Lufthansa CityLine
Encyclopedia
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Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung
Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung is a type of legal entityvery common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other Central European countries...
is a regional airline
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
based in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
and member of the Lufthansa Regional
Lufthansa Regional
Lufthansa Regional is the regional airline alliance of the largest German airline, Lufthansa. It transports 10.5 million passengers a year, serving over 80 destinations and over 150 routes...
network. It is the largest regional airline in Europe. Its main base is Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne Bonn Airport
Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...
, with hubs at Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
and Munich Airport.
History
The airline was founded as Ostfriesische Lufttaxi (OLT) in 1958 and became Ostfriesische Lufttransport (OLT) in 1970 (still exists today as a separate airline) in EmdenEmden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
. It was reorganised and renamed as DLT Luftverkehrsgesellschaft mbH on 1 October 1974 and began cooperation with Lufthansa in 1978 with short-range international routes. By 1988 all operations were on behalf of Lufthansa. In March 1992 DLT became a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa and was renamed Lufthansa CityLine. It had 2,520 employees at July 2007.
Fleet
As of November 2011, the Lufthansa CityLine fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 8.8 years:| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avro RJ85 | 6 | — | 93 | being phased out |
| Bombardier CRJ700 | 20 | — | 70 | |
| Bombardier CRJ900 | 12 | 8 | 84 | |
| Embraer E-190 Embraer E-Jets The Embraer E-Jets are a series of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range, jet airliners produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and corporate aircraft. Announced at the Paris Air Show in 1999, and entering production in 2002, the aircraft series... |
9 | 6 | 100 | |
| Embraer E-195 Embraer E-Jets The Embraer E-Jets are a series of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range, jet airliners produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and corporate aircraft. Announced at the Paris Air Show in 1999, and entering production in 2002, the aircraft series... |
10 | 5 | 116 | |
| Total | 57 | 19 |
Lease extensions have been signed on 13 of the Avro RJ85
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
fleet, which means they will remain in service with the airline well into the next decade.
Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
placed an order on 17 April 2007 for 30 Embraer E-190/195
Embraer E-Jets
The Embraer E-Jets are a series of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range, jet airliners produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and corporate aircraft. Announced at the Paris Air Show in 1999, and entering production in 2002, the aircraft series...
and 15 Bombardier CRJ-900
Bombardier CRJ700
The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are regional airliners based on the Bombardier CRJ200. Final assembly of the aircraft is at Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, Quebec, outside Montreal, Canada.-Development:...
aircraft to directly replace its fleet of BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
and Avro RJ aircraft, of which 18 are operated by Lufthansa CityLine and 24 by Swiss European Air Lines
Swiss European Air Lines
Swiss European Air Lines is a subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines, operating as the latter on some of its short haul routes. Swiss International Air Lines, also known as SWISS, is the successor of Swissair, following that company's grounding in 2001. Like its parent, Swiss European is part...
.
On 22 November 2008, Lufthansa Cityline announced it will reduce its Bombardier CRJ200
Bombardier CRJ200
The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 are a family of regional airliner manufactured by Bombardier, and based on the Canadair Challenger business jet.-Development:...
fleet by almost 60% within a year starting in early 2009. The reason given was that the aircraft type was getting old and too costly to operate compared to more modern competitors.
Fleet development
Over the years, Lufthansa CityLine operated the following aircraft types:| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired |
|---|---|---|
| ATR 42 ATR 42 -Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type.... |
||
| Avro RJ85 | ||
| Bombardier CRJ100/200 | ||
| Bombardier CRJ700 Bombardier CRJ700 The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are regional airliners based on the Bombardier CRJ200. Final assembly of the aircraft is at Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, Quebec, outside Montreal, Canada.-Development:... |
||
| Bombardier CRJ900 | ||
| Dash 8-100/-300 | ||
| Embraer 190 | ||
| Embraer 195 | ||
| Fokker F27 Friendship | ||
| Fokker 50 | 2001 |
2009 |
| Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | ||
Accidents and incidents
- On 6 January 1993, Lufthansa Flight 5634Lufthansa Cityline Flight 5634The accident happened on 6 January 1993 when Lufthansa Cityline Flight 5634 was on a flight from Bremen Airport to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France. The Dash 8-311 registration D-BEAT with 23 passengers and crew took off from Bremen Airport at 17:30...
from BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
to ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, which was carried out under the Lufthansa CityLine brand using a Contact AirContact AirContact Air Flugdienst is a regional airline headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, operating scheduled services as part of Lufthansa Regional out of Stuttgart Airport, and on behalf of Swiss International Airlines out of Zürich Airport.- History :The airline was established by Gunther Eheim as a...
Dash 8-300 (registeredAircraft registrationAn aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
D-BEAT), hit the ground 1800 metres short of the runway of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, resulting in the death of four out of the 23 passengers on board. The four crew members survived. The accident occurred after the pilot had to abort the final approachFinal approachFinal approach may refer to:* Final approach , the last leg in an aircraft's approach to landing* Final Approach , a thriller starring James Sikking* Final Approach , a TV action thriller starring Dean Cain...
to the airport because the runway had been closed due to the aircraft ahead, a Korean AirKorean AirKorean Air Lines Co., Ltd. , operating as Korean Air, is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45...
Boeing 747Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
, suffering a blown tyre upon landing. - On 28 December 1999, a passenger on board Lufthansa Flight 5293 from PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
to DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, which was operated by Lufthansa CityLine using a Bombardier CRJ100 aircraft (registered D-ACJA), claimed to have a bomb on board and demanded the flight be diverted to the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The pilots covinced him to have a fuel stop at Düsseldorf International AirportDüsseldorf International AirportDüsseldorf International Airport is the largest airport in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the third largest airport in Germany, handling 18.99 million passengers in 2010....
, where all passengers left the plane (many of them unbeknownst of the hijacking attempt), and the perpetrator was arrested. - On 7 August 2004 at 18:57 local time, a Lufthansa CityLine Avro RJ85 (registered D-AVRO) experienced a total failure of its aileronsAileronAilerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...
and elevatorsElevator (aircraft)Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
whilst enroute from FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
to GrazGrazThe more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
as Lufthansa Flight 5386. The pilots managed to perform an emergency landing at Graz AirportGraz AirportGraz Airport , also known as Thalerhof, serves Graz, Austria. It is located in the municipalities of Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf, south of Graz city centre.-Transportation:...
.