Lufthansa City Airlines, the new carrier of the Lufthansa Group, began ticket sales on April 24th. Services will start next June 26th, with the Munich – Birmingham route.

The airline will operate with 3 Airbus A319-100 configured for 144 passengers in single class. Forward-looking, Lufthansa placed an order for 40 Airbus A220-300s to be delivered to Lufthansa City Airlines, with the option to purchase 20 more.

In addition to the A220s, Lufthansa is considering the addition of new Airbus A320neo jets for its new airline in future years.

Lufthansa City’s network will expand as new aircraft are incorporated into its fleet.

Brussels Airlines presented its new livery last April 25th, during an event in the Brussels Airlines’ Maintenance & Engineering hangar, with media, employees and invited guests. 

The new Belgian scheme is a tribute to the world-famous Tomorrowland music festival.

This Airbus A320neo, with registration OO-SBB, is one of Brussels Airlines’ newest aircraft in its fleet, as it was taken out of the factory in December 2023. 

The following day, the airplane entered service with this new livery, on flight SN 3781 between Brussels and Tenerife.

We review other highlights of the European market during May:

• Air Baltic commenced flights on the Riga – Tirana route.

• Air Corsica adds two routes from Milan Malpensa.

• BA CityFlyer will operate new services to Split.

• Bremen and Tbilisi, Austrian’s newest connections from Vienna.

• British Airways will fly between Dublin and London Gatwick.

• Condor inaugurated seasonal flights to Palma de Mallorca from Cologne.

• Discover Airlines began summer operations between Frankfurt and Halifax.

• easyJet and its new route in the France – Spain market.

• First Emirates Airbus A350 destinations in Europe.

• Hannover – Milan, new Eurowings route.

• Fly Lili schedules 13 new connections for summer.

• ITA will have services between Genoa and Olbia.

• Jet2 started its fifth route to Greece from Liverpool.

• Marabu Airlines inaugurated flights between Heraklion and Münster/Osnabrück.

• Norwegian and its new operations on the Copenhagen – Ljubljana route.

• Cardiff will be added to PLAY’s regular schedule.

• Ryanair to launch new routes from October.

• SkyAlps increases its connectivity from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• U.S. airlines started new routes to Europe.

• Wizz Air to fly between London Gatwick and Varna.

Aeroitalia

In early May, Aeroitalia took delivery of its ninth Boeing 737-800.

The aircraft is 13.5 years old and registered 9H-GAE. Previously, the 737 operated with Air Austral under registration F-ONGB between September 2010 and April 2024. 

As well as the Boeing 737s, the Italian company has 2 ATR 72-600s in its fleet (YR-ACA and YR-ACB).

Last May 9th, the 737-800 9H-GAE entered service, with flight XZ 2513 from Rome to Alghero.

airBaltic

At 13:21 on May 2nd, airBaltic’s first service arrived in Tirana from Riga, one of the airline’s hubs. Flights will be performed by Airbus A220-300 aircraft twice a week.

Thursday and Sunday

• BT 469  Riga RIX 11:40 · 13:20 TIA Tirana
• BT 470  Tirana TIA 14:00 · 17:40 RIX Riga

Air Baltic is the only carrier to operate this route.

Air Canada

Effective October 27th, the company will boost its services between Montreal and Barcelona. According to its website, Air Canada will increase from five to seven weekly, and will begin operations with Airbus A330-300s.

Daily

• AC 822  Montreal YUL 18:00 · 07:35+1 BCN Barcelona
• AC 823  Barcelona BCN 09:15 · 11:50 YUL Montreal

Current Air Canada routes to/from Spain

Barcelona

• Montreal (YUL): 5 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)
• Toronto (YYZ): 7 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)

Madrid

• Montreal (YUL): 4 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
• Toronto (YYZ): 5 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Air Corsica

Milan Malpensa, new Air Corsica destination.

The French carrier will operate flights from/to Calvi and Figari with ATR 72-600 aircraft configured for 72 passengers.

Calvi · June 27th

Thursday and Sunday

• XK 712  Calvi CLY 10:55 · 12:10 MXP Milan
• XK 713  Milan MXP 13:10 · 14:15 CLY Calvi

Figari · July 1st

Monday and Thursday

• XK 710  Figari FSC 11:00 · 12:35 MXP Milan
• XK 711  Milan MXP 13:25 · 14:55 FSC Figari

Austrian

During May, Austrian Airlines launched two new routes within Europe. Bremen and Tbilisi, in Germany and Georgia respectively, will have the following schedule from the Austrian capital.

Tbilisi · May 1st

Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• OS 639  Vienna VIE 22:40 · 03:55+1 TBS Tbilisi

Monday, Thursday and Saturday

• OS 640  Tbilisi TBS 04:50 · 06:30 VIE Vienna

Bremen · May 6th

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

• OS 275  Vienna VIE 17:15 · 18:50 BRE Bremen
• OS 276  Bremen BRE 19:35 · 21:10 VIE Vienna

British Airways/BA CityFlyer

From May 20th, British will inaugurate the Dublin (DUB) – London Gatwick (LGW) route, which will be operated by Emerald Airlines’ ATR 72-600, 12 times per week.

For further information about the flights, check the airline’s website, as different schedules will be offered each day.

On the other hand, BA CityFlyer will start flying between London Stansted and Split as of September 7th. At the time of publication, operations will run until the beginning of October.

Saturday

• BA 7342  London STN 12:55 · 16:20 SPU Split
• BA 7343  Spilt SPU 17:05 · 18:45 STN London

Brussels

We review Brussels Airlines’ current fleet, and future additions.

• Airbus A319-100: 15
• Airbus A320-200: 16
• Airbus A320neo: 3 (+2 on order)
• Airbus A330-300: 9 (+1 on order)

Condor

The German airline inaugurated last May 9th its seasonal flights to Palma de Mallorca from Cologne.

In accordance with our database, Condor will perform four weekly services on Airbus A320s with capacity for 180 passengers.

Check Condor’s website, as they will have different schedules on each day.

Palma de Mallorca is the only Condor’s destination in Cologne. Meanwhile, in the Spanish city it operates to Basel, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, Münster, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Zurich.

Discover

On April 28th, Discover Airlines began seasonal operations between Frankfurt and Halifax. The Canadian city will be part of the airline’s schedule until late September.

Thursday and Sunday (currently)

• 4Y 74  Frankfurt FRA 15:40 · 18:00 YHZ Halifax
• 4Y 75  Halifax YHZ 19:35 · 07:05+1 FRA Frankfurt

During the peak of the high season, Discover is scheduled to offer five weekly services on this route.

As for other destinations in Canada, the German carrier has 11 flights a week between Frankfurt and Calgary.

easyJet

Lille – Alicante, the low cost airline’s new route.

easyJet will operate two weekly on this route with Airbus A319 aircraft, offering 312 seats per week each way.

Wednesday/Saturday (first flight was on May 1st)

• U2 5523  Alicante ALC 07:10/13:05 · 09:30/15:25 LIL Lille
• U2 5522  Lille LIL 10:10/16:00 · 12:35/18:25 ALC Alicante

Edelweiss

The company will expand its schedule in Finland starting in December for the winter season.

Kittila and Rovaniemi will be added to the Edelweiss network from Zurich under the following schedule:

December 11th · Kittila

Monday and Wednesday

• WK 310  Zurich ZRH 10:20 · 15:15 KTT Kittila
• WK 311  Kittila KTT 16:15 · 18:55 ZRH Zurich

December 12th · Rovaniemi

Monday and Thursday

• WK 312  Zurich ZRH 09:25 · 14:10 RVN Rovaniemi
• WK 313  Rovaniemi RVN 15:05 · 17:30 ZRH Zurich

Emirates

Recently, the airline announced the first destinations for its new Airbus A350-900, expected to enter service in September.

In this report we will focus on its routes to Europe, one of which includes the resumption of a connection that was suspended in early 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

• Edinburgh (EDI): 7 weekly · November 4th
• Bologna (BLQ): 7 weekly · December 1st
• Lyon (LYS): 7 weekly · December 1st

Edinburgh will be Emirates’ seventh route to the UK.

Eurowings

The carrier launched operations between Hannover and Milan Bergamo last May 6th, reaching its 14th destination from its base at Hannover Airport. Flights will be two times a week on Airbus A320s with 180 seats.

Monday/Friday

• EW 3870  Hannover HAJ 07:00/18:15 · 08:35/19:50 BGY Milan
• EW 3871  Milan BGY 09:20/20:30 · 11:00/22:10 HAJ Hannover

Eurowings routes to/from Hannover

Croatia

• Pula (PUY): 1 weekly · Airbus A320

Greece

• Thessaloniki (SKG): 2 weekly · Airbus A320

Italy

• Bari (BRI): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
• Catania (CTA): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
• Lamezia (SUF): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
• Milan (BGY): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
• Naples (NAP): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
• Olbia (OLB): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
• Rome (FCO): 4 weekly · Airbus A320

Kosovo

• Pristina (PRN): 1 weekly · Airbus A320

Portugal

• Faro (FAO): 2 weekly · Airbus A320

Spain

• Málaga (AGP): 4 weekly · Airbus A320
• Palma de Mallorca (PMI): 18 weekly · Airbus A320

Sweden

• Stockholm (ARN): 2 weekly · Airbus A320

Fly Lili

During June and July, for the summer season, the Romanian airline confirmed the beginning of many seasonal routes from Brasov and Sibiu. These flights will be operated by Airbus A320-200:

