Lufthansa City Airlines. Photo: Lufthansa Lufthansa City Airlines, Lufthansa's intra-European regional airline, began operations yesterday (February 9, 2026) from Frankfurt Airport, the largest hub (HUB) of the Lufthansa Group.
The opening of the new base follows a successful launch in Munich in the summer of 2024 and marks another step in the expansion of the group's young airline.
Photo: Lufthansa
The inaugural flight from Frankfurt, VL946, departed in the afternoon for Manchester and was operated on a new Airbus A320neo.
In February, Berlin and Valencia will also join the route network, and in March, Düsseldorf and Málaga will be added, with the entry of a second aircraft into service. Starting in the summer of 2026, a gradual expansion of destinations from Frankfurt is expected, including London Heathrow, Stockholm, Bilbao, Hamburg, Helsinki, Ibiza, Marseille, and Bucharest.
The company plans to increase its Frankfurt-based fleet to seven Airbus A320neo aircraft by September 2026. At the same time, Lufthansa City Airlines currently operates 13 aircraft from its Munich base. In 2025, the company operated about 16,000 flights, carried about two million passengers, and operated routes to 27 destinations.
In addition to expanding the fleet, the company continues to recruit employees. So far, about 60 employees have been hired in Frankfurt, and in the coming months, an additional 80 cockpit crew members and about 200 flight attendants are planned. In total, the company currently employs about 450 employees.
Since September 2025, Lufthansa City Airlines has been a regular member of Star Alliance, giving passengers access to a global network and additional benefits.