Germanwings

Germanwings GmbH
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Airline
Founded	October 27, 2002; 24 years ago
Defunct	April 7, 2020
Fate	Merged into Eurowings
Headquarters	Cologne, Germany
Area served	Europe
Owner	Lufthansa
Number of employees	2,073 (2013)
Website	germanwings.com%20(archived)

Germanwings GmbH was a German low-cost airline fully owned by Lufthansa, operating under the Eurowings brand. Its headquarters were located in Cologne, with primary hubs at Cologne Bonn Airport, Stuttgart Airport, Hamburg Airport, Berlin Tegel Airport, and Munich Airport, complemented by additional bases at Hannover Airport and Dortmund Airport.

Originally functioning as Lufthansa's independent low-cost carrier until October 2015, Germanwings was subsequently merged into the Eurowings brand. After 2016, it operated as a wet lease provider for Eurowings while its own branding was gradually phased out. The IATA designation 4U continued to be used under Eurowings until March 2018, when it was replaced by Eurowings’ EW code. Ultimately, Germanwings was consolidated back into Eurowings in April 2020 as part of a strategic realignment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early years

In 1997, Eurowings established a low-cost division that evolved into the independent company Germanwings on 27 October 2002. On 7 December 2005, the airline placed an order for 18 Airbus A319-100 aircraft, with options for an additional 12, planned for delivery between July 2006 and 2008.

During the winter season of 2004–05, Germanwings leased two Boeing 717-200s from Aerolíneas de Baleares to assess the aircraft type but did not proceed with any purchases.

In 2008, there were considerations to merge Germanwings with Eurowings and TUIfly into a single entity aimed at competing with carriers such as Air Berlin, easyJet, and Ryanair. However, this merger did not materialize. Instead, Germanwings became a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa on 1 January 2009.

Takeover of Lufthansa routes from 2012

In 2012, Lufthansa declared it would transfer its point-to-point short-haul flights from airports other than Frankfurt and Munich to Germanwings. This handover took place between spring 2013 and autumn 2014, with the final base at Düsseldorf Airport shifting in March 2014. Germanwings updated its corporate identity accordingly.

As part of restructuring in 2013, roughly 30 Lufthansa aircraft were integrated into Germanwings’ existing fleet of 33 planes. Furthermore, the 23 planes operated by Eurowings for Lufthansa flights outside Frankfurt and Munich were also incorporated into Germanwings, increasing its fleet to about 90 aircraft.

The airline encountered ongoing conflicts with the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union regarding retirement age and salary conditions. Strikes occurred in April and September 2014, disrupting operations alongside concurrent Lufthansa pilot strikes.

By late 2014, almost all Lufthansa domestic routes and international flights to and from Germany—except those based in Frankfurt and Munich plus Düsseldorf–Newark/Chicago services—had been transferred to Germanwings. The last route shift was the Düsseldorf–Zurich flight on 8 January 2015.

Integration into Eurowings from 2015

In January 2015, the Lufthansa Group announced plans to retire the Germanwings brand and replace it with Eurowings starting in late 2015.

On 25 October 2015, Eurowings assumed control of 55 routes formerly operated by Germanwings. The initial Germanwings bases transferred included Düsseldorf Airport, Hamburg Airport, and Cologne Bonn Airport, where Eurowings already had operations alongside Germanwings.

Lufthansa revealed in October 2015 that the Germanwings website would be discontinued and redirected to Eurowings by January 2016; however, Germanwings continued operating as a legal entity. From that point onward, all sales activities under the Germanwings brand were managed by Eurowings. In January 2016, Germanwings’ social media channels were rebranded to Eurowings, and germanwings.com redirected visitors to eurowings.com. Although flights continued under Germanwings flight numbers, they operated under the Eurowings brand.

In December 2016, plans were announced for Germanwings to retire twenty aircraft in 2017 without replacements due to Lufthansa’s new wet-lease agreement with Air Berlin, which supplied newer and more cost-effective aircraft for Eurowings.

