Lufthansa eyes cost cuts to return Eurowings to profit

Lufthansa’s budget airline Eurowings will aim to cut costs by 15% over the next three years and focus on short-haul flights as part of a plan to return to profit by 2021, the German carrier said on Monday.

Lufthansa cited falling revenues at Eurowings as a major reason behind a profit warning on June 16. Eurowings’ revenue was forecast to drop sharply in the second quarter, reports news agency Reuters. 

Eurowings expanded last year as it took over large parts of Air Berlin but is making a loss as it faces tough price competition from Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz in Europe.

Passenger numbers up for Lufthansa in April as the group mulls over buying Thomas Cook

The European giant group of airlines, Lufthansa, welcomed 12.5 million passengers during the month of April this year, the latest results released from the airline indicated.  The airline group also saw an increase in its load factor, up by 2% to 83.3%.

The airline group is also interested in buying at least part of the aviation businesses put up for sale by Thomas Cook earlier this year.  Lufthansa has put in a bid to by the German leisure airline Condor, part of Thomas Cook, the firms CEO Carsten Spohr said: "We believe that we can offer Condor good prospects and maintain the business as a whole, both long- and short-haul operations.".  

Whilst the bid at the moment is just for Condor, the Lufthansa Group may widen its sights to more of Thomas Cooks airlines, “The offer would be for the short- and long-haul business (of Condor), with the opportunity to extend this to all Thomas Cook airlines. But right now, the offer is only valid for Condor.” a spokesperson for Lufthansa told the UK's TTG.

Looking at April's results in more detail now, Lufthansa's network airlines including Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS and Austrian Airlines carried more than 9.3 million passengers in April – 5.0% more than in the prior-year period. Compared to the previous year, the available seat kilometres increased by 4.1% in April. The sales volume was up by 6.7% over the same period, with an increasing seat load factor by 2.0 percentage points to 83.3 %.

Lufthansa Group Airlines welcomed more than 11 million passengers on board in March 2019

In March 2019, the Lufthansa Group airlines welcomed more than 11 million passengers. This shows an increase of 1.7% compared to the previous year’s month. 

The available seat kilometres were up 4.9% over the previous year, at the same time, sales increased by 4.1%. In addition as compared to March 2018, the seat load factor increased by 0.7 percentage points to 80.5%. This is partially due to the postponement of the Easter holidays, which fell into March last year.

In the first quarter of 2019 as a whole, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group welcomed more than 29 million passengers, 3.1% more than in the first quarter of the previous year. At 77.9%, the seat load factor in the first quarter was on a par with the previous year.

Cargo capacity in March was 10.5% up on the previous year, while the tonne-kilometres sold were 1.1% lower. This results in a load factor of 64.7%, which is 7.6 percentage points lower. In the first three months of 2019, freight capacity was increased by 8.6%. Sales fell by 3.0% in the same period. This results in a 7.5 percentage point lower cargo load factor. 

Network Airlines with around 8.4 million passengers

Lufthansa Group expands tourist-oriented long-haul portfolio in Frankfurt and Munich with Eurowings

Photo Lufthansa

First-ever Eurowings presence in Frankfurt as of October 

Lufthansa will support marketing and sales for the new long-haul destinations 

In Munich, Eurowings will supplement Lufthansa’s long-haul portfolio with daily flights to Bangkok 

Lufthansa Group will be significantly expanding its tourist-oriented long-haul portfolio at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. After the successes of Edelweiss in Zürich and the deployment of the first few Eurowings long-haul aircraft departing from Munich, there will now also be flights available from Frankfurt, along with an increase in flights from Munich. For Frankfurt Airport, this means that, as of Fall 2019, Eurowings will be taking off from the metropolis on the Main river.

Harry Hohmeister: “Lufthansa will actively shape the future

of tourism together with Eurowings”

As a first step, Eurowings will offer flights from Frankfurt to the popular vacation islands Mauritius and Barbados when the winter flight schedule goes into effect in October 2019. In addition to this, there will also be flights to Windhoek in Namibia, with other destinations currently being planned. All flights will be available for booking as of 13 March 2019. 

With 142 million passengers in 2018, the Lufthansa Group is number one in Europe

In 2018, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group carried a total of 142 million passengers, setting a new passenger record. With more than 1.2 million flights and a seat load factor of 81.4 %, the aircraft load factor was higher than ever before.

The growth drivers for the network airlines were the Zurich hub and the Munich and Vienna hubs, with passenger growth of 9.5%, 9.3% cent and 8.5% respectively. The number of passengers at the Frankfurt hub grew by 4.7% in 2018. Eurowings also contributed to the Lufthansa Group's new passenger record in 2018 with growth of 18 %.

In December, the freight capacity was 4.7 per cent higher than in the previous year and the tonne-kilometres sold 0.4 per cent higher. This results in a payload factor of 66.1 per cent, which is 2.8 percentage points lower. In 2018, total freight capacity was 4.3 percent higher than in the previous year. At the same time, sales increased by 0.8 per cent in this period. At 66.4 per cent, the load factor was 2.3 percentage points lower than in the previous year. 

