Lufthansa records highest ever profits

Germany's largest airline Lufthansa has recorded its highest ever profits, according to figures released Wednesday on the firm's third quarter (Q3) earnings.

Profits at Lufthansa rose by around a third to 1.52 billion euros between July and September, the best result in its corporate history.

A Lufthansa representative told Xinhua that "international flights from Asia to Europe have recovered from last year's declining trend and are contributing significantly" to the positive overall numbers.

The DAX-listed company thereby slightly surpassed analysts' expectations and confirmed its overall positive outlook for 2017.

"This circumstance allows us to gain the ability to invest and grow which we need in order to participate actively in the consolidation of the European market for airlines and invest in the future of our company," Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr said in a statement.

Lufthansa recently succeeded in its bid to take over the largest share of its insolvent rival airline Air Berlin. As a consequence of the acquisition, the firm will further tighten its already dominant grip on the German aviation market.