Lufthansa City Airlines Launching June 26

Lufthansa Group has announced its latest carrier, City Airlines, will formally commence operations on June 26, 2024, as much work to reach this moment.

City Airlines will debut a service using the Airbus A320neo from Munich to Birmingham, departing at 0910 as VL2508.

This new carrier will serve short—and medium-haul markets across Europe, including the largest markets Lufthansa calls home Munich and Frankfurt.

The hope is that City Airlines‘ services will feed traffic from key European markets to these major cities. Once the City Airlines flight arrives in Munich or Frankfurt, customers can easily jump aboard a mainline flight, potentially to markets on long-haul flights.

City Airlines says the first Airbus A320neo will fly to Birmingham, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hanover, and Bremen. Following this initial period, on July 27, 2024, a second aircraft will join the flight, an Airbus A319 with service to Bordeaux, Hamburg, and Berlin.

Moving forward, more single-aisle Airbus aircraft are expected to join the fleet, allowing for the gradual expansion of the network across Europe. The company will utilise strictly A320 family jets, with eight more A320neos and further A319s expected to be delivered in the next 12 to 18 months.

From 2026, City Airlines will truly feel like its own entity as the first delivery of the Airbus A220-300 is expected. The A220 was purchased last year, with 40 units selected to act as the future of the City Airlines division and bring greater flexibility, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Lufthansa Group has a long history of launching subsidiaries, each with its own identity and purpose. City Airlines is now the latest in a long line of such subsidiaries.