Richard Weiss, Bloomberg
Of course weather-related problems are out of a company's hands, but Eurowings is also suffering because of its very ambitious growth strategy.
2 weeks ago
Patrick Whyte, Skift
Air France-KLM is being much more cautious than its rivals on the subject of low-cost long-haul. Joon isn't the long-term answer and Air France-Klm needs to come up with something better if it is going to compete against Norwegian and others.
4 months ago
Lufthansa seems to be the obvious suitor for at least some of Air Berlin's business. Picking up some of the slots from its former rival would give it a chance to really grow its low-cost Eurowings unit, which could lead to the introduction of more routes to North America.
10 months ago
Reading between the lines, Lufthansa is saying its success in acquiring Brussels Airlines and Air Berlin and incorporating them into Eurowings means it may do additional takeovers and may compete with Wow and Norwegian on transatlantic routes.
1 year ago
Deena Kamel Yousef, Bloomberg
It's amazing it took this long for low-cost, long-haul airlines to reach critical mass. But IATA's Alexandre de Juniac is right. There's probably no stopping this trend now. People are demanding cheap international flights.
Brian Sumers, Skift
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.
Lufthansa is finding itself in an untenable position. The airline is slowing Lufthansa's expansion and growing its Eurowings unit to compete with Ryanair and EasyJet. Meanwhile, the Gulf carriers are beating up Lufthansa with upscale, long-haul service. Lufthansa will find it very tough to please two masters.
2 years ago
Lufthansa Group is about a decade late in realizing the European low cost carriers are a massive threat. But it's good to see the company trying to do something about it and expanding its Eurowings operation.
Lufthansa's flurry of deals with Germanwings and Brussels Airlines enables Lufthansa -- in theory, at least -- to get around union opposition to Eurowings' expansion. Can Eurowings really compete with Ryanair, EasyJet and Norwegian? We'll see if parent Lufthansa really has the chops to do it.
Etihad, which owns 29 percent of Air Berlin, may have finally decided it no longer wants to subsidize mounting losses. If this deal happens, Air Berlin will still be around, but at a more manageable size.
Lufthansa is renowned for having its succession act together so the abrupt departure of its CFO, one of the few female executives at large Germany companies, amounts to a punch in the stomach for investors.
Lufthansa is looking to increase its presence among Europe's low-cost carriers.
