Lufthansa City Airlines opens Frankfurt base at group’s main hub

Lufthansa City Airlines has started flight operations from Frankfurt Airport, Lufthansa Group’s main hub, after the airline launched services from Munich in 2024. The first flight from Frankfurt departed on February 9 to Manchester and was operated by an Airbus A320neo.

Lufthansa established City Airlines to strengthen its short-haul operation and compete more directly with European low-cost carriers on intra-European routes, while maintaining feed for the group’s long-haul network at major hubs.

After the launch to Manchester, the airline is set to expand service from Frankfurt to Berlin and Valencia from late February. Düsseldorf and Málaga are due to follow in March, when a second aircraft is assigned to the base.

Additional destinations are planned from the summer schedule, including London Heathrow, Stockholm, Bilbao, Hamburg, Helsinki, Ibiza, Marseille and Bucharest.

Lufthansa City Airlines plans to station up to seven Airbus A320neo aircraft in Frankfurt by September 2026. The carrier currently operates 13 aircraft from Munich. During 2025, it operated close to 16,000 flights and carried about 2 million passengers across 27 destinations.

The airline also plans to introduce Airbus A220-300 aircraft from 2027. The type forms part of a firm order for 40 aircraft placed by the Lufthansa Group and is expected to play a central role in the future fleet.

Lufthansa City Airlines has hired about 60 employees in Frankfurt and plans further cockpit and cabin crew recruitment; the airline employs around 450 staff across its network.

The Frankfurt base adds short-haul capacity at the group’s largest hub and supports Lufthansa’s effort to reorganize its European network around a growing narrowbody fleet.

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