Lufthansa Aims to Go Long-Haul with Eurowings

In the footsteps of Asian airline Scoot, Germany’s largest carrier Lufthansa said last week it was planning to expand into long-haul flights with its low-cost subsidiary Eurowings.

As of 2015, the German carrier will see seven of its Eurowings Airbus carriers travel out of Cologne to long-haul tourist destinations in the US, the Indian Ocean region and southern Africa.

“Our aim is to win over developing markets where we didn’t have access until now,” Lufthansa Passage Board member Jens Bischof told Deutsche Welle.

Lufthansa and other airlines have faced stiff competition in the long-haul flights game unable to compete with other carriers offering cheaper tickets.

Qatar Airways, Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines have established their position in the long-haul flights market leading Lufthansa, among others, to have to cancel a number of its routes earlier this year due to cheaper offers.

In efforts to deal with the problem, in 2012, Singapore Airlines launched its subsidiary Scoot as a low-cost long-haul carrier.

“At Scoot they have an exceptionally interesting business model. We examined it closely to see what we can learn,” Mr. Bischof added.

Low-cost long-haul flights provide less comforts including paying on board for meals and drinks. According to Scoot, this is the only way for airlines to keep costs down and remain competitive.