The problem of empty seats persists at Luxair

OAG data shows that there are more empty seats on Luxair planes than on those of other European airlines, which could explain why the Luxembourg flag carrier continues to struggle.

State-owned airline Luxair filled around three-quarters of the available seats on its flights during the last summer holidays, while other European airlines were almost 90% full.

The data retrieved from OAG by the Luxembourg Times points to a continuing problem of unsold seats on Luxair routes. Compared to other airlines, Luxair sold fewer seats every month until June 2021, except once.

Airlines aim to fill around 80% of their seats to spread fixed costs over more passengers, yet Luxair’s planes were only 69% full in 2021, according to the company.

Yet, despite the precarious situation, Luxembourg cannot afford to lose Luxair, as the airline enables business people in the country’s crucial financial sector to travel quickly to London, Geneva or Milan, and to hubs like Frankfurt for other international destinations.

Luxair carried 20% fewer passengers than before the 2019 pandemic until August, the airline told the Luxembourg Times. The airline’s CEO, Gilles Feith, has projected Luxair’s operating loss this year at around 5 million euros.

Luxembourg has not subsidised the carrier despite losses in 2020 and 2021, thanks to nearly 100 million euros in dividends that Luxair got from Cargolux, which enjoyed two years of record profits.

The recent confidential data supplied to the trade unions shows that Luxair has now reached the pre-Covid level of activity. During the summer season, there were more flights than before and the seats were almost always full. Yet the OAG data shows only a few exceptions of better-filled Luxair flights, such as those between Luxembourg and Porto, which were more than 80% full between May and August.

Flights between Luxembourg and Paris, where travellers can take other planes to destinations around the world, have never reached even 40% occupancy in any month, according to the data. Yet since this spring, the route has generated about as much revenue per kilometre flown as flights to Munich, which were never at less than half capacity and sometimes more than two-thirds, the OAG data shows.

And while Luxair flights to and from Milan are still more popular than those to London – another major destination for business travellers – the British capital has consistently generated more revenue since the end of last year. The fact of applying higher fares could probably explain the increase in revenue on the London-Luxembourg route.

Luxair has struggled to recover travel on its traditional business routes, including the London City route, as virtual meetings have taken off during the Covid-19 pandemic. This forced the carrier to pursue money-losing flights to preserve its lucrative slots, costing it at least a million euros.

About 54% of Luxair Group’s revenue last year came from its LuxairTours operations, and tourists on package tours to Cape Verde, Egypt and other sunny destinations almost always travel on Luxair planes.

Source: The Luxembourg Times through Luxemburger Wort