Lufthansa Group is evaluating fleet renewal options for Discover Airlines (4Y, Frankfurt International) to allow it to more efficiently compete with rival Condor (DE, Frankfurt International), chief executive Carsten Spohr said during a quarterly earnings call.
"We are in the process of deciding if new technology aircraft will also go to Discover. This could either be B787s or A350s," he said.
The group recently announced a wide-ranging restructuring plan to address growing financial pains. As Lufthansa Group aims to make mainline Lufthansa "fit for the future", it will increase the number of seasonal and leisure-oriented routes served primarily by Discover Airlines.
"We are striving for the full potential of our leisure carrier Discover Airlines and the new carrier for feeder traffic, Lufthansa City Airlines. They will further expand their services at our transit hub in Munich with a more competitive cost basis," Spohr outlined.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Discover Airlines currently operates three A330-200s (19.7 years old on average), and ten A330-300s (17.9 years). All of the widebodies were transferred to the carrier from other group units: the -200s from defunct SunExpress Deutschland and the -300s from Lufthansa (six), Brussels Airlines, and Edelweiss Air (two each). Discover also operates fourteen A320-200s.
Lufthansa has unfilled orders for twenty-eight A350-900s (of which five are allocated to Swiss) and thirty-four B787-9s. Edelweiss Air, the group's other leisure-focused AOC, currently operates a widebody fleet of five A340-300s but plans to replace them with six second-hand A350-900s.
Condor, Germany's largest leisure carrier and thus Discover Airlines' chief rival, is well into its fleet renewal programme. Its widebody fleet currently comprises seventeen A330-900s with six more due.
Despite their rivalry, Lufthansa continues to feed Condor passengers on domestic routes under a longstanding special prorate agreement (SPA). The deal was to be cancelled in 2020, but, given a lengthy court battle, will now end in October 2024.
