Lufthansa to sell belly capacity on Eurowings Discover’s routes to Africa, Caribbean

Lufthansa Cargo will begin selling belly capacity on Eurowings Discover’s new long-haul flights from Frankfurt (FRA), including routes to the Dominican Republic (PUJ), Namibia (WDH), Kenya (MBA) and Tanzania (ZNZ), with additional route frequencies added throughout the remainder of the year. Starting today, Eurowings Discover — the newest carrier within the Lufthansa Group, which also includes Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines — will offer two connections per week to MBA and ZNZ. Thrice-weekly flights to PUJ and five-times-weekly service to WDH will commence Aug. 2, according to a statement from Lufthansa today. [caption id="attachment_96407" align="alignright" width="450"] Eurowings Discover's inaugural flight departed July 24 from Frankfurt. Photo: Lufthansa Group[/caption] Throughout the pandemic, Lufthansa Cargo has been collaborating with passenger colleagues on network planning, stressing the importance of utilizing belly passenger space, Ashwin Bhat, chief commercial officer of Lufthansa, recently told Air Cargo World. “It’s really a very collaborative process that we are running with Lufthansa to really see how to make every belly profitable,” said Bhat. Eurowings Discover plans to add additional service offerings throughout the remainder of the year. This includes additional flights to Las Vegas (LAS) and Mauritius (MRU) in October, and thrice-weekly service to Bridgetown (BGI), Barbados; Montego Bay (MBJ), Jamaica; and Varadero (VRA), Cuba starting this winter, according to the release. In November, Eurowings Discover will add five-times-weekly service to Cancun (CUN) and medium-haul destinations like the Canary Islands, Egypt and Morocco. Meanwhile, Frankfurt-based charter carrier Condor, which also operates scheduled passenger flights to leisure destinations across several continents, objected to the proposed codeshare between Eurowings Discover and Lufthansa, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) notice. Condor’s filed comment stated that the proposed codeshare services between the two airlines will facilitate an anticompetitive scheme to divert traffic from the carrier, especially considering that Eurowings’ planned flight between FRA and LAS is also served by Condor. While primarily a passenger carrier, Condor has been operating more cargo flights since April 2020 using part of its 767 fleet, which had been converted into passenger freighters by removing seats. Aside from personal protective equipment (PPE), Condor is using the cargo-only flights to transport e-commerce goods, and in February operated four 767s on behalf of DHL, according to a press release. In addition to these services, Condor was operating scheduled freight capacity on flights to and from Spain, connecting FRA to Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI), Tenerife South Airport (TFS) and Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) through May 15, according to its website. The carrier also offers charter operations for cargo transport. Condor could not be immediately reached for comment regarding how the proposed codeshare will impact its cargo operations. Germany-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Eurowings Discover is Lufthansa Group’s new tourist airline and a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The carrier’s current fleet consists of three A330s, operating its inaugural flight from FRA to MBA, with onward service to ZNZ on July 24. In 2016, Lufthansa Cargo began selling belly capacity on Eurowings ’ long-haul flights, a separate brand from Eurowings Discover.

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