FRANKFURT: German airline Lufthansa said Wednesday it had reduced its net loss for the first quarter, as pent-up demand for travel is expected to further boost its bottom line in the upcoming summer months.

The group’s net loss for the first three months of the year reached 467 million euros ($515 million), an improvement from a loss of 584 million euros a year ago.

The negative result was mainly down to normal seasonality, the airline said, although strikes at German airports as well as costs for the planned expansion of flights in the summer also weighed on its earnings. Revenues rose by 40 percent to seven billion euros for the period, as 22 million passengers boarded Lufthansa group’s planes between January and March.

“The continuously strong demand gives us confidence for the coming months. The summer travel season will provide a major contribution to achieving our targets for 2023,” said Remco Steenbergen, Lufthansa’s chief financial officer.