In its centennial year, the Lufthansa Group has reported the highest revenue in its 100-year history. Full-year revenue for 2025 reached €39.6 billion — up 5% on the prior year — while adjusted operating profit climbed 19% to €1.96 billion, pushing the operating margin to 4.9%. For the more than 135 million passengers who flew Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Discover Airlines, and ITA Airways in 2025, the numbers confirm what the aviation industry already sensed: Europe's largest airline group is back on a growth trajectory with no signs of slowing down.
The Numbers That Matter
The headline metrics tell a story of broad-based improvement. Revenue grew across every business segment. The cargo division increased operating profit by 30% to €324 million, supported by strong Asian demand. Lufthansa Technik — the world's largest independent MRO provider — delivered €603 million in profit despite currency and tariff headwinds. And the passenger airlines collectively expanded capacity by approximately 4%, with seat load factors remaining robust despite softer yields in some markets.
The Group proposed a dividend of €0.33 per share — a 10% increase — reflecting confidence in the balance sheet and forward outlook. CEO Carsten Spohr framed the results in historical terms: the values of quality, reliability, and connectivity that defined Lufthansa at its founding in 1926 continue to drive success a century later.
Eurowings: The Value Engine
Within the Group, Eurowings delivered a particularly strong year. The value carrier flew 23.7 million passengers — up 4% — and generated revenue of €3.08 billion, growing 7% year-on-year despite a 4.8% decline in yields. Capacity expanded by 9%, driven by longer routes and network expansion. The passenger load factor held steady at 84.8%.
The Skytrax Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe award validated the strategic positioning: Eurowings is not trying to be the cheapest fare in the market. It is competing on value — included services, primary airport access, Lufthansa Group network connectivity, and increasingly, premium cabin products. The launch of Premium BIZ seating on A320neo aircraft in November 2025, now confirmed for expansion to 8 aircraft following a successful ITB Berlin reveal in March 2026, signals further product differentiation.
Eurowings Holidays — the airline's own tour operator launched in April 2025 — added a new business dimension, already offering packages to 60 countries and 16,000 hotels within its first year. Under new CEO Max Kownatzki (formerly SunExpress, appointed February 2026), Eurowings is expanding its Berlin base to 9 aircraft for summer 2026, adding wet-lease capacity at Hamburg, and preparing for 40 Boeing 737 MAX 8 deliveries starting in 2027.
The Turnaround at Lufthansa Airlines
The core Lufthansa Airlines brand returned to a positive operating margin of 0.9% — a €250 million improvement on the prior year. The transformation programme, known as "Turnaround," targets a cumulative gross earnings effect of €1.5 billion in 2026, scaling to €2.5 billion by 2028. The strategy centres on fleet modernisation (including new Boeing 787 Dreamliners), increased use of subsidiaries like Lufthansa City Airlines and Discover Airlines for growth routes, and approximately 700 individual efficiency measures. The Group plans to reduce 4,000 administrative positions by 2030 through digitalisation and process consolidation — but cockpit and cabin crew demand is heading in the opposite direction.
What This Means for Pilot Careers
For aspiring and early-career pilots, the Lufthansa Group's 2025 results reinforce several career-relevant signals. The Group is expanding, not contracting — 4% capacity growth in 2025 with further expansion planned for 2026. Fleet renewal is accelerating: nearly one new aircraft per week will join the Group fleet in 2026, with long-haul growth driving most of the additions. Every new aircraft needs crews to fly it.
The multi-brand structure — Lufthansa mainline, Eurowings, SWISS, Austrian, Lufthansa City Airlines, Discover Airlines, ITA Airways — creates multiple entry points for pilots at different career stages. Eurowings and Lufthansa City Airlines are the primary narrowbody growth vehicles, meaning the majority of new pilot positions in the Group will be on A320-family and (from 2027) Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The European Flight Academy continues to train cadets for all Group carriers, and direct-entry recruitment through the Interpersonal assessment process at Eurowings remains active.
The one uncertainty: the Middle East. The Lufthansa Group acknowledged that the ongoing Gulf instability is creating both risk and opportunity. Several Eurowings medium-haul routes to the region — including the flagship Berlin-Dubai Premium BIZ service — have been suspended through June 2026 due to airport capacity restrictions. At the same time, demand for alternative long-haul routes to Asia and Africa is surging, prompting the Group to consider frequency increases to Singapore, India, and China. For pilots, this means a dynamic, evolving network rather than a static route map — exactly the kind of operational environment where adaptability is valued.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The Lufthansa Group expects 2026 revenue and adjusted EBIT to be "significantly higher" than 2025. The Turnaround programme at Lufthansa Airlines will be the primary earnings driver, complemented by continued Eurowings growth and expansion in MRO and cargo. If the Group delivers on its targets, 2026 will cement the 19% profit surge as the foundation of a new growth cycle — one that will require thousands of additional pilots across the Group's seven airline brands over the coming decade.
Career angle: Lufthansa Group's growth means active recruitment across Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, and Eurowings. If you're considering applying, see our Lufthansa pilot interview guide for the full DLR testing process, or check the Lufthansa salary breakdown to understand what the Group pays across its airlines.
