Lufthansa CEO expects higher jet fuel costs to exceed €1.5bn
Carsten Spohr attributes rising expenses to the Iran war and increased oil prices.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Lufthansa CEO expects higher jet fuel costs to exceed €1.5bn
Photograph: The Star Kuala Lumpur (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr stated that additional jet fuel costs for the year will exceed the €1.5 billion previously forecast.
- The increased fuel costs are attributed to the Iran war and rising oil prices.
- Spohr reaffirmed Lufthansa's operating profit forecast of €1.7 billion to €2.2 billion for 2026.
- Lufthansa has implemented extensive jet fuel hedging strategies to mitigate price volatility.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 12 of the 19 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
45/100
Hype
41/100
19 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr expects the airline's additional jet fuel costs for the current year to surpass the €1.5 billion figure that was flagged in August. Spohr attributed these rising expenses to the ongoing Iran war and a spike in oil prices. He made these remarks to journalists in Frankfurt on Monday evening. Despite these increased costs, Spohr reaffirmed Lufthansa's forecast for an operating profit between €1.7 billion and €2.2 billion for 2026. The airline has employed extensive jet fuel hedging strategies to shield itself from price volatility.
Disagreement on total fuel cost forecast
In August, Lufthansa reported that total fuel costs for 2026 were expected to reach €8.66 billion. However, the full report from nachrichten.at states that Spohr indicated the figure for additional costs would be higher than the €1.5 billion. None of the other reports provided a specific updated figure for total fuel costs.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports mention the total fuel cost forecast of €8.66 billion for 2026 that Lufthansa reported in August. The full report from nachrichten.at included this figure, stating that Spohr had previously reported it. None of the right-rated reports mention the specific hedging ratio for 2026 (86%) or 2027 (over 50%) that Lufthansa Chief Financial Officer Till Streichert provided in August, as reported by The Star Kuala Lumpur.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 29 Sept 2026, 12:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- The left-rated report from Zeit Online led with the consequences of the Iran war for Lufthansa's fuel costs. It noted that Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr expects even higher kerosene costs due to the conflict. The report stated that this information was available on the topic of the Iran War.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report from Reuters focused on Lufthansa's CEO stating that jet fuel costs would exceed the €1.5 billion forecast. It highlighted Spohr's comments on the Iran war and oil price spikes as reasons for the increased expenses. The report also mentioned Lufthansa's hedging strategies and reaffirmed the operating profit forecast.
Right
5 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports from The Star Kuala Lumpur, Interfax.ru, Kronen Zeitung, Kurier, and Handelsblatt all led with Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr's expectation of higher jet fuel costs exceeding the €1.5 billion forecast. These reports attributed the increase to the Iran war and rising oil prices. Several mentioned that Spohr stated the final figure would be higher than previously reported. The Star Kuala Lumpur and Kurier noted that Lufthansa responded with higher ticket prices. The Star Kuala Lumpur also mentioned the boom in bookings for premium cabins and that the airline's turnaround program has been impacted by spiralling costs.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Lufthansa CEO expects higher jet fuel costs to exceed €1.5bn?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 14% are rated left, 15% are rated centre, 71% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 19. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Lufthansa CEO expects higher jet fuel costs to exceed €1.5bn left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Lufthansa CEO expects higher jet fuel costs to exceed €1.5bn biased?
- Lufthansa CEO expects higher jet fuel costs to exceed €1.5bn is one event reported by 19 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Lufthansa CEO expects higher jet fuel costs to exceed €1.5bn?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Lufthansa CEO expects higher jet fuel costs to exceed €1.5bn?
- 19 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How much will Lufthansa's additional jet fuel costs be this year?
- Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr expects the additional jet fuel costs for this year to exceed the €1.5 billion previously flagged in August. He stated that the final figure reported at the end of the year would be higher, but did not provide a specific new total.
- What is causing the increase in jet fuel costs?
- Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr attributed the rise in jet fuel costs to the ongoing Iran war and a subsequent spike in global oil prices. These geopolitical factors have impacted the cost of aviation fuel.
- What is Lufthansa's operating profit forecast for 2026?
- Despite the anticipated increase in jet fuel costs, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr reaffirmed the airline's forecast for an operating profit between €1.7 billion and €2.2 billion for the year 2026. This compares to an operating profit of €2.0 billion in the previous year.
Read it at the source
19 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
1Right
5- Lufthansa Awaits Another Difficult Year Due to Rising Oil Prices and Fleet Problems (opens Interfax.ru in a new tab)
Interfax.ru — is Interfax.ru biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Lufthansa CEO Expects Even Higher Kerosene Costs (opens Kronen Zeitung in a new tab)
Kronen Zeitung — is Kronen Zeitung biased? Our profile of this outlet
- "Number Will Be Higher": Lufthansa CEO Expects Rising Kerosene Costs (opens Kurier in a new tab)
- Aviation: Lufthansa CEO Expects Even Higher Kerosene Costs (opens Handelsblatt in a new tab)
Handelsblatt — is Handelsblatt biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Lufthansa CEO says jet fuel hit to top €1.5 billion forecast (opens The Star Kuala Lumpur in a new tab)
The Star Kuala Lumpur — is The Star Kuala Lumpur biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
12- Lufthansa Warns of Severe Financial Consequences: Fuel Costs Drastically Exceed Estimates (opens poslovni.hr in a new tab)
poslovni.hr — is poslovni.hr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- More Expensive Fuel Affects Lufthansa's Recovery Plan for the Period 2028-2030. (opens Telegraf in a new tab)
- Lufthansa Expects an Increase in Aviation Fuel Costs in 2026 (opens 1prime.ru in a new tab)
- Lufthansa CEO Expects Even Higher Kerosene Costs (opens nachrichten.at in a new tab)
nachrichten.at — is nachrichten.at biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Lufthansa Expects to Exceed the Additional Fuel Bill of Euro1.5 Billion. (opens alborsaanews.com in a new tab)
alborsaanews.com — is alborsaanews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Lufthansa CEO Expects Even Higher Kerosene Costs as a Result of the Iran War (opens wiwo.de in a new tab)
- Lufthansa CEO Warns Against Rising Kerosene Costs (opens vienna.at in a new tab)
- Lufthansa CEO Expects Even Higher Kerosene Costs (opens op-online.de in a new tab)
op-online.de — is op-online.de biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 4 more
- Lufthansa CEO Expects Even Higher Kerosene Costs (opens RN in a new tab)
- Lufthansa CEO says jet fuel hit to top €1.5 billion forecast (opens BizToc in a new tab)
- Lufthansa CEO Expects Even Higher Kerosene Costs (opens onetz.de in a new tab)
- Lufthansa CEO Expects Even Higher Kerosene Costs (opens noz.de in a new tab)
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
