At the 19 February conference, Lufthansa Group officials present "New Germanwings", the low-cost operator of the group. The Germanwings brand appeared on the market on October 27, 2002. In 2005 it placed a more serious order for aircraft - 18 Airbus A319. On 1 January 2009, Germanwings became a subsidiary of Lufthansa. It reached a fleet of 34 aircraft and an operational network of 86 destinations, including Romania.
In 2012, the first information about Lufthansa's plan to change something at Germanwings appeared. The truth is that the Germanwings brand had become a little dusty, without too much image and notoriety in the market, at least not in Romania. The plan for the "New Germanwings" is an interesting one and promises many changes, from a new livery to the takeover of flights operated by Lufthansa outside the main hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.
The Germanwings airline is determined to revolutionize the European market in the low-cost segment. On 1 July 2013, "New Germanwings" will launch a completely new concept of brand and product, giving passengers the opportunity to enjoy a "personalized flight experience". Passengers will be able to create their own package, which they can adapt to their needs, from low-cost flights without additional costs, to very good quality flight experiences, with a number of benefits and supplements.
The "New Germanwings" will offer three different Economy Class service packages. The "Best" package includes the best services, which will especially cover the needs of business passengers, but will also be addressed to those passengers who travel for pleasure, Smart package will include some additional services, with passengers being able to add others as needed, and Basic package will be the basic low-cost package and will be priced from 33 EUR / segment. Until launch, Germanwings will have a fleet of 90 aircraft for short and medium flights, most of which are allocated by Lufthansa.
This strategy is not new. Air France announced a short time ago HOP!, the low-cost company that will come up with a similar strategy, but on France. Like the French operator, Lufthansa will launch an offensive on direct flights to / from Germany, but outside the hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.
Along with the new concept of brand and product, the Germanwings company will also have a new logo. The main element will be the letter "W" stylized and rendered in purple and yellow, a minimalist symbol chosen to refer to the wings of the Germanwings brand. It will keep the motto "Services at reasonable prices, but not cheap".
The most interesting aspects of all this transformation are the service packages, offering the greatest flexibility in the realization of the packages and the fact that it will take over part of the routes operated by Lufthansa. With 90 aircraft it will operate to 110 European destinations and hopes to transport up to 20 millions of passengers annually. Thus, from 1 July 2013, will take over a series of flights to and from Romania. Germanwings will not leave the Romanian market, nor will it expand.
The operational program in Romania and the periods when the baton will take over will be announced as soon as we find out!