The newest member of the Lufthansa Group – City Airline – has had some more details unveiled on its planned set-up.
Let us dive in to have a look at what Lufthansa Group has planned for its newest airline.
A vision of things to be – City Airlines Airbus A319 – Rendering, Lufthansa
The new airline is due to commence operations in the Summer of 2024.
Some of the preparatory work for City Airlines has been completed, with its founding and granting of an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the German Federal Aviation Authority back in June.
It will operate its flights from the Munich and Frankfurt hubs and thus also offer feeder flights for Lufthansa. City Airlines will operate alongside the existing Lufthansa CityLine. Recruitment of operational staff will begin in November 2023, with pilots and cabin crew members needed for the launch.
Like other carriers within carriers, passengers can look forward to a Lufthansa customer experience on board City Airlines aircraft.
Recruitment in-flight
It seems that Lufthansa Group is thinking long-term, with the airline planning to hire English-speaking pilots as part of the recruitment process for cockpit roles. Applicants with prior experience will be given preference during hiring.
For Lufthansa Group employees interested in switching to City Airlines, offers with voluntary switching conditions can be negotiated. This includes Lufthansa CityLine staff in particular. Talks with the social partners to agree on conditions for competitive and secure jobs have already begun.
Fleet
City Airlines currently has a single Airbus A319 assigned to it, with D-AILX registered (an Airbus A319). However, the airline is not ruling out other aircraft in the future, with it evaluating the possibility of using Airbus A220 or Embraer aircraft.
In Quotes
Jens Fehlinger, Managing Director of City Airlines, said:
“With City Airlines, we want to create prospects for the coming decades and secure sustainable jobs in Germany. This is the only way for us to grow and sustainably strengthen the hubs in Munich and Frankfurt,”
It’s all about cost-base
Lufthansa is setting up City Airlines to strengthen its short-haul network whilst reducing costs. In many ways, this is akin to the BA Euroflyer operation based out of Gatwick – flying the BA brand but with a lower cost base.
The path that City Airlines will fill will be to push Eurowings away from the corridors that might be flown on behalf of Lufthansa whilst increasing the brand visibility that might have been lost.
And plenty has been lost, with low-cost carriers eating from the bottom and airlines such as Eurowings, Ryanair and easyJet, with Lufthansa unable to respond as it reserved its “key” brand for spoke-to-hub operations.
So, you have the fun of having a capital-to-capital service (e.g. Paris to Berlin) without Lufthansa being present – only Eurowings (a perfect example – given the only Lufthansa-brand flights are to Munich and Frankfurt).
Will it gain the market share, as well as the recognition that it wants? We’ll have to see.
One aircraft is a start – but given that the Lufthansa group is trying for efficiency – expect to see a fleet shake-up in the future, given it is looking at the smaller offerings by Embraer and Airbus.
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