Lufthansa has just recently reported, as of October 29^th, that they had a net loss of almost €32 million for the first nine months of this year. This news comes despite the fact that the airline posted a profit of €226 million between January and September of 2009. The carrier said that it was left in the red due to weak demand and the overall recession.

The big decline in the number of business travelers played a major roll in the losses. However, other factors, like the fall in yield, also played a roll in the big loss. During the same period in 2008, Lufthansa made a net profit of almost €529 million. The overall operating profit for the company was €954 million.

The CEO of Lufthansa, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, said that the recent months have seen the stabilization of the demand in business passengers hit rock bottom. All of this comes despite a good load factor. He went on to add that the carrier would continue to operate in this challenging environment. Of course, more negative months are expected in the coming months.

These third quarter financial statements are the first to include the results of bmi and Austrian Airlines. Both of these airlines were bought by Lufthansa. Of course, Lufthansa is not the only airline that has been hit hard by this recession. Other airlines, like Japan Airlines, have also been having a very rough time with the current economy. It could still be quite some time before airlines return to normal. Some are saying that, by the end of next year, airlines could start to see a turnaround.