Lufthansa outlines long-haul fleet plan for Eurowings

Lufthansa Group foresees that Eurowings will operate no more than seven long-haul aircraft in 2021 amid plans for the low-cost subsidiary’s intercontinental operations to be consolidated in new unit Ocean. Prior to the crisis, some 14 long-haul jets – mainly Airbus A330s, but also A340s – were operated under the Eurowings brand. These included Brussels Airlines aircraft and seven A330s operated by the German arm of SunExpress, the leisure carrier jointly owned by Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. SunExpress in June disclosed a decision to dissolve its German operation. Lufthansa Group CE Carsten Spohr said during a Thursday results briefing that the company was “forced” to place the long aircraft under a single, new AOC, noting that this would also include long-haul aircraft at Lufthansa’s regional unit CityLine. Spohr says management is “evaluating” the possibility of consolidating the aircraft under the AOC of new standalone entity Ocean by the end of 2021. All aircraft will be operated under the Eurowings brand, he says. Until the new AOC consolidation has been completed, Brussels Airlines will most likely operate Eurowings’ long-haul aircraft – three during winter and a “maximum” seven in summer 2021. Spohr adds that the group is also considering the placement of eight Munich-based Eurowings A320s under the new AOC. Lufthansa has previously said it aims to model Ocean on group carrier Swiss’s leisure subsidiary Edelweiss, which operates a mix of narrow- and widebodies from its Zurich base. Spohr notes that Eurowings’ remit will include operation from the group’s hubs alongside bases in secondary cities.<br/>