Airlines Lufthansa presents subsidiary airline City Airlines

As announced by Lufthansa Group today, a new airline will be launched. City Airline will operate as feeder carrier to Lufthansa’s operational hubs at Frankfurt and Munich. All flights will be operated for Lufthansa. The group stated that City Airlines will operate alongside Lufthansa CityLine, which has been the carrier for feeder-flights in the past.

City Airlines was founded last year and received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in June this year from the German Federal Aviation Authority. Lufthansa explained the new airline by stating the competitive strengthening of the short-haul network would be essential for the group’s market position.

"With City Airlines, we want to create prospects for the coming decades and secure sustainable jobs in Germany. This is the only way for us to grow and sustainably strengthen the hubs in Munich and Frankfurt," said Jens Fehlinger, Managing Director of City Airlines.

To position the new carrier for the long-term, City Airlines will also recruit English-speaking pilots. Recruitment for cockpit and cabin crews will begin in November 2023. Group employees can also negotiate voluntary switching conditions, especially Lufthansa CityLine staff.

According to industry experts, Lufthansa CityLine will only be able to operate large aircraft like the A319 until 2025, as negotiated with pilots. Possibly, CityLine will be phasing out the CRJ 900 aircraft in the coming years and the subsidiary could be closed.

With the new AOC, Lufthansa Group also eyes larger regional aircraft to join the City Airlines fleet. Currently, the group is evaluating the A220 aircraft family and the Embraer E-Jet family. For the passengers, not much will change. The experience will be the same on-board City Airlines compared to mainline Lufthansa.