Lufthansa plans further European fleet cuts
The Lufthansa Group, one of the largest airline groups maintaining services to markets across the former Yugoslavia, is preparing a further reduction of its European fleet as it seeks to improve the profitability of its short- and medium-haul operations. Lufthansa plans to ground between fifteen and twenty additional aircraft from 2027, potentially resulting in fewer services operated under its mainline brand. The German flag carrier has acknowledged that numerous routes within its European network remain loss-making, prompting further restructuring measures designed to reduce costs and improve efficiency. The planned aircraft groundings will build on earlier capacity cuts, which have included the cancellation of hundreds of flights and continued adjustments to Lufthansa’s fleet and network. As a result, a greater proportion of flights could be operated by other Group carriers, including Lufthansa City Airlines, Eurowings and Discover Airlines. Lufthansa believes the redistribution of capacity will allow it to lower operating expenses while maintaining connectivity across its wider network. This winter, Air Dolomiti will operate flights between Munich and Zagreb for a limited period. From March 28, the carrier will also serve the Frankfurt - Ljubljana route alongside Lufthansa mainline. Meanwhile, plans to transfer the Munich - Belgrade service from Lufthansa mainline to Discover Airlines this winter have been put on hold. During the 2026/27 winter season, which runs from October 25 until March 27, Lufthansa mainline will operate 2.542 flights in both directions to markets across the former Yugoslavia. This represents a decrease of 26.3% on the previous winter, or 907 fewer operations. The carrier will offer 382.644 seats during the season, down 13.8%, or 61.160 seats. The bulk of the reductions stems from the winter suspension of the Munich - Ljubljana service and the discontinuation of the Frankfurt - Skopje route, which operated last winter. EX-YU Aviation News
EAEX-YU Aviation News•EX-YU Aviation (noreply@blogger.com)15 Sept
- neutral toward Lufthansa · 98%