FRANKFURT- Lufthansa (LH) will permanently remove all capacity from its regional subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine (CL) starting 18 April and ground six widebody aircraft by October. These steps tackle sharply higher kerosene costs and ongoing labour disruptions affecting German operations.
The actions form part of an accelerated turnaround plan for Lufthansa’s German business, which has struggled for profitability since the pandemic. They include retiring the last Airbus A340-600s and parking two Boeing 747-400s while simplifying the fleet structure.
Lufthansa Permanently Closes CityLine
Lufthansa Group will permanently remove Lufthansa CityLine’s 27 operational aircraft from its flight programme as of 18 April.
The carrier takes this action to avoid further losses at the subsidiary. “The Canadair CRJ aircraft are nearing the end of their technical operational capability and have comparatively high operating costs,” Lufthansa says.
At the end of the summer flight schedule, Lufthansa will ground 6 intercontinental aircraft. This includes its last 4 remaining Airbus A340-600s, which will leave the fleet in October.
It will also ground a pair of Boeing 747-400s from October. “The final farewell to this aircraft type is planned for next year,” Lufthansa says.
Reported by FlightGlobal, these early retirements support the strategy to reduce the number of different sub-fleets as quickly as possible.
Lufthansa has accelerated the allocation of nine additional Airbus A350s to its Discover Airlines unit.
A further step will cut the equivalent capacity of 5 aircraft from Lufthansa (LH) core brand operations through consolidation of short- and medium-haul traffic across the group’s six hubs.
Cost Pressures Driving Accelerated Measures
Lufthansa Group chief financial officer Till Streichert says the package of fleet and capacity measures is unavoidable in light of sharply increased kerosene costs and geopolitical instability.
The carrier points to a more than doubling in kerosene prices since the start of the Iran conflict. This has accelerated actions to protect profitability while labour disputes continue to disrupt German operations.
Pilots and cabin crew at Lufthansa (LH), Lufthansa CityLine (CL) and Eurowings Germany have been involved in fresh industrial action since 13 April.
The group’s passenger airlines remain roughly 80 percent hedged on crude oil prices. The measures still generate disproportionate fuel savings by retiring inefficient older aircraft and reducing the unhedged portion of fuel requirements.
The removal of Lufthansa CityLine capacity had already been identified as part of strategic development for some time, independently of the current geopolitical crisis.
“The current crisis is now forcing us to implement this measure earlier,” Streichert explains. “The goal is to focus our short- and medium-haul platforms more clearly and make them more competitive.”
Support for Affected Employees
Lufthansa says that against the background of the scheduled end of Canadair CRJ flight operations at Lufthansa CityLine by the end of the year at the latest, and a possible termination of all flight operations, it had previously made offers for follow-up employment within the group.
“This is a painful step, particularly with regard to the colleagues at Lufthansa CityLine,” adds Streichert.
“It is therefore all the more important now to find continued employment opportunities within the group.”
In 2024 Lufthansa Group launched a turnaround programme for its German operations. Agreements have been reached with ground staff covering German operations and with the new City Airlines division launched in 2024.
However, industrial action involving pilots and cabin crew continues at the main Lufthansa (LH), CityLine (CL) and Eurowings Germany units.
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