Lufthansa prepares for the 12th airline of the group (waiting for Eta Airways)

Lufthansa is preparing to take off the group’s 12th airline at the end of summer, on the same days that – if an agreement is reached and if all goes smoothly – the European Commission may have to grant approval for the entry into Germany of ETA airlines. While engaged in delicate negotiations with the Italian Ministry of the Economy, the sky giant is working to start operations of City Airlines, the new regional division whose headquarters will be in Munich, the second largest in Germany after Frankfurt.

the site

There are still few details about the telecom network that should be launched at the end of August to prevent a snag. The official website was launched without much fanfare and was discovered by the German-language magazine for the first time Aerotelegraph, explains that City Airlines “intends to offer customers on short and medium routes an exceptional flying experience of Lufthansa quality.” Daily flights will be from Munich with the ‘main European cities’, with the ‘hinterlands’ and towards Lufthansa hubs for those intending to travel outside the Old Continent.

Planes

As for the fleet in recent weeks, the Lufthansa Group said it would initially consist of Airbus A319s, larger than CityLine and Air Dolomiti’s Embraer and Bombardier CRJ jets. In this way it will be able to employ the 250 captains and flight attendants who previously worked at Germanwings, which closed in April 2020. Lufthansa Group managing director Carsten Spohr recently indicated that City Airlines is working to overcome future contractual constraints: according to the agreement with the unions The other division, CityLine, will not be able to operate aircraft with more than 75 seats from 2026.

documents

City Airlines is currently hiring administrative and ground operations staff. Pilots and flight attendants will be hired upon agreement with trade unions (pilots’ cockpit) and in any event not earlier than June 30, 2023, except for those required to obtain an Air Operator Certificate. According to the documents of the company he consulted courier It becomes clear that the “City Airlines GmbH” division was registered on April 5, 2022 with offices in Munich, with a capital of 25 thousand euros and in the names of Jens Fellinger, 42, General Manager of the CityLine Division, and Marco Zenger, 33, Senior Director of Strategies at Lufthansa.

motives

Explain via email to courier Company spokesperson. He continues, “In a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment in the short and medium haul sector, there is a need for stable and sustainable solutions to make hub traffic profitable for the future.” This is why the “CityLine 2” project was born, which then led to the creation of an airline, City Airlines, necessary to obtain an air operator certificate from the German Aviation Authority ». Certificate not yet obtained.

brands

With labor contracts less expensive than those of the conglomerate’s large carriers – this is the opinion of insiders and analysts who follow the European sky giant – the goal is also to make the giant more competitive in terms of operating costs. Thus, “City Airlines” joins Lufthansa, Lufthansa City Line, Swiss, Edelweiss Air, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Eurowings Europe, Eurowings Discovery, Air Dolomiti and Lufthansa Cargo.