Luxair
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox airline
Luxair, legally Template:Lang,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a flag carrierTemplate:Efn of Luxembourg with its headquarters in Munsbach, Luxembourg,<ref name=HQ/> and hub at Luxembourg Airport.<ref name="FI">Template:Cite news</ref> It operates scheduled services to destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East with additional charter and seasonal services. It is Luxembourg's only passenger-carrying airline offering regular, non-charter service.
History
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Early years
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Luxair descended from Luxembourg Airlines, which was founded in 1948. Luxair was set up in 1961 to meet the growing demand for air links between Luxembourg and other European cities. In 1962, Luxembourg Airlines becameTemplate:Clarify Luxair and began flights by launching a Luxembourg–Paris route with a Fokker F27 Friendship.Template:Citation needed
From 1964 to 1969, Luxair operated three Lockheed L-1649A Starliner aircraft in a cooperative agreement with Trek Airways, from Luxembourg to Johannesburg. The Starliners were painted in Luxair livery and were registered in Luxembourg.<ref>Zoggavia.com – Luxair Template:Webarchive, Retrieved 6 November 2010</ref> By 1967, Luxair's fleet consisted of three Fokker F27 Friendships and one Vickers Viscount. The latter was written off in a non-fatal accident in 1969 and replaced the following year by the airline's first jet airliner, a Sud Aviation Caravelle. By 1976, Luxair was operating a Boeing 707 with a Boeing 737-200 then joining the fleet in 1977.Template:Citation needed
Over the years, Luxair gradually introduced further jet aircraft: Boeing 737-400s and Boeing 737-500s; as well as Fokker 50 turboprops and Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 regional jets. In the 1980s, Boeing 747SPs owned by South African Trek Airways and operated by LUXAVIA were painted in Luxair colours, flying routes between South Africa and Europe, as well as holiday charters from Luxembourg.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> LUXAVIA was a joint venture between Trek Airways and Luxair, enabling Trek Airways to avoid the repercussions of widespread anti-Apartheid boycotts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Development since the 2000s
In March 2003, Luxair ordered two new Boeing 737-700s to replace its older Boeing aircraft.Template:Citation needed The first of the new aircraft was delivered on 18 February 2004. A third aircraft was ordered in August 2003 and delivered in January 2005.
On 21 December 2003, Luxair launched a new logo depicting a flying boomerang.Template:Citation needed The previous logo had been in use for 42 years.
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To move to an all-jet fleet, the last Fokker 50 aircraft was withdrawn from service in April 2005. The rising cost of oil made operating regional jets increasingly difficult. To lessen its exposure,Template:Clarify Luxair decided to reintroduce turboprop aircraft, and in June 2006 it signed a firm order with Bombardier Aerospace for three Dash 8-Q400s, plus three options.Template:Clarify The last of the three aircraft was delivered in September 2007. Two additional Q400s were ordered later.
In October 2008, Luxair decided to place an order for its first Boeing 737-800. This aircraft replaced the last Boeing 737-500 in Luxair's fleet and facilitated Luxair's offer on its holiday destinations. In 2009, the airline was awarded as the most punctual scheduled operator at London City Airport during 2008 by Flight on Time, based on CAA statistics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2011 Luxair carried 1,302,771 passengers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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In 2013 and 2014, two new Boeing 737-800s fitted with Boeing Sky Interior became part of the fleet, which enabled Luxair to retire the last Boeing 737-500 from service.
In July 2015, Luxair's minority shareholder Lufthansa announced it would sell its 13 per cent stake in the airline it had held since 1993. The government of Luxembourg was named as the preferred buyer.<ref>airliners.de - "Lufthansa wants to get rid of Luxair shares" (German) 11 November 2015</ref> In November 2015, the sale was finalized when Lufthansa sold its entire stake to the state of Luxembourg.<ref name="LHsold">aero.de - Lufthansa macht Luxair-Anteile zu Geld ("Lufthansa cashes in Luxair shares") Template:Webarchive (German) 17 November 2015</ref> Luxair also announced it would stop flying its route to Frankfurt Airport previously operated on a codeshare with Lufthansa as the latter started the same route itself.<ref>airlineroute.net - Luxair Ends Frankfurt Service from Dec 2015 Template:Webarchive 11 August 2015</ref> Luxair is still part of the Lufthansa frequent flyer program Miles & More.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After the bankruptcy of Air Berlin, Luxair announced they would begin flying from Saarbrücken Airport to Berlin Tegel Airport utilising a Bombardier CRJ700 which Luxair leased from Adria Airways based in Saarbrücken.Template:Citation needed
Corporate affairs
Ownership
As of November 2015, after Lufthansa sold its shares, the airline is owned by the State of Luxembourg (52.04%), Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État (21.81%), Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (13.14%), the Luxair Group and others (13.11%).<ref name="luxair_shareholders">The State of Luxembourg directly owns 26.85%; a further 21.81% is controlled by fully state-owned Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat.Template:Cite web</ref> In total, the State of Luxembourg owns 74.98% of the company through various state-owned corporations and its holding of 10% of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg.
Business trends
The key figures for the Luxair Group since 2008 are shown below:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Turnover (€m) |
Net profit (€m) |
Number of employeesTemplate:Efn |
Number of passengers (m) |
Passenger load factor (%) |
Cargo carried (000s tons) |
Number of aircraftTemplate:Efn |
Notes/sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 417 | 8.5 | 2,461 | 1.22 | 73.4 | 810 | 15 | <ref name="Financial Report 2010">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2009 | 383 | 1.3 | 2,334 | 1.18 | 72.9 | 672 | 16 | <ref name="Financial Report 2010" /> |
| 2010 | 409 | 8.9 | 2,317 | 1.25 | 73.8 | 735 | 16 | <ref name="Financial Report 2010" /> |
| 2011 | 429 | 3.6 | 2,344 | 1.30 | 72.4 | 678 | 16 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2012 | 447 | −21.2 | 2,309 | 1.37 | 73.4 | 638 | 16 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2013 | 472 | 8.2 | 2,288 | 1.51 | 75.3 | 693 | 16 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2014 | 495 | −0.4 | 2,394 | 1.68 | 74.5 | 725 | 17 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2015 | 505 | 9.7 | 2,438 | 1.81 | 72.8 | 759 | 17 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2016 | 498 | 4.4 | 2,527 | 1.84 | 71.6 | 822 | 16 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2017 | 535 | 9.5 | 2,658 | 1.93 | 71.6 | 940 | 17 | <ref name="2018report">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2018 | 593 | 12.5 | 2,828 | 2.13 | 72.6 | 957 | 17 | <ref name="2018report" /> |
| 2019 | 615 | 8.1 | 2,877 | 2.14 | 73.0 | 893 | 19 | <ref name="2019report">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2020 | 263 | −154 | 2,820 | 0.66 | 58.4 | 947 | 19 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2021 | 457 | −2.3 | 2,705 | 1.08 | 68.6 | 1124 | 19 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2022 | 683 | 67.1 | 3,118 | 1.2 | 995 | 19 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Destinations
Template:As of, Luxair flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:<ref name="Destinations">Template:Cite web</ref