By August 2017, Germanwings had phased out its IATA code 4U, switching entirely to Eurowings' EW code by March 2018 for all operations under the Eurowings name.

In October 2019, the Pristina base that Germanwings had operated since June that year was transferred to Eurowings Europe, while Germanwings took over the Munich base from its sister airline.

On 7 April 2020, Lufthansa announced it would cease operations of Germanwings amid the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Service concept

Starting in 2013, Germanwings categorized its fares into three options: Basic (a no-frills option permitting only hand luggage and excluding onboard catering), Best (which included checked baggage, complimentary snacks and beverages, plus lounge access for Miles&More elite members), and Smart (offering services comparable to Lufthansa’s standards on connecting flights). The entire fleet featured economy-class seating exclusively.

The carrier operated Sky Bistro (called Bord Shop in German), a buy-on-board program for food and drinks. Additionally, it produced a bi-monthly inflight publication titled GW, which primarily highlighted Germanwings destinations but also covered a wider range of topics.

Germanwings introduced an innovative Blind Booking feature, enabling travelers to choose a departure airport and a category of destinations (such as Party, Gay-friendly, or Culture) to receive discounted round-trip tickets assigned randomly from cities within that category. Destination specifics were revealed only after the purchase was completed.

Business trends

On 1 January 2009, Germanwings became a fully owned subsidiary of Lufthansa, with its financial results thereafter integrated into the Lufthansa Group’s consolidated accounts. From 2012 onwards, Germanwings’ performance figures were reported solely within the 'Lufthansa Passenger Airline Group', resulting in the discontinuation of separate public disclosures. The principal trends up to 2013 are summarized below (fiscal years ending 31 December):

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Revenue (€m)	628	580	630	687	n/a	n/a	Separate figures no longer published
Profit (EBITDA) (€m)	39	63	−9	−15	n/a	n/a
Employees (year-end)	1,046	1,111	1,272	1,274	1,352	2,073
Passengers (millions)	7.6	7.2	7.7	7.5	7.8	16
Load factor (%)	n/a	n/a	77.2	78.2	n/a	n/a
Fleet size (year-end)	25	26	30	30	32	67	84	62

In line with Lufthansa’s strategic direction, the transfer of European non-hub traffic from Lufthansa Passenger Airlines to Germanwings progressed throughout 2014 and concluded on 7 January 2015. The increases in passenger numbers and fleet size during the period from 2013 to 2014 reflect this realignment.

Destinations

Germanwings operated flights to more than 130 locations throughout Europe.

Codeshare agreements

The airline maintained codeshare partnerships with various carriers, including:

Fleet

The aircraft types operated by Germanwings included:

Aircraft model	Quantity	Introduced	Retired	Remarks
Airbus A319-100	50	2002	2020	Operated under Eurowings branding from 2015 to 2020
Airbus A320-200	26	2003	2019
Boeing 717-200	2	2004	2005	Leased from Aerolíneas de Baleares
McDonnell Douglas MD-81	1	2007	2007	Leased from Nordic Airways
McDonnell Douglas MD-82	1	2007	2007	Leased from FlyNordic
McDonnell Douglas MD-83	1	2007	2007	Leased from Nordic Airways

Unique liveries

Germanwings featured distinctive liveries showcasing various German cities, such as the Bearbus, which drew inspiration from Berlin's emblem, along with designs promoting commercial partners like T-Mobile. These special paint schemes were phased out during the 2013 corporate rebranding.

Accidents and incidents

On 24 March 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525, operated by an Airbus A320-211 traveling from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, tragically crashed in southern France, resulting in the loss of all 150 passengers and crew. Investigations determined that the co-pilot intentionally caused the crash while alone in the cockpit.
On 26 June 2017, an Airbus A319-132 on Flight 2464 from Stuttgart to London executed a TCAS resolution advisory maneuver to avoid a mid-air collision with an Aerospool WT9 Dynamic during its approach phase.

External links

Official website