Tag Archives: Germanwings

Germanwings completes its makeover in time for the July 1 relaunch

Germanwings (2nd) (Cologne/Bonn), the lower-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa (Frankfurt), is preparing for its July 1 relaunch. Germanwings since January 1, 2013 has been taking over most of the former LH point-to-point European routes that are not flying to either the Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

As part of the relaunch, the airline has been rapidly rebranding. The last aircraft to be repainted, Airbus A319-132 D-AGWI (msn 3358), operated the last flight in the old livery on June 20 between London (Heathrow) and Cologne/Bonn. The aircraft has been ferried to Ostrava for repainting and should be back in service for the July 1 relaunch. All of the special liveries have been retired.

The airline is also going to three individualized levels of services like most budget airlines, i.e. you get what you pay for.

Here is the CEO letter to its customers about the relaunch:

Germanwings, your German budget airlines, is about to revolutionize the low-cost market in Europe by offering the highest-quality airline experience in this sector in Europe. On July 1, 2013 “new Germanwings” will introduce a completely new brand and product concept allowing passengers to fly “à la carte”.

Our passengers will be able to put together individualized packages ranging from budget, no-frills travel to a more refined passener experience with more advantages and extra services, all of which will be tailored to your specific needs. In the broader context of economy class, “new Germanwings” will have three fare brackets with differing services provided in each.

The “BEST” fare is our top category with business travellers in mind principally, but also non-business passengers. The “SMART” fare includes some extra services and the possibility to purchase others. The “BASIC” fare is the purely low-cost category.

As of January 1, 2013, the “new Germanwings” now includes Lufthansa’s decentralized European routes not operating out of our Frankfurt or Munich hubs. Our aim is a smart, dynamic and innovative service.

From July 1, 2013 the new airline will officially be launched. From that point onwards Lufthansa aircraft to be incorporated into “new Germanwings” will gradually be re-equipped and transferred.

Our logo is also going to change to reflect this new brand and product concept. The key element will be a stylized burgundy and yellow ‘W’, transforming the wings in Germanwings into a succinct icon (see photo above). All of the airline’s aircraft will be painted in the new livery when the brand is officially launched on July 1, 2013.

“New Germanwings” aims at being even more attractive to our customers. We will be deveoping our mobile booking and information systems, thereby ensuring direct and spontaneous interaction with passengers. All our fares will be displayed fairly with no hidden costs and our new cheaper 0180 number has already replaced the old 0900 number. Germanwings will continue to offer our enticing 33 € starting fare for one-way tickets.

Yours,

Thomas Winkelmann
(CEO Germanwings)

Germanwings (see all of the previous logojets):

Videos:

Routes from Cologne/Bonn:

The new Germanwings is moving ahead for its relaunch on July 1

Germanwings (2nd) (Cologne) is quickly moving ahead with its new image and plans to take over many routes currently operated by its parent Lufthansa. The low-fare subsidiary issued this statement:

The Lufthansa subsidiary is also ahead of schedule with the re-equipping of its fleet: Already 21 of the aircraft in the Germanwings fleet have been painted in the new livery. The new and modern brand identity is also reflected in the newly styled cabin, which is setting new standards and not only in the low cost carrier segment with generous legroom of 32 inches (81.3 cm) in the front rows. All 36 aircraft in the fleet will be refurbished inside and out by the time the “new Germanwings” takes to the air on July 1.

In order to provide passengers with advance information and planning security for their air travel needs, all the dates for the takeover of Lufthansa routes by Germanwings have already been penned firmly into the timeplan. This will allow the timetable for the “new Germanwings” to be worked out earlier than was originally envisaged. Following last year’s transfer from Lufthansa to Germanwings of connections out of Stuttgart, the first routes to and from Hamburg were handed over at the end of March. From the Hanseatic City, Germanwings is now serving the previous Lufthansa destinations of Vienna, Palma de Mallorca, Stuttgart and Nuremberg. It will be taking over connections to Cologne on June 29, 2013 and all other Lufthansa destinations by the end of January 2014, except for flights to Lufthansa’s Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

The transfer to Germanwings of Lufthansa routes out of Berlin commences on October 27, 2013: By 30 March 2014, all destinations ex Berlin (apart from FRA and MUC) will be handed over to the Lufthansa subsidiary. Subsequently, from the end of March 2014 to year-end, the “new Germanwings” will be successively operating flights in the Dusseldorf timetable, except for those on long-haul routes which will still be flown by Lufthansa.

Moves to intensify cooperation between Germanwings and airlines in the Lufthansa Group are also in full swing. A codeshare accord was concluded with Austrian Airlines last year, another is to follow with Swiss International Air Lines. The four daily flights operated by Germanwings, with the Swiss LX code alongside the 4U flight number in future, will greatly improve the quality of flight connections from Cologne through Zurich for passengers of the Lufthansa Group.

Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil. Formerly painted in the special Baden-Wurttemberg color scheme, Airbus A319-112 D-AKNM (msn 1089) now displays the new look at Brussels.

Germanwings:

Germanwings paints its first aircraft in the new brand

Germanwings (2nd) (Cologne/Bonn) as planned, has introduced its first Airbus A319 in its new brand as introduced on December 6 by parent Lufthansa.

For more details, please see our previous report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Rainer Bexten. Airbus A319-132 D-AGWT (msn 5043) at the CGN base is the first to receive the new treatment.

Germanwings:

Lufthansa to merge some European operations under the Germanwings low-cost AOC on January 1

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) will merge all European Lufthansa operations (outside of the Frankfurt and Munich hubs) under the Germanwings (2nd) (Cologne/Bonn) AOC certificate on January 1, 2013. All Eurowings operations will also support this operation. This move is designed to reduce costs for the struggling European operations. A new name for this expanded operation will be announced at a later date.

The company issued this statement:

Lufthansa direct European services, which include all German domestic and European services outside of the Lufthansa Frankfurt and Munich hubs, will be merged commercially and organizationally with Germanwings to form one company on the basis of Germanwings GmbH from January 1, 2013. The company’s headquarters will be Cologne.

The new company is to operate the Germanwings aircraft and the Direct Services fleet from 2013. In addition, the aircraft of Eurowings GmbH are set to fly on behalf of the new company, meaning that around 90 aircraft will cover direct services in Germany and Europe. In the first year, over 18 million passengers are to be transported.

Christoph Franz, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said: “As part of the Lufthansa Airline Group the new company will get underway with the accordingly high quality standards.” The decision about the future brand name will only be made in the upcoming months.

“Combining our domestic German and European point-to-point services has enormous potential to improve efficiency. Our aim is to once again fly these services profitably under the umbrella of a single company. This means we are continuing to offer our guests the prospect of a dense, high-quality network even outside of our Frankfurt and Munich hubs. And our employees in these areas have the prospect of secure jobs within a company of the Lufthansa Group”, Christoph Franz emphasized.

Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner. The Germanwings name is now likely to be retired again as its role is expanded by its parent. Airbus A319-132 D-AGWP (msn 4227) taxies at Zurich.