more than six million flew with SWISS. The number of flights rose by 22.5 percent to a total of 413,218.

Lufthansa Cargo transported around 869,000 tons of freight and mail, which is 0.9 percent fewer than in the first half last time round. The cargo load factor fell by 0.3 percentage points to 68.2 percent.