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Lufthansa City Airlines

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(Redirected from City Airlines)

Lufthansa City Airlines GmbH
Lufthansa City Airlines Airbus A319-100
IATA ICAO Call sign
VL LHX CITYAIR
Founded
  • 5 April 2022; 4 years ago (2022-04-05) (as City Airlines)
  • 12 January 2024; 2 years ago (2024-01-12) (as Lufthansa City Airlines)
Commenced operations
26 June 2024; 2 years ago (2024-06-26) (as Lufthansa City Airlines)
Hubs
Miles & More
AllianceStar Alliance
Fleet size15 (end 2025)[1]
Parent companyLufthansa Group
Websitewww.lufthansa-city.com

Lufthansa City Airlines (branded as Lufthansa City) is a German airline and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. It operates short- and medium-haul services within Lufthansa's network, including feeder flights for the group's hubs at Munich Airport and Frankfurt Airport.[2] The airline was founded in 2022 as City Airlines, received its air operator's certificate from the German Federal Aviation Authority in June 2023, and began scheduled operations on 26 June 2024.[2][3]

Lufthansa has described the airline as part of a strategy to strengthen the competitiveness of its short-haul network and support long-haul growth from Germany.[2][4] The creation and expansion of Lufthansa City Airlines became controversial among pilot and cabin-crew unions, which argued that the new operation was being used to replace Lufthansa CityLine and reduce labour costs under new collective-bargaining arrangements.[5][6][7]

History

[edit]

Formation and launch

[edit]

Lufthansa Group announced in October 2023 that City Airlines would begin operations in summer 2024, initially with Airbus A319 aircraft and with recruitment for cockpit and cabin crew beginning in November 2023. The group said the airline would operate from Munich and Frankfurt, provide feeder services for Lufthansa, and operate alongside Lufthansa CityLine.[2] The airline subsequently adopted the public brand name Lufthansa City.[8]

In February 2024, Lufthansa Group confirmed the airline's first destinations from Munich: Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hanover, Birmingham, Bordeaux and Manchester.[4] Ticket sales began on 24 April 2024 under the IATA designator VL.[9] The first scheduled flight, VL2508 from Munich to Birmingham, departed on 26 June 2024 using an Airbus A320neo.[3]

Lufthansa City Airlines expanded during 2025. In April 2025 it took delivery of its first factory-new Airbus A320neo, registered D-AIJP and named Ingelheim am Rhein. Lufthansa Group said at the time that the aircraft brought the airline's fleet to eight aircraft and that further A320neo aircraft would expand the fleet to 15 aircraft by the end of 2025.[10] In its 2025 annual report, Lufthansa Group reported that Lufthansa City Airlines had operated 11 Airbus A320neo and four Airbus A319 aircraft from Munich at the end of 2025, and that its fleet was planned to grow to 20 A320neos, four A319s and one A220 by the end of 2026.[1]

Lufthansa City Airlines joined Star Alliance on 9 September 2025.[11] On 9 February 2026, the airline opened its Frankfurt base with flight VL946 from Frankfurt to Manchester. Lufthansa Group said the initial Frankfurt schedule would include Manchester, Berlin, Valencia, Düsseldorf and Málaga, with additional destinations following in summer 2026 and the local Frankfurt fleet planned to reach seven Airbus A320neo aircraft by September 2026.[12]

Rationale and labour controversy

[edit]

Lufthansa Group's public rationale for City Airlines was that a more competitive short-haul network was needed to support the group's German hubs and planned long-haul growth.[2][4] In November 2023, aero.de reported comments by Lufthansa Group chief executive Carsten Spohr that City Airlines would have the second-highest pay agreement among German airlines after the Lufthansa mainline, while still saving Lufthansa about one to two million euros per year and A320 aircraft compared with mainline operation. Spohr said the new air operator certificate would also help offset cost increases from the latest pilot agreement for Lufthansa's core airlines.[5]