August was a bumper month for the Lufthansa group of airlines.

Lufthansa Group Airlines welcome around 13.8 million passengers on board in August 2018

Passenger numbers were 10% up in August for the Lufthansa Group the airline has confirmed this week. The group's airlines welcomed around 13.8 million passengers, 10% more than they did last year.

The available seat kilometres were up 8.2% over the previous year, at the same time, sales increased by 8.7%. In addition as compared to August 2017, the seat load factor increased by 0.5 percentage points to 86.4 %. 

The Lufthansa group's July results

14.2 Million people flew with Lufthansa group in July 

In July 2018, the Lufthansa Group of airlines welcomed around 14.2 million passengers across its vast network, that's an 8.2 percent increase over July 2017. The available seat kilometres were up 7.0 percent sales were up 7.0 percent and the load fact was pretty stable at 86.3 percent. 

Eurowings BIZclass takes off

The new Eurowings Business Class – BIZclass launches today with some great fares on select long-haul flights.
The new BIZZclass offers many benefits and services including a comprehensive entertainment programme, super comfortable high-quality seat in a fresh modern cabin. The seat can quickly be converted in seconds into a fully flat bed that’s two metres in length.

Eurowings promise us that passengers will also be able to enjoy selected wines, beers, organic teas and other exquisite specialities from their partners Crew Republic, Geile Weine, Lakrids and Pukka Herbs. Fares, available to be booked from now, start from €*799.99  on flights from Dusseldorf to New York, Miami, Fort Myers, Cancun and Punta Cana!

Eurowings launches long-haul from Munich

One of Europe's fasting growing airlines, Eurowings, part of the Lufthansa group of airlines, has launched its news low-cost long-haul from Munich. The first long-haul flight took off this Monday heading for Las Vegas. Passengers can now travel to the Nevada metropolis via two flights a week. Flights take place on Mondays and Thursdays.

First Eurowings long-haul flight takes off for Las Vegas

Eurowings’ promises low fares for its long-haul services and the new Las Vegas route is no different, one-way tickets to the bright lights of the strip are already available for only EUR 189.99.  The low-cost carrier now offers a total of ten new long-haul destinations are being added to the offering from Munich, which includes Fort Myers and Windhoek. The fares are starting from an unbeatable EUR 179.99.

Las Vegas is followed by Cancun in Mexico (from 19 April) and Mauritius (from 21 April) with a weekly flight and Fort Myers (from 1 May) with two flights a week. The quartet will be supplemented over the summer with a weekly flight to Caribbean destinations such as Varadero (from 2 May), Punta Cana (from 4 May), Montego Bay (from 18 July) and Puerto Plata (from 19 July).

Increased passenger numbers for Lufthansa group in January 2018

In January 2018, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group welcomed around 8.7 million passengers. This shows an increase of 10.1% compared to the previous year’s month. The available seat kilometers were up 8% over the previous year, at the same time, sales increased by 7.4%. The seat load factor decreased by 0.4 percentage points compared to January 2017 to 75.6%.

The Network Airlines Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS and Austrian Airlines carried 6.5 million passengers in January, 5.4% more than in the prior-year period. Compared to the previous year, the available seat kilometers increased by 5.4% in January. The sales volume was up 3.9% over the same period, decreasing seat load factor by 1.1 percentage points to 75.7%.

Lufthansa German Airlines transported 4.5 million passengers in January, a 5.7% increase compared to the same month last year. A 6.1% increase in seat kilometers in January corresponds to a 4.8% increase in sales. Furthermore, the seat load factor was 76.6%, therefore one percentage point below the prior-year’s level.

Eurowings starts Dusseldorf - Puerto Plata service

The German low-cost carrier and sister of Lufthansa,  Eurowings has expanded its portfolio of long-haul flights from Düsseldorf with a service to Puerto Plata.

The service is operated by one of the airlines Airbus A330 aircraft and was sent on its way with a water cannon salute from the fire services at Düsseldorf Airport.  Fares start from just  € 199.99 one-way.

It follows on from the recent introduction of Düsseldorf to Punta Cana route the airline started recently.  The maiden flight started on Thursday, 14th December 2017 with typical German punctually at 12:20.

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The BIZclass is coming for Eurowings

Eurowings will be the first low-cost airline to offer a business class on selected long-haul flights at the beginning of the summer timetable 2018. 

The budget airlines has called its new premier offering BIZclass to represent a more modern and less stuffy image of the tradition 'business class' mantle. The airline will premiere its BIZclass poduct at the world's largest ITB travel fair in early March 2018 in Berlin. 

The airline in indicates the cabin and product will be introduced on flights some time during April 2018, the exact date still hasn't been finalised. 

On Tuesday 12th December Eurowings published a first photo of their new BIZclass via social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. The announcement and photo was designed to be a sweet teaser to customers and indicate what they can look forward to on the carriers long-haul flights next year. 

Eurowings says BIZclass will offer seats with more legroom, more service and, of course, the seat itself is larger and more comfortable. The new BIZclass seat can be fully automatically transformed into a bed of about two meters in length allowing passengers to get a "full flat" bed at the touch of a button in just moments, perfect for relaxing during a long flight. 

A million tickets from Eurowings from as little as 29.99 euro

The festive season might just have gotten a little more merry and festive.

Eurowings have offered a special gift for Advent. As of today, the airline’s customers can book unbeatably cheap flight tickets to the world’s most beautiful destinations from as little as EUR 29.99, now that is sure to please Santa and add a little extra special Christmas spirit to the rest of us. 

The discounted Advent flight tickets can be booked until Sunday, 10.12.2017, via www.eurowings.com or the Eurowings app on smartphone and tablet, and they can be redeemed flexibly up to the end of April 2018.

Maybe now you give a gift where literally the sky is the limit. So if you haven’t already purchased all your Christmas presents, maybe a low-cost Advent flight tickets from Eurowings is the answer.  It's perfect for anyone,  including your most favourite travel blog writer. 

Contract for the purchase of parts of Air Berlin Group signed

After intense negotiations over the past few weeks, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the Air Berlin Group have signed a contract today regarding the purchase of NIKI Luftfahrt GmbH (NIKI) and Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter mbH (LGW).

These two carriers are projected to increase the capacity of the operational fleet at Eurowings as follows:

LGW with 870 employees, as well as 17 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and 13 Airbus A320 aircraft

NIKI with 830 employees, as well as 20 Airbus A320 type aircraft

This means that the wet-lease operation that is currently still provided for Eurowings by Air Berlin Group will be taken over by Eurowings’ own operational fleet. Eurowings also plans to acquire additional aircraft on the market and hire 1,300 more employees.

Eurowings remains the fastest-growing airline in Europe,  “Our strategic modernization initiatives have paid off. We have regained the capacity to invest and grow, in order to play an active role in the consolidation of the European airline market with Eurowings. As the fastest-growing airline in Europe, Eurowings can now expand the range of services it offers customers,” says Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

Lufthansa buys the bulk of Air Berlin

The German airline group, Lufthansa has purchased the bulk of the bankrupted Air Berlin after a marathon signing session today the airline confirmed. The extra aircraft and routes it will be taking on will mainly be used to further expand its budget carrier Eurowings. 

The mega deal is valued at €210 million that's approximately $249 million and would cement the German travel giant as one of the largest airline group in Europe.  In addition to its purchase of part of Air Berlin, Lufthansa has agreed to acquire Air Berlin’s Austrian leisure travel airline Niki, its LG Walter regional airline and 20 additional aircraft.

“This contract provides new opportunities for jobs for a large part of our workforce. But we can only really breathe again when the EU Commission approves the deal,” Air Berlin chief executive Thomas Winkelmann said. 

22 New Destinations For Eurowings in 2018

Eurowings is continuing to spread its wings far and wide with the latest announcement in its global expansion programme and its aim to be the fastest growing airline in Europe.  

The airline, part of the Lufthansa Group will be flying to an additional new 22 destinations from next year for its summer 2018 schedule. Numerous new routes from Munich, Hanover, Cologne, Salzburg, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Palma complete the offer of the growing low-cost carrier. 

Eurowings Reach Deal With Crew

The budget airlines Eurowings and Germanwings, part of the Lufthansa group, have reached an agreement in principle on wages and retirement benefits with German cabin crew union UFO, Eurowings said on Sunday.

The outline deal, reached over the weekend, could end a three-year dispute which forced the cancellation of around 400 flights last October, after cabin crew at budget airlines Eurowings and Germanwings staged a strike.

The collective wage agreement includes wage levels, profit participation and a pension deal for around 1,400 staff, Eurowings said in a press release on Sunday.

The agreement needs to be formally approved and voted on by UFO’s management and Lufthansa Group’s senior management.

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Eurowings Want 600 More Air Staff

Eurowings are embarking on a massive recruitment drive for a further 600 air staff due to continued rapid expansion. 

The airline is looking to employ an additional 200 pilots for its A320 fleet and is also looking for 400 cabin crew - including prursers and number ones!

All positions are permanent are needed for the carriers continual planned growth and according to the airline, they made need a further 200+ cabin crew from 2018.  

Flight attendants already with Eurowings on contracts that run out at the end of the year have already been offered positions or prospects with the carrier or elsewhere within the Lufthansa group. 

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Will Lufthansa Buy 100 Air Berlin Aircraft? Ryanair's Not Happy. Could IAG be Interested? The Air Berlin Gossip Bubble

Lufthansa is in negotiations to buy a majority of Air Berlin's aircraft, with the backing of the German Government, which is, according to local media, looking for an aviation 'champion' to come to the rescue.   The German flag carrier may take upto 100 of the 140 Air Berlin fleet some analysts are predicting.  No comment on that theory yet from the German airline, although it is a possibility - with nothing being ruled out at this stage.   

Air Berlin's collapse may be a god send for Lufthansa and the other airlines in its group, if they takes up the chance to acquire slots at busy airports such as Berlin Tegel and Duesseldorf. The German national carrier is keen to defend its domestic position against the expansion of the low-cost carriers like Ryanair.