Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) is in talks with Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH, the operator of Cologne/Bonn airport, concerning the possible use of the airport as a base for its planned new long haul budget subsidiary.
"We are negotiating with Lufthansa on the possible basing of their scheduled long-haul, low-cost subsidiary at Cologne/Bonn Airport," CEO Michael Garvens told Germany's RP Online.
Beginning in autumn next year, Lufthansa intends to use a fleet of either B767s or A330s for its long haul budget carrier to wrestle back market share lost to the likes of Emirates (EK, Dubai International), Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International), and Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International). Initial destinations will likely include the East Coast of the United States, and the Far East.
RP online claims other airports that have been considered include Düsseldorf though talks there have stalled over costly landing fees. Talk with Munich also tapered off after further consideration revealed that alongside high landing fees, various operating restrictions such as slot allocations and a night-time curfew would also impact the budget carrier's operations.
