City Airlines takes off as Lufthansa Group focuses growth on more cost-efficient platforms

Lufthansa City Airlines' inaugural service launched on 26-Jun-2024 with an Airbus A320neo flight from Munich to Birmingham. The new regional airline of the Lufthansa Group has identified nine destinations from Munich for 2024 and a further 14 potential destinations for 2025.

Group CEO Carsten Spohr has said Lufthansa City Airlines will replace its near namesake, Lufthansa CityLine, in operating short and medium haul services to feed the mainline hubs at Munich and, later, at Frankfurt.

A scope clause in Lufthansa's agreement with pilots means that CityLine's deployment of narrowbodies will end in 2026. Its ageing regional jets are too old and too small to meet requirements. Moreover, Lufthansa wants to transfer CityLine crew to City Airlines on new terms to boost productivity and cost-effectiveness.

Lufthansa City Airlines is the latest in a line of alternative growth platforms for the group in recent years, following others including Germanwings, Eurowings, Discover Airlines and Air Dolomiti (and ITA Airways, once Lufthansa's acquisition is cleared).