On Tuesday, Lufthansa has reported improved first-quarter earnings. The rise is partly attributed to the 'weakened' euro, which dropped by more than 11% against the dollar in this quarter. The earnings have also been boosted due to lower fuel bill.

The airline is trying to lower the costs in order to compete better with its rivals from the Gulf, Turkey and with the low-cost carriers in Europe.

The airlines stated that action was required to lower the costs further, especially because of a rising pension burden and staff-related expenses.

Lufthansa reported that its unit costs rose by 2.8% in this quarter while the ticket prices, dropped by 2.9%, thereby, considerably lowering the yields.

The airline has reported a first-quarter adjusted loss, before interest and tax, of 167 million Euros. The average analyst forecast for a bit higher, at loss of 172 million. Simone Menne, Chief Financial Officer, stated, "We continue to see great pressure to act".

Lufthansa has been involved for long, in series of negotiations with its pilots over retirement benefits. Just last week, Lufthansa has made a new mediation proposal but it has not yet sought response from the pilot's union.

On March 24, Lufthansa suffered yet another setback with the crash of a passenger jet operated by its subsidiary Germanwings. The airline said that the crash affected bookings for a very short time at Germanwings. CFO Menne clarified that the crash would have no impact on the company's balance sheet, as the claims and other costs will be covered by the airline's insurers.

Several other aircraft companies reported their respective figures on Tuesday. The budget carrier, Ryanair, reported a 16% rise in number of passengers in April. IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia also reported a profit for the first quarter due to cost cuts.