Lufthansa will “shut down business operations even further during the winter of 2020/21 and put as many areas as possible into winter mode from mid-December 2020”, the group management announced internally in a circular. The current situation in which the crane finds itself is “in its effects a lockdown”.

It can also be read that Lufthansa wants to further reduce costs. The aim is to achieve this by reducing flight operations even further than previously announced and by temporarily shutting down parts of the administration. The group recently communicated that it is anticipating a maximum capacity of 25 percent of the previous year's level. This number should now be corrected downwards again and across the group.

According to the present circular, demand is said to have plummeted and recent travel restrictions and quarantine obligations are having a correspondingly negative effect. Although the previous austerity programs have borne their first fruits, so that “only” half a million euros are lost per hour, “the drama of the situation has not changed.” Carsten Spohr and his management team assume that the The number of passengers carried in winter will drop to a maximum of 20 percent of the previous year's figure.

As a result, around 125 aircraft at Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings will once again be shut down. These should actually have been used in the 2020/21 winter flight schedule, as they originally assumed a recovery and expected that around half of the regular offer could be carried out. However, the booking numbers are dramatically below plan, which is why the reduction to 25 percent was announced a few days ago and is now being scaled back again.

This also has severe effects in the area of ​​administration, because Carsten Spohr and his colleagues write that the Frankfurt branch will be closed up to and including February 2020 and rental contracts for other premises will be terminated. With a few exceptions, the administration should really go into hibernation. The staff will be sent to the maximum possible short-time work during this period. Similar measures are also planned for flight personnel, as the Lufthansa Group will temporarily need significantly fewer pilots and flight attendants.

Spohr assumes that the effects of the corona pandemic will lie in the crane's stomach for many years to come. Nevertheless, he is convinced that around 100.000 of the around 130.000 jobs can be kept. Negotiations with various German unions, however, stall.