LONDON/BERLIN, May 6 (Reuters) - Lufthansa reported better-than-expected first-quarter results on Wednesday and maintained its outlook for the year as strategic hedging helped the airline sidestep the impact of a war-driven rise in jet fuel prices, while labour disruptions were kept largely under control.
Still, the group warned of an additional cost of 1.7 billion euros ($1.99 billion) to its fuel bill as a result of spiking jet fuel prices, adding that it was in a good place to mitigate that negative
knock-on effect. Lufthansa said the crisis in the Middle East was boosting demand as travellers rerouted via its hubs.
"We are resilient in our ability to absorb these impacts," Chief Executive Carsten Spohr said in a statement.
European airlines are expected to be shielded from the initial fallout of the jet fuel shock triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran in the first quarter, but many, such as Air France-KLM, have adjusted their outlooks for the remainder of the year as jet fuel prices are set to remain high.
Lufthansa reported an adjusted operating loss of 612 million euros ($717 million) in the January-March period compared with a loss of 659 million projected by a company-compiled analyst poll. That is an improvement from an adjusted operating loss of 722 million euros in the same period last year.
It maintained its forecast for 2026 of a significantly higher adjusted operating profit than the 1.96 billion euros it earned in 2025 despite increased uncertainty.
"The Group intends to offset this additional financial burden in the following quarters through increased revenue from ticket sales, optimised network planning, and further cost-saving measures," it said in a statement.
($1 = 0.8522 euros)
(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Kirsti Knolle and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
