Lufthansa has become the latest airline to warn that ticket prices will rise further, as it forecast a two-billion-euro ($2.2 billion) jump in annual fuel costs due to the Middle East conflict, AFP reports.
It came a day after Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair said it would raise prices and launch a cost-cutting drive, as the US-Israeli war on Iran keeps global energy costs elevated.
The German firm, Europe’s biggest airline group by sales, said the outlook for fuel costs had worsened from just a few months ago, predicting a bill of 9.3bn euros for 2026, 2bn higher than last year.
Price hikes would be necessary “to pass on the increase in kerosene costs”, finance chief Till Streichert told journalists, after the group released forecast-beating quarterly results.
“Ticket prices will increase by double digits next year.”
He also warned fuel costs would increase in 2027, but added: “That can still change — and hopefully for the better — if the geopolitical situation eases.”
