Germany’s flagship airline, Lufthansa, reported a quarterly profit on Wednesday - its first since the coronavirus crisis began. The profit report will no doubt come as a relief to the airline, which received a bailout from the federal government just last year.

Lufthansa finally turns a profit after COVID

For the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Germany’s Lufthansa airline registered a quarterly profit on Wednesday. The flagship carrier recorded an operating profit of 17 million euros in the third quarter of 2021, a result of revenue almost doubling for the airline between July and September compared to the same period last year. Back then, international travel restrictions were still in place and air travel had all but stopped due to the spread of coronavirus.

"With rising demand for business travel and a record result of Lufthansa Cargo, we have mastered another milestone on our way out of the crisis: we are back to black," said Carsten Spohr, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa. "We confirm our leading position among the world's largest airline groups."

According to Lufthansa, demand for flights has increased as coronavirus restrictions around the world have relaxed. The airline now wants to expand the number of passenger flights to around 70 percent of what it offered before the pandemic.

German government’s Lufthansa bailout

Executives at Lufthansa will be hoping that the reported profit will mark a turning point in the airline’s fortunes. Just last May, Lufthansa received a 9-billion-euro bailout from the German government. The government gained a 20 percent stake in the company in return for the bailout funds, however, the airline has already announced its intent to repay the government bailout and buy back its stocks.

Lufthansa is a large international company; the second-largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers. It was founded in 1953 and is currently based at the airport in Frankfurt, although the company’s corporate headquarters are located in Cologne.