Lufthansa posts passenger, cargo gains

10 February 2004

FRANKFURT – German air carrier Lufthansa reported Tuesday that it got off to a comparatively stronger start in 2004, with both passenger and air cargo numbers showing year-on-year gains.

The airline, continuing its slow recovery after the sharp drop in business in the post-11 September period, the SARS crisis in Asia, the war in Iraq and the general economic slump, said it carried 3.5 million passengers, up 2.2 percent on January 2003.

At the same time, the airline carried 119,000 tons of cargo, up 4.6 percent on January 2003 figures.

The January improvements came after Lufthansa in 2003 managed to show its first growth in two years, with a 1 percent rise in passenger numbers, to 44.4 million.