Lufthansa Group will by year-end complete a review of options for integrating Brussels Airlines and Eurowings.
Speaking to FlightGlobal in London on 9 April, Stefan Kreuzpaintner – Lufthansa's vice-president sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa – said the "investigation" was focused on how the operations and commercial strategies of the two airlines could be combined.
"I would say there must be a different commercial approach between short-haul and long-haul [networks]," Kreuzpaintner says, adding that while Eurowings will be the primary brand for European short-haul and German long-haul operations, the group's African brand offering remains under review.
With the addition of Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa now operates to 40 destinations in Africa, notes Kreuzpaintner.
He says Brussels Airlines' African brand must retain a "Belgian flavour" given the historical and cultural links between Belgium and many of the West African countries to which it operates.
"Flying into [Burkina Faso's capital] Ouagadougou, for instance, I can hardly imagine flying with Eurowings – that is clear," he says. "So we have to take the best out of all worlds, not giving up the strength of Brussels Airlines in the African network, but by the same time finding some synergies of Eurowings as a brand."
Kreuzpaintner believes that Eurowings provides the "perfect platform" for Lufthansa to use in pursuing further consolidation opportunities within Europe.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
