Lufthansa Rebounds With Expanded Flights In June
German airline group announces a strong rebound of flights starting in June, including long-haul flights to and from the US
Lufthansa has announced a “significantly” expanded flight schedule starting this June. The airline will be flying 1,800 weekly frequencies, 106 German and European destinations and 20 long-haul destinations. The first group of flights will be available to book from May 14.
“People want to and can travel again, whether on holiday or for business reasons. That’s why we will continue to expand our offer step by step in the coming months and connect Europe with each other and Europe with the world,” said Harry Hohmeister, member of the Executive Board of German Lufthansa AG, in a release.
Lufthansa’s additional services resuming in the first half of June in Germany and Europe are from Frankfurt: Hanover, Majorca, Sofia, Prague, Billund, Nice, Manchester, Budapest, Dublin, Riga, Krakow, Bucharest and Kiev. From Munich, flights available include: Münster/Osnabrück, Sylt, Rostock, Vienna, Zurich, Brussels and Mallorca.
The first half of June flight schedule also includes 19 long-haul destinations, fourteen more than in May. In total, Lufthansa, SWISS and Eurowings will offer over 70 weekly frequencies overseas until mid-June, four times as many as in May. More Lufthansa long-haul flights are planned to be added in the second half of June.
Lufthansa’s resumption of long-haul services from Frankfurt – subject to possible travel restrictions – are Toronto, Mexico City, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Bahrain, Johannesburg, Dubai and Mumbai. Flights to Newark/New York, Chicago, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Bangkok will continue to be offered.
Lufthansa’s long-haul return flights from Munich include – also subject to possible travel restrictions – Chicago, Los Angeles, and Tel Aviv.
Lufthansa said Austrian Airlines has decided to extend the suspension of regular flight operations for a further week, from May 31 to June 7, with resumption of service in June being considered. SWISS will resume services to various destinations in the Mediterranean region, and other major European centers such as Paris, Brussels and Moscow will also be added to the program.
SWISS says it will offer new intercontinental direct services in June, in addition to its three weekly services to New York/Newark. The Swiss carrier plans to offer flights from Zurich to New York JFK, Chicago, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Johannesburg.
Eurowings has announced that it would be expanding its basic program at the airports of Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg and Stuttgart and gradually adding 15 further destinations within Europe from May onwards. The island of Mallorca will again be offered from several German Eurowings gateways
Brussels Airlines plans to resume its flight operations with a reduced network beginning June 15.
In its statement on the resumption of flights, Lufthansa points out that all passengers are required to wear facemasks before and during flights. They also mention longer lines in airports, curtailed catering services and they warn that customers should check quarantine regulations on given destinations before booking.
The European Union has stated in a release that opening borders remains a fluid situation. Travelers from the US will have to wait until June 15th and even then, may be subject to a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
Lufthansa has also stated that because they mandate face masks, they are releasing middle seats for booking, a hot-button issue that is generating controversy in the industry.
