Lufthansa’s Eurowings gets reboot with Air Berlin, Brussels jets

Lufthansa said Eurowings will enter a new phase of growth as the wholesale transfer of dozens of jets from Air Berlin and Brussels Airlines doubles the size of its fleet and sidesteps union opposition to expansion. Lufthansa’s twin moves to buy Brussels Air, which has 49 jets, and take over 35 from Air Berlin will re-energise Eurowings and allow it to play a role in European airline consolidation, Karl Ulrich Garnadt, the Lufthansa board member with responsibility for Eurowings, said Thursday. “These are ground-breaking decisions,” Garnadt said. “We started with Eurowings to safeguard our home markets and seek growth opportunities, and then we set up a foreign base in Vienna and began long-haul operations. Now with Wednesday’s decisions, the third phase will begin.” <br/>