FRANKFURT- In March, the announcement of Lufthansa (LH) plan to re-establish City Airlines, previously referred to as Cityline 2 or Newcont, generated significant excitement. Moreover, the initial target for the airline’s launch was set for late summer of the same year.
However, there was an initial lack of progress in this regard, primarily due to ongoing internal negotiations between the company and labor unions regarding working conditions.
Lufthansa New Order for City Airlines
These negotiations aim to address concerns about the potential impact of the new airline on labor conditions.
City Airlines is envisioned to operate domestically and internationally, much like Lufthansa, focusing on providing feeder flights from various European cities to the two major hubs in Frankfurt (FRT) and Munich (MUC).
In the interim, the Lufthansa Group remains committed to its fleet planning efforts. Initially, the airline possessed only one Airbus A319 registered as D-AILX, a prerequisite for the new airline to obtain its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the German Federal Aviation Authority, which it successfully accomplished in June.
However, Lufthansa is now set on providing the new city airline with a fleet of 40 brand-new aircraft.
CEO Remarks
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr made this announcement in an internal video message to the company’s employees on October 11th, as confirmed by aeroTELEGRAPH.
“We are on the verge of receiving a significant order for 80 aircraft. Out of these, 40 smaller narrow-body planes with a capacity of 120 to 140 seats will be allocated to Cityline 2,” stated Spohr.
He further explained that the options include either Embraer’s E-Jet family or the Airbus A220.
The remaining 40 aircraft will be larger narrow-body planes, which could be Airbus A320 Neo or Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
These may serve as part of an order for the Lufthansa Group to support various flight operations. Additionally, the CEO confirmed that City Airlines, or Cityline 2 as Spohr referred to the new venture in the video, is set to launch in the coming year, initially commencing operations with the A319.
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