Eurowings will replace its fleet of Airbus A319s and older Airbus A320 models with 40 brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets after Lufthansa Group confirmed the allocation.
Lufthansa Group placed an order for 40 new Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and options for 60 more, in December 2023, but disclosed on January 20, 2024, that Eurowings would be the owner of the aircraft.
“Eurowings has established itself as the European point-to-point airline of the Lufthansa Group with a convincing strategy and thanks to its outstanding employees in an extremely competitive market. The company’s strategic focus on expanding its tourism business and its consistent expansion in Europe is paying off for the entire Lufthansa Group,” said Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the Lufthansa Group.
He added: “Our decision today is a well-deserved and strong signal for a successful future of Eurowings.”
The fleet modernization, described by Lufthansa Group as one of the “largest in European aviation”, is scheduled to begin in 2027 with the arrival of the first brand-new Boeing 737-8.
Lufthansa highlighted the decision to allocate the aircraft to Eurowings as further proof of its “significant progress towards more sustainable flying” and said that the order equates to a $5 billion fleet investment.
The new short and medium-haul jets will be reconfigured with a redesigned cabin for more comfort on board and space for up to 189 passengers.
“With 40 state-of-the-art aircraft, we are laying the foundations for a successful Eurowings future that is geared towards ambitious sustainability goals. The largest investment in our company’s history shows that we are making rapid progress towards low-emission flying – through significantly lower fuel consumption, lower emissions and significantly less noise,” said Jens Bischof, the CEO of Eurowings.
Bischof added: “The high-cost efficiency of the new jets also enables us to continue to offer Eurowings customers fair and attractive fares. Without such a technological leap, an airline will hardly be able to operate successfully on the market in the 2030s.”
When Lufthansa Group announced the order for 40 Boeing 737-8s in December 2023, the company also confirmed the firm purchase of 40 Airbus A220-300s for Lufthansa City Airlines.
