Lufthansa CEO Slams ‘Irresponsible’ Sub-$11 Flights

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr criticized competitors for offering unprofitable ultra-cheap fares as a price war squeezes industry earnings.

Tickets costing less than 10 euros ($11) are “economically, ecologically and politically irresponsible,” he said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. “Flights for less than 10 euros shouldn’t exist.”

Europe’s two biggest low-cost carriers are “losing a massive amount of money” as they seek to boost sales in Germany, Lufthansa’s home market, Spohr said. Lufthansa lowered its 2019 profit forecast last month, citing a decline in air fares caused by competition from low-cost rivals in Europe particularly Germany and Austria.

“Nobody is going to push us out of our home markets,” Spohr said. Still, “The price war leaves its traces with us as well.”

Ryanair Holdings Plc is selling tickets from Berlin costing less than 10 euros to cities including Budapest, Barcelona and Rome, based on a search of its website. The one-way fares exclude checked bags or reserved seating.

To contact the reporter on this story: Corinne Gretler in Zurich at cgretler1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net, Neil Denslow, James Amott

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