Lufthansa's LCC airline Eurowings (EW, Düsseldorf) is looking to launch commercial operations from Frankfurt International airport in 2018, reports Reuters.

"We are working on a solution for the summer of 2018," said Karl Ulrich Garnadt, Eurowings CEO.

Frankfurt has until now been the domain of parent company Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International). The move is seen to be a way for the Lufthansa Group to regain some ground back from LCC rival Ryanair (FR, Dublin International), which will shortly commence operations out of Frankfurt. The Irish carrier plans to base two aircraft there and operate four routes: to Alicante, Faro, Malaga, and Palma de Mallorca. Eurowings has not as yet announced which routes it will fly.

Eurowings has penetrated another traditional Lufthansa stronghold, with budget flights out of Munich starting at the end of March. The LCC will base four aircraft at the southern German airport, later increasing that number to six.

"The market reaction in Munich gives us confidence to look at doing something similar in Frankfurt," Garnadt said.

Eurowings currently flies out of seventeen German cities and services 122 destinations in thirty-five countries.