Munich-Dubai was a regular fixture of Lufthansa’s network from 2003 to 2016, but the Star Alliance member suspended the route shortly after Emirates increased its frequencies to 3X-daily.
The decision to reactivate the four-engine widebodies, that were being phased out from its fleet, follows Lufthansa witnessing growing demand for first-class services.
The timing of the move has drawn criticism from the CEO of Smartwings Group who also bemoaned that Eurowings’ parent Lufthansa had received state aid from Germany while his group had not received any from the Czech government.
“It would be more efficient to have only one type of aircraft,” COO Francesco Sciortino said. “We also need a long-term perspective for a replacement for the Boeing 767.”
Lufthansa has agreed to extend a special pro-rate agreement (SPA) with leisure carrier Condor in a bid to prevent Germany’s anti-trust authority Bundeskartellamt from formally intervening on Condor’s side.
Lufthansa subsidiaries Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and Brussels Airlines reported substantial losses for 2021 first quarter (Q1), traditionally the lowest performing period of the aviation year.
SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx outlined the carrier’s medium-term pivot to ‘interesting opportunities’ and set out a long-term vision for recovery at Routes Reconnected.
Airlines flying into Germany are facing another deepening of the novel coronavirus crisis as the government is set to introduce nightly curfews starting April 24.
Lufthansa now plans to extend a special pro-rate (SPA) agreement with leisure airline Condor beyond the summer after Germany’s competition watchdog Bundeskartellamt said the airline group had taken advantage of its dominant market position.
