German airline Lufthansa said on Thursday it would cut costs as it faces much higher fuel prices and pressure from labor disputes.

The airline plans to reduce capacity, retire older aircraft early and transfer more planes to its lower-cost unit, Discover Airlines.

Fuel costs have more than doubled compared to pre-war levels in Iran, she said in a statement.

As an immediate first step, the 27 operational Lufthansa CityLine aircraft will be permanently removed from the flight schedule starting April 18. Lufthansa said the Canadair CRJ aircraft are approaching the end of their technical operational lifespan and have relatively high operating costs.

Moving forward, Lufthansa will reduce its long-haul capacity by six intercontinental aircraft at the end of the summer flight schedule. The last four Airbus A340-600 aircraft will leave the fleet in October, while two Boeing 747-400s will also stop flying from October for the winter season.

During the 2026-2027 winter flight schedule, Lufthansa will take a third step by reducing the additional capacity of short- and medium-haul flights on its core brand, equivalent to five aircraft.

Lufthansa also said it will accelerate the allocation of nine additional Airbus A350-900 aircraft to Discover Airlines under its medium-term fleet planning.

Chief Financial Officer Till Streichert said the package was inevitable given the sharp rise in oil costs and geopolitical instability.

Lufthansa said the measures would generate significant savings in fuel costs by removing inefficient aircraft from service early and reducing the unprotected portion of fuel purchases.

The group said that about 80% of passenger airlines' fuel consumption is covered by crude oil prices, but the remaining 20% ​​must be purchased at significantly higher market prices.

The latest measures would reduce the expensive unprotected part by about 10%.

In addition to changes to the fleet and capacity, Lufthansa said it had introduced new savings targets covering employment, internal events and external consultancy, supporting its existing goal of cutting 4,000 administrative positions across the group by 2030.

Hundreds of flights were canceled on Thursday as Lufthansa flight crews continued their strike into its fourth day. Pilots and cabin crew walked out together, disrupting operations at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and regional arm Cityline.