Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, sharply increased its operating profits in the first six months and raised its forecast for the full year on Tuesday despite the impact of record oil prices on its fuel bill.

The group, the second largest European carrier by turnover after Air France-KLM, said that its operating profits in the first half rose from €33m to €253m. Turnover rose by 2.4 per cent from €8.3bn to €8.5bn.