Does Lufthansa Group Still Have a Lufthansa Problem?

The Lufthansa Group woke Thursday to a familiar headache: labor strife at its most important airline. A short-notice strike by pilot and cabin crew unions paralyzed much of its operation at Frankfurt and Munich, with more than 800 flights canceled and around 100,000 passengers affected.

The disruption at Lufthansa centers on pilot pensions, while flight attendants at its Lufthansa CityLine regional operation are unhappy about contract changes.

Once again, it is the Lufthansa-branded mainline carrier – “Lufthansa Classic,” in company parlance – that is under pressure, even as much of the broader group performs respectably. In Skift’s industry newsletter Airline Weekly, we’ve long coined this paradox “Lufthansa’s Lufthansa Problem.”

On paper, the Lufthansa Group has plenty going for it. Its crown jewel subsidiary, Swiss International Air Lines, delivers consistently impressive margins. Austrian Airlines has quietly become a reliable pr