Lufthansa

Mainline capacity is being increased on routes to the Balearic island, while Lufthansa’s new long-haul subsidiary is adding Zimbabwe to its network.

The timing of the move has drawn criticism from the CEO of Smartwings Group who also bemoaned that Eurowings’ parent Lufthansa had received state aid from Germany while his group had not received any from the Czech government.

The German airport's long-haul routes are being gradually restored as COVID-19 eases.

“It would be more efficient to have only one type of aircraft,” COO Francesco Sciortino said. “We also need a long-term perspective for a replacement for the Boeing 767.”

The new carrier plans to launch flights from Munich in summer 2022, as well as expanding service from Frankfurt.

Civil unrest in Israel has prompted a number of carriers to halt flying to the country.

Lufthansa has agreed to extend a special pro-rate agreement (SPA) with leisure carrier Condor in a bid to prevent Germany’s anti-trust authority Bundeskartellamt from formally intervening on Condor’s side.

New connections to Frankfurt and London Heathrow are planned.

Lufthansa Group expects a steep recovery in the second half of 2021 after posting disappointing results for the first quarter (Q1) of the year.

Lufthansa subsidiaries Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and Brussels Airlines reported substantial losses for 2021 first quarter (Q1), traditionally the lowest performing period of the aviation year.

SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx outlined the carrier’s medium-term pivot to ‘interesting opportunities’ and set out a long-term vision for recovery at Routes Reconnected.

Executive lays out leisure carrier's plans at Routes Reconnected.

Airlines flying into Germany are facing another deepening of the novel coronavirus crisis as the government is set to introduce nightly curfews starting April 24.

Lufthansa now plans to extend a special pro-rate (SPA) agreement with leisure airline Condor beyond the summer after Germany’s competition watchdog Bundeskartellamt said the airline group had taken advantage of its dominant market position.

Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines will further reduce its fleet and cut more jobs as the COVID-19 crisis drags on.

Given the massive financial losses at many European hubs as a result of COVID-19, Vienna Airport (VIE) got off relatively lightly in announcing a loss of €76 million ($90 million) for 2020.

Lufthansa Cargo (LHC) CEO Dorothea von Boxberg has said COVID-19 vaccine volumes will not have as much of an impact on the air cargo market as the industry once believed.

Three Airbus A320s will be stationed at Berlin Brandenburg from April, while in May the Lufthansa-owned carrier intends to begin flying between the UK and Mallorca.

Lufthansa Cargo (LHC) said that it is prepared for the next downturn in the air cargo business when it happens after the company presented the best results in its 26-year history following an unprecedented year.

Lufthansa subsidiaries Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) have reported substantial losses for 2020 and further fleet reductions at both carriers are possible.

Lufthansa Group plans to phase out eight long-haul aircraft types over the next few years and sees no prospect of returning the Airbus A380 or A340-600 back to service.

Newly appointed Benedikt Escher says SWISS will reconsider its mix of destinations and frequencies as it notes strength of VFR and leisure.

The carrier also plans to start a new Brussels-Frankfurt connection this summer.

Lufthansa announced major changes to its ab initio pilot training program Feb. 17, as the airline grapples with the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their new agreement covers routes from Latvia and Lithuania to Munich.