Lufthansa Group details its network restart plan

After making noise about its network restart, Lufthansa Group is putting meat on the bones of its plans – with both short and long haul routes returning to operation

The group is planning to add 1800 flights, serving 106 German and European destinations, as well as 20 long haul routes.

Let’s do a little break-down of what the group is offering

Lufthansa

Lufthansa Airbus A319 at Birmingham Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond

• Frankfurt Short Haul:  Hanover, Majorca, Sofia, Prague, Billund, Nice, Manchester, Budapest, Dublin, Riga, Krakow, Bucharest and Kyiv.
• Frankfurt Long Hauk: Toronto, Mexico City, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Bahrain, Johannesburg, Dubai and Mumbai. Newark/New York, Chicago, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Bangkok continue to be offered
• Munich Short haul:  Münster/Osnabrück, Sylt, Rostock, Vienna, Zurich, Brussels and Majorca.
• Munich Long Haul: Chicago, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv.

The airline planes to restore further long haul operations during the second half of June.

Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Airlines Airbus A340-300 – Image, Economy Class and Beyond

• Zurich Short Haul: Paris, Brussels, Moscow, and Mediterranean destination
• Zurich Long Haul: New York JFK, Chicago, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Johannesburg.

Eurowings

Eurowings Airbus A320 with Shaklets at Dusseldorf Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond

Expansion of services from  Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg and Stuttgart, adding 15 European destinations from May onwwards. The airline will offer flights to Spain, Greece, Portugal and Croatia and Mallorca.

Austrian Airlines

Austrian Airlines Boeing 767-300ER departing Chicago O’Hare – Image, Economy Class and Beyond

Austrian’s network remains suspended until 7th June (extended from 31st May). A June restart is being considered

Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines A319 at Birmingham Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond 

Finally, Brussels Airlines is planning to restart its network in a reduced form from the 15th June 2020. No network details revealed yet.

If you’re thinking of travelling…

A lot of these routes will be subject to governmental approval and travel restrictions. As such when you plan your trip, you’re going to need to consider the current entry and quarantine regulations of the respective destinations.

And that’s not to say countries could impose further hygiene and security regulations, for example, due to longer waiting times at airport security checkpoints.

Onboard service will be limited, with catering services restricted until further notice.

And if goes without saying, you will need to wear a nose-and-mouth cover on board during the entire journey.

In quotes

Harry Hohmeister, Member of the Executive Board of German Lufthansa AG said.

“With the June flight schedule, we are making an important contribution to the revitalisation of the aviation infrastructure. It is an essential part of the German and European economic power. People want to and can travel again, whether on holiday or for business reasons. That’s why we will continue to expand our offer step by step in the coming months and connect Europe with each other and Europe with the world,”

Opinion: The start of a recovery… but will quarantine play a part?

It seems Lufthansa Group has seen a desire for travel and wants to offer it – for those who need to get home, or for those who want to travel.

Of course – the one thing that will stop this is if countries (such as the United Kingdom and Spain) impose mandatory quarantine on arrival. For short term visitors – that could be very unwelcome (unless you want to see a different set of four-walls from the one you live in).

For holidaymakers or business travellers – that could put a pause until those countries relax the requirements of entry.

But as Europe starts to move again – even with restrictions, it will be a challenge to convince borders to open and let more than their own citizens in.

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