Lufthansa says it is losing up to $550,000 on each Frankfurt-Beijing flight. The airline made the revelation amid discussions about the cost advantages of Chinese airlines over European carriers due to their ability to overfly Russian airspace.
Several European airlines, including British Airways, Lufthansa, and Virgin Atlantic, are cancelling or pausing their China routes as longer flight times and increased costs become unsustainable.
Chinese airlines are capturing a growing share of transit traffic to destinations beyond China, offering competitive fares that attract cost-sensitive travellers.
The situation remains politically sensitive, with minimal governmental action taken so far, except for Austria, which denied traffic rights to a Chinese airline.
