Lufthansa hopeful Trump administration will spur Boeing deliveries as delays hit bottom line

German airline group Lufthansa is hopeful that the new U.S. administration will support Boeing in overcoming issues that have led to industry-wide delivery delays, CEO Carsten Spohr said Thursday. The company expects 2025 will be the year when it starts to recieve aircraft for which it has been “waiting for so long now,” Spohr told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach. In results published Thursday, Lufthansa reported a 39% year-on-year drop in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to E1.645b, citing delivery delays as well as staff strikes and global price pressures. The earnings nonetheless beat consensus estimates, driving shares 13% higher by early afternoon, before slightly paring gains. Lufthansa has 41 twin-aisle aircraft in the U.S. alone waiting to be delivered, Spohr said. Meanwhile, almost all of the more than 240 jets it has on order over the coming years are set to be impacted by delays of some kind. “Either due to supply chain issues within the production of the aircraft or due to certification issues, especially in the U.S. between Boeing and the [FAA],” Spohr said. “So [we are] hoping this will be overcome, maybe also with some support of the new U.S. administration, [this] will hopefully allow us to operate the most modern aircraft, which is to the advantage of our passengers but also to the advantage of our shareholders due to lower costs.”<br/>