by Lufthansa Flyer | Apr 15, 2016 | Eurowings, Featured, Lufthansa |
In an effort to expand Lufthansa’s Eurowings brand, LH has been exploring options with fellow Star Alliance member ‘SAS’. Over the last 6 months, LH has been in discussions with SAS’ ownership (Norway/Denmark/Sweden Governments) to determine if some kind of merger or partnership would be possible to help both airlines accomplish their objectives. It has been no secret that the governments that have stakes in SAS want to get the airline off their books after providing an emergency lifeline to the airline in 2010 to keep it in business.
Lufthansa’s objective to is to take a quantum leap with Eurowings to put them at the top of the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) market in Europe, while SAS is looking to stem the tide of falling market share over the last several years.
From what I gather, the actual acquisition of SAS by Lufthansa is unlikely, as is a minority stake position. However, it seems that both carriers are keen on the idea of expanding their relationship that would allow Eurowings to immediately increase their footprint and give SAS the opportunity to expand their LCC market and move away from ‘Sovereign’ ownership. A partnership seems to offer the path of least resistance.
A major factor that will determine what happens between SAS and LH is what Lufthansa decides to do with Brussels Airlines. LH currently owns 45% of Belgian carrier with an option to buy the remaining stake. A Lufthansa Supervisory Board meeting on April 27 should bring clarity on this. Its widely believed that LH will acquire the remainder of the airline and actually integrate SN into its Eurowings division. LH has until 2017 to exercise the option to complete the purchase but it is likely to be completed this year if the board approves the transaction.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 10, 2016 | Eurowings, Featured, Route Announcements |
It has been no secret that Lufthansa’s launch of Eurowings long-haul service has met with some turbulence after excessive delays and problems in operating some of their flights. This has caused a bit of backlash among passengers, however LH is taking active steps to work through the growing pains so that these problems go away in the future.
To that end, Karl Ulrich Garnadt, who runs Eurowings has suggested that the start of some planned routes may be deferred into the future. Specifically, he used Las Vegas as an example. Originally, ‘LAS’ was supposed to begin receiving Eurowings flights from Cologne beginning on May 4, 2016. However, according to Garnadt, it appears now that Las Vegas will not see Eurowings flights until sometime in 2017.
When an LH executive ‘suggests’ something, it usually turns into reality, so I have no reason to think that this delay will not happen. His comments went on to suggest that in order to get Eurowings operating properly and meeting passenger expectations, LH has to slow down the expansion in order to perfect the product. The feeling is that things will be back on track next year.
On a positive note, thanks to strong bookings and low fuel prices, Eurowings is achieving their financial objectives. In addition, 2 more A330 aircraft will join the fleet in May and another one will be delivered next year, giving Eurowings a fleet of 7 A330s. That should go a long way to making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 11, 2016 | CityLine, Eurowings, Featured, Lufthansa |
Over the past few days, Lufthansa has released several announcements as it relates to their CityLine and Eurowings operations in the USA. Unfortunately most of the announcements dealt with delays in service.
To start things off, Lufthansa has delayed the launch of their CityLine service between Frankfurt and San Jose, California. Flights were to begin on April 29 but have now been delayed until July 1. Plans still call for 5 flights per week.
Eurowings service between Cologne and Las Vegas has also been delayed. Originally set to begin on May 4, service has now been postponed to June 1. Plans still call for 2 flights per week.
Lastly, LH has announced a change to plans concerning Frankfurt – Atlanta being transferred to CityLine. Originally LH was going to transfer the route from their mainline division to CityLine in April, and operate it until June. However the latest update now has CityLine operating the route from March 2 to October 29.