Brasov

• Istanbul (IST): 2 weekly · June 28th
• Stuttgart (STR): 3 weekly · June 28th
• Nuremberg (NUE): 3 weekly · June 30th
• Rome (FCO): 3 weekly · June 30th
• Thessaloniki (SKG): 2 weekly · June 30th
• Barcelona (BCN): 2 weekly · July 20th
• Bologna (BLQ): 3 weekly · July 21st
• Milan (MXP): 3 weekly · July 21st

Sibiu

• Barcelona (BCN): 2 weekly · July 20th
• Rome (FCO): 3 weekly · July 20th
• Stuttgart (STR): 3 weekly · July 20th
• Milan (MXP): 3 weekly · July 21st
• Nuremberg (NUE): 3 weekly · July 21st

On May 3rd, the Airbus A320-232, registration YR-LIB, entered service under flight FL 101 between Bucharest and Antalya.

Fly Lili had incorporated this aircraft in June 2023, leased from Carlyle Aviation Partners, and performed the delivery ferry flight last May 2nd.

The airline currently has two active Airbus A320s (YR-LIA and YR-LIB).

Iberia

The company will commence a new seasonal connection between Barcelona and Strasbourg as of December 6th.

According to its website, Iberia will offer four weekly flights until early January 2025, with 100-seat CRJ-1000 aircraft.

Check the company’s booking system, as it will have different schedules each day.

Routes within Europe from/to Barcelona – Iberia

• Badajoz (BJZ): 4 weekly · CRJ-1000
• Fuerteventura (FUE): 1 weekly · CRJ-1000
• León (LEN): 5 weekly · CRJ-1000
• Madrid (MAD): 77 weekly · A319/A320/A321
• Melilla (MLN): 2 weekly · ATR 72-600
• Santiago de Compostela (SCQ): 1 weekly · CRJ-1000
• Seville (SVQ): 1 weekly · CRJ-1000
• Valencia (VLC): 8 weekly · CRJ-1000

All connections are in Spain.

ITA

Genoa – Olbia, new route of ITA Airways.

Operations will begin next July 20th, and will be available during the summer season. The carrier, in accordance with its website, will provide one frequency per week on Airbus A319-100 planes with a capacity of 142 passengers.

Saturday

• AZ 1233  Genoa GOA 15:20 · 16:40 OLB Olbia
• AZ 1232  Olbia OLB 17:30 · 18:35 GOA Genoa

Jet2

Effective May 1st, Jet2 inaugurated its fifth connection between Liverpool and Greece.

Zakynthos will have flights from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, with Boeing 737-800 jets.

Wednesday

• LS 3285  Liverpool LPL 06:25 · 12:20 ZTH Zakynthos
• LS 3286  Zakynthos ZTH 13:05 · 15:00 LPL Liverpool

Jet2 routes in Liverpool

Bulgaria

• Burgas (BOJ): 2 weekly · Boeing 737-800

Cyprus

• Paphos (PFO): 1 weekly · Boeing 737-800

Greece

• Corfu (CFU): 2 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Heraklion (HER): 2 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Kos (KGS): 1 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Rhodes (RHO): 2 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Zakynthos (ZTH): 1 weekly · Boeing 737-800

Portugal

• Faro (FAO): 4 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Funchal (FNC): 1 weekly · Boeing 737-800

Spain

• Alicante (ALC): 4 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Fuerteventura (FUE): 2 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Gran Canaria (LPA): 2 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Ibiza (IBZ): 3 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Lanzarote (ACE): 3 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Menorca (MAH): 1 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Palma de Mallorca (PMI): 5 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Tenerife (TFS): 5 weekly · Boeing 737-800

Turkey

• Antalya (AYT): 4 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Bodrum (BJV): 2 weekly · Boeing 737-800
• Dalaman (DLM): 3 weekly · Boeing 737-800

KlasJet

A new aircraft was added to the Lithuanian airline’s fleet on May 10th.

The 21.5-year-old Boeing 737-86J, with current registration LY-SLX, joined KlasJet leased from AviaAM Leasing. Its last operator was FlyEgypt, being retired in February 2023. Previously, it had been part of Air Berlin.

KlasJet has 13 Boeing 737s in its fleet (2 733s, 3 735s and 8 738s).

LEAV Aviation

Beginning September 19th, LEAV will start a new route between Germany and Spain. Operations will be carried out using Airbus A320-200s and, at the time of publication, will run until mid-October.

Thursday

• KK 130  Cologne CGN 09:30 · 13:15 TFS Tenerife South
• KK 131  Tenerife South TFS 14:00 · 19:30 CGN Cologne

Lufthansa City Airlines

The Lufthansa Group announced the first routes of Lufthansa City Airlines, which will commence flights on June 26th.

Germany and the UK will be its markets in Europe, during its first stage, operated to/from Munich.

• Birmingham (BHX): June 26th
• Bremen (BRE): June 26th
• Düsseldorf (DUS): June 26th
• Cologne (CGN): June 29th
• Hannover (HAJ): June 29th

Marabu Airlines

Last May 5th, the carrier launched its seasonal services between Heraklion and Münster/Osnabrück. Flights will be with 180-seat Airbus A320-200s, twice a week.

Wednesday/Sunday

• DI 6635  Heraklion HER 06:10/06:30 · 08:25/08:55 FMO Münster
• DI 6634  Münster FMO 09:35/10:05 · 13:50/14:10 HER Heraklion

It operates to Friedrichshafen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Münster/Osnabrück from the Greek city.

Norwegian

At 08:12 local time on April 29th, Norwegian’s first flight from Copenhagen arrived in Ljubljana. According to our database, the company will offer twice-weekly operations with Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Monday and Friday

• D8 3754  Copenhagen CPH 06:15 · 08:05 LJU Ljubljana
• D8 3755  Ljubljana LJU 08:45 · 10:40 CPH Copenhagen

PLAY

Cardiff, new destination for the Icelandic airline.

Starting October 10th, with a limited schedule, PLAY will operate services between Reykjavik and Cardiff on Airbus A320neo planes.

At the time of publication, operations will be until November 19th.

• OG 830  Reykjavik KEF 06:45 · 09:40 CWL Cardiff
• OG 831  Cardiff CWL 10:40 · 13:40 KEF Reykjavik

Flights: October 10th, 13th, 25th and 28th, November 1st, 4th, 8th, 11th and 19th.

Ryanair

The ultra low cost carrier will begin several routes as of October 2024:

• Belfast (BFS) – Kaunas (KUN): 2 weekly · October 27th
• Frankfurt Hahn (HHN) – Sofia (SOF): 3 weekly · October 27th
• Beauvais (BVA) – Rovaniemi (RVN): 2 weekly · October 28th
• Birmingham (BHX) – Lodz (LCJ): 2 weekly · October 28th
• Budapest (BUD) – Liverpool (LPL): 2 weekly · October 28th
• Barcelona (BCN) – Copenhagen (CPH): 4 weekly · October 29th
• Birmingham (BHX) – Plovdiv (PDV): 1 weekly · November 2nd
• Memmingen (FMM) – Manchester (MAN): 1 weekly · November 2nd

SkyAlps

For the high season, at early May, the airline commenced four new international connections from/to Mostar, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Italy and Germany will be the markets, and will operate as follows:

• Bari (BRI): 4 weekly · Dash
• Munich (MUC): 4 weekly · Dash
• Rome (FCO): 4 weekly · Dash
• Verona (VRN): 4 weekly · Dash

SkyAlps has 7 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s in its fleet, with an average age between 13 and 19 years old.

U.S. carriers

During May, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines began routes between the United States and Europe, which will be operated through the summer season.

However, there are still many new connections to be started by American and Delta, as well as by United, from late May, June and July (to be covered in the next European report).

American

Daily (Boeing 787-9 · May 6th)

• AA 746  Philadelphia PHL 21:00 · 10:55+1 NCE Nice
• AA 747  Nice NCE 13:00 · 15:30 PHL Philadelphia

Delta

Daily (Boeing 767-300 · May 9th)

• DL 114  Minneapolis MSP 21:00 · 10:45+1 DUB Dublin
• DL 115  Dublin DUB 12:00 · 14:35 MSP Minneapolis

Daily (Boeing 767-300 · May 9th)

• DL 78  New York JFK 20:25 · 10:55+1 PRG Prague
• DL 79  Prague PRG 12:55 · 16:15 JFK New York

Wizz Air

Effective June 18th, Wizz Air will launch seasonal operations between London (LGW) and Varna. The Bulgarian city will be served from Gatwick with Airbus A321 aircraft during the summer season.

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

• W9 5757  London LGW 14:00/14:10/14:20 · 19:20/19:30/19:40 VAR Varna
• W9 5758  Varna VAR 22:50 · 00:30+1 LGW London

Wizz Air currently offers five flights per week between London Luton and Varna on Airbus A320s.

With respect to new aircraft, we have the following European airlines that had additions to their fleets:

• Air Corsica (x2)

• British Airways

• Condor

• Corendon

• easyJet (x2)

• Icelandair

• ITA (x4)

• Lufthansa

• Norwegian

• Ryanair (x4)

• SAS (x2)

• Transavia (x3)

• TUI

• Wizz Air (x3)

*It is not new from the factory.

To read other published reports:

• United States and Canada
• Latin America
• Dubai deep dive: How Emirates runs its megahub
• China-Australia flights approaching pre-pandemic levels

Cover photo: Marko Milinkovic – JetPhotos (Corfu, Greece).