The crisis in Fuels aircraft caused by its closure Strait of Hormuz, forces large Europeans airlines cut flights and freeze aircraft, amid tightness in the offer, notes Politico.
The Head of International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, told the AP Thursday that the continent has «aircraft fuel stocks perhaps for six weeks»The state of emergency has driven fuel prices aircraft in Europe in over doubled since the start of the Middle East war on 28 February.
Although there has not yet been a real fuel shortage, the high cost has prompted airlines to reduce the less profitable routes and capture previously less efficient aircraft.
Lufthansa
The Lufthansa announced Thursday that he would withdraw the entire fleet of 27 aircraft of CityLine's subsidiary this weekend.
Although the group had already planned the withdrawal of the fleet - announcing its gradual abolition in 2024- «The current crisis now forces us to implement this measure earlier», said financial director Till Streichert.
CityLine serves mainly Frankfurt and Munich air links, linking them to various European destinations.
«This is a painful step.», admitted Streichert, referring to possible staff redundancies.
In addition to the capture of CityLine aircraft, Lufthansa will also withdraw from October the last four Airbus A340-600 and two Boeing 747-400 from the long-distance fleet.
The group also announced «additional reduction» in the winter program 2026-2027, pulling five more aircraft from its main fleet.
Overall, the reduction in the fleet amounts to 38 aircraft. 40 aircraft had leaked to the German media in March.
This move «is inevitable in light of the sharp increase in the cost of kerosine and geopolitical instability», said Streichert. Aircraft fuel comes from kerosene.
Which other companies are affected
However, Lufthansa is not the only company affected. Shortly after its announcement, KLM stated that «will conduct 80 fewer roundtrip flights to and from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport» May.
The Dutch airline - a member of the Air France-KLM - said that cuts would affect routes with multiple daily flights, such as London and Düsseldorf, and would account for less than 1% of its European flights for that month.
Lufthansa reported that its fuel consumption «is offset (hedged) at around 80%, based on crude oil prices», however «the remaining 20% must be purchased at significantly increased market prices».
The German group also reported increased costs related to recent strikes, which overshadowed on Wednesday their celebrations for the company's 100 years.
Traditional air groups are not the only ones in difficulty due to high fuel prices.
Low cost easyJet announced on Thursday that its fuel costs increased by nearly 29m euros only in March and that its pre-tax damage is expected to increase to 620 to 640m euros for the semester by March, from 450m euros a year earlier.
Latvian airline airBaltic is also in critical condition and depends on financial support.
Prime Minister Evica Silinja said Wednesday that she was ready to face even «collapse of government coalition», due to its partners' reluctance to approve a 30m-euro loan requested by the company at the end of March.
Although airBaltic's problems ahead of the Middle East war, Fitch's rating agency warned that rising fuel prices put additional pressure on its liquidity.
The Latvian government finally secured the company loan Thursday.
Read more about the Middle East crisis here
Source: skai.gr
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