Eurowings Plans to Focus on Its Home Turf Before It Expands Its Long-Haul Operation
Skift Take
Lufthansa Group has been more insulated from low-cost competition than most of Europe's legacy airlines. That's quickly changing, and the company needs to get its plans in order. It must find a way to turn its Eurowings operation into a more nimble competitor with lower costs.
As Norwegian Air teases $69 one-way trans-Atlantic fares, Lufthansa Group's low-cost entity, Eurowings, plans to launch new U.S. destinations, including Orlando, Las Vegas and Seattle, a member of the company's executive board said in an interview.
Today, Eurowings flies just one U.S. route — three times per week from Cologne to Miami, — as well as several to the Caribbean, including flights to Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
"We are looking into various markets in the United States because obviously the United States by far is the largest long-haul market," said Lufthansa Group's Karl Ulrich Garnadt, the company's executive in charge of Eurowings. "If you look to the market development you see that the North Atlantic is the area in the world where you see the most low cost, long-haul activity."
Still, Garnadt acknowledged Eurowings has more pressing needs, including bulking up its European short-haul network to compete with Ryanair and other discounters, lowering its costs to better match the competition, and integrating Brussels Airlines into its operation. Lufthansa Group acquired full c