By June 2024, Spohr had publicly described Lufthansa City Airlines as the future replacement for Lufthansa CityLine, which had long operated feeder flights for Lufthansa's hubs. He said that CityLine would no longer be able to use larger aircraft with more than 95 seats under a collective-bargaining restriction with Vereinigung Cockpit [de], while its smaller Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft were nearing technical cycle limits.[13] Airliners.de reported that Lufthansa management also wanted to lower the cost of feeder flights by moving some work away from the higher collective wage standards of the core Lufthansa brand and negotiating new agreements for the new operation.[14]

Unions disputed Lufthansa's explanation. Vereinigung Cockpit said in June 2024 that Spohr's account of the 95-seat restriction was shortened and misleading, arguing that the union had repeatedly offered to adjust the rule to allow Lufthansa CityLine to continue operating. The union described the new airline as an unnecessary and possibly impermissible circumvention of existing collective agreements.[6] The flight attendants' union UFO had already warned in October 2023 that City Airlines could lead to the rapid end of Lufthansa CityLine and said Lufthansa was seeking significant concessions from CityLine cabin staff in pay, working time, deployment conditions, leave entitlement and roster stability as part of any move to the new airline.[7]

In April 2026, Lufthansa City Airlines and the ver.di union announced a first collective labour agreement for cockpit and cabin crew, with provisions covering pay, working conditions, company pension plans and performance-based compensation. Lufthansa City Airlines said most of its flight crew had chosen ver.di as their representative, while the agreements were to apply retroactively from 1 April 2026 and run for three years, subject to committee approval.[15] Six days later, Lufthansa Group announced that it would permanently remove Lufthansa CityLine's 27 operational aircraft from the flight programme from 18 April 2026, citing higher kerosene costs, burdens from labour disputes and the high operating costs and technical age of the remaining CityLine Canadair jets. The group said transfer options to Lufthansa City Airlines had previously been offered to cockpit and cabin crews.[16]

Destinations

[edit]

Lufthansa City Airlines operates within the Lufthansa network, with flights sold through Lufthansa Group sales channels under the VL airline code.[9] Its first routes were from Munich, while Frankfurt operations began in February 2026.[3][12] The following destinations have been announced or operated by Lufthansa City Airlines:

Country City Airport Notes Refs
BulgariaSofiaVasil Levski Sofia Airport[17]
FinlandHelsinkiHelsinki AirportFrankfurt network expansion from summer 2026[12]
FinlandOuluOulu Airport[18]
FranceBordeauxBordeaux–Mérignac Airport[4]
FranceMarseilleMarseille Provence AirportFrankfurt network expansion from summer 2026[12]
FranceParisCharles de Gaulle Airport[18]
GermanyBerlinBerlin Brandenburg Airport[4][12]
GermanyBremenBremen Airport[4]
GermanyCologne/BonnCologne Bonn Airport[4]
GermanyDüsseldorfDüsseldorf Airport[4][12]
GermanyFrankfurtFrankfurt AirportHub[12]
GermanyHamburgHamburg Airport[4][12]
GermanyHanoverHannover Airport[4]
GermanyMunichMunich AirportHub[3]
GermanyMünster/OsnabrückMünster Osnabrück Airport[18]
IrelandDublinDublin Airport[18]
ItalyCataniaCatania–Fontanarossa Airport[17]
ItalyNaplesNaples International Airport[17]
ItalyRomeLeonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport[18]
MaltaVallettaMalta International Airport[19]
PortugalFaroFaro Airport[19]
RomaniaBucharestBucharest Henri Coandă International Airport[19][12]
RomaniaTimișoaraTimișoara Traian Vuia International Airport[18]
SpainAlicanteAlicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport[19]
SpainBarcelonaJosep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport[18]
SpainBilbaoBilbao AirportFrankfurt network expansion from summer 2026[12]
SpainIbizaIbiza AirportFrankfurt network expansion from summer 2026[12]
SpainMálagaMálaga Airport[19][12]
SpainPalma de MallorcaPalma de Mallorca Airport[19]
SpainSevilleSeville Airport[17]
SpainValenciaValencia Airport[19][12]
SwedenStockholmStockholm Arlanda AirportFrankfurt network expansion from summer 2026[12]
United KingdomBirminghamBirmingham AirportFirst scheduled destination[4][3]
United KingdomEdinburghEdinburgh Airport[10]
United KingdomLondonHeathrow Airport[19][12]
United KingdomManchesterManchester AirportFirst Frankfurt destination[4][12]

Codeshare agreements

[edit]

Lufthansa City Airlines maintains a codeshare agreement with Lufthansa.[20]

Fleet

[edit]

At the end of 2025, Lufthansa City Airlines operated 15 aircraft: 11 Airbus A320neo aircraft and four Airbus A319 aircraft. Lufthansa Group expected the fleet to reach 25 aircraft by the end of 2026, including the airline's first Airbus A220.[1]

Lufthansa City fleet
Aircraft In service
(end 2025)		 Planned by
end 2026		 Orders/options Passengers Notes
Airbus A220-300 0 1 40 firm orders, plus 20 options 148[21] First delivery scheduled for 2026.[21]
Airbus A319-100 4 4 — 150[22]
Airbus A320neo 11 20 — 180[23] First factory-new aircraft delivered in April 2025.[10]
Total 15 25 40 firm orders, plus 20 options

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "Lufthansa Airlines". Lufthansa Group Annual Report 2025. Lufthansa Group. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "City Airlines to start flight operations in Summer 2024". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lufthansa City Airlines starts flight operations with A320neo on June 26". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Lufthansa City Airlines: First destinations confirmed". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 "So viel Personalkosten spart Lufthansa mit City Airlines". aero.de (in German). 3 November 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Vereinigung Cockpit sieht weiterhin keine Notwendigkeit für Gründung der City Airlines". Vereinigung Cockpit (in German). 12 June 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 "UFO befürchtet Aus für Lufthansa CityLine und Einbußen für Mitarbeitende beim Wechsel zu City Airlines". Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation (in German). 26 October 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Eiselin, Stefan (25 October 2023). "City Airlines tritt als Lufthansa City auf". aeroTELEGRAPH (in German). Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Lufthansa City Airlines starts ticket sales in April and flight operations in June". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Lufthansa City Airlines takes delivery of its first all-new Airbus A320neo". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 9 April 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Lufthansa City Airlines becomes a member of Star Alliance". Lufthansa Group for Business. Lufthansa Group. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Lufthansa City Airlines opens new base in Frankfurt". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 10 February 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Eiselin, Stefan (10 June 2024). "Lufthansa City Airlines wird Lufthansa Cityline ersetzen". aeroTELEGRAPH (in German). Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "Lufthansa City Airlines soll den Europaverkehr aufmischen". airliners.de (in German). 10 June 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Lufthansa City Airlines reaches collective labor agreement for cockpit and cabin crew". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 10 April 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "Lufthansa Group Accelerates Strategy Implementation". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 16 April 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Gruber, Jan (16 June 2025). "Lufthansa City Airlines expands route network from Munich". Aviation.Direct. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Lufthansa City Airlines übernimmt weitere Routen ab München". aeroTELEGRAPH (in German). 28 February 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Liu, Jim (31 July 2025). "Lufthansa City 4Q25 Network Expansion – 30JUL25". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  20. ↑ Liu, Jim (25 April 2024). "Lufthansa City late-June 2024 network with Lufthansa codeshare". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  21. 1 2 "Lufthansa Group orders 80 new highly efficient short- and medium-haul aircraft and agrees on a further 120 purchasing options". Lufthansa Group Newsroom. Lufthansa Group. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Airbus A319-100". Lufthansa City Airlines. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Airbus A320neo". Lufthansa City Airlines. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
[edit]
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