Eurowings Discover targets 2022 ramp-up
Lufthansa’s new low-cost brand is hoping to ramp up services with a double-digit fleet by summer 2022, Routes Reconnected has been told.
The new carrier will also be looking at opportunities both long-haul opportunities and those within continental Europe, both to convert existing Lufthansa services or launch entirely new routes. The start-up carrier will launch from Frankfurt (FRA) in June 2021 with three Airbus A330 aircraft, with routes including: Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), Dominican Republic; Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH), Namibia; and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU), Mauritius.
By winter 2021/22 this will expand to destinations possibly including Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados and Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport, Cuba. According to Eurowings Discover’s director of network airport relations Rupert Kraus, more of its schedule for coming seasons will be finalized in the near future.
“There will be a slow ramp up in Winter '21 mostly focusing on the Canary Islands and Egypt, the destinations which are demanded during winter season,” he said. “And then we will make our first decisions on Summer 2022 in the next two months or so on the ramp-up in long-haul and in continental networks within Europe.”
“We aim for a two-digit aircraft number for Summer '22 on both continental and intercontinental operations.”
Kraus told the conference that Eurowings Discover was open to conversations and opportunities from airports and destinations, with a stated focus on serving four main types of route: sun and beach; city trip and culture; wellness and cruise; and nature and wildlife.
