Lufthansa, Europe's second-largest air carrier, which also owns Swiss International Air Lines, saw second-quarter operating profit of its core German passenger unit shrink 34 per cent to €209m ($326m) as record fuel prices and global economic woes hit home.

Interim figures showed the airline's continued hope of repeating last year's record profit of €1.4bn are based on a one-off boost from Swiss, which was consolidated fully only in mid-2007, and higher profits from cargo and engineering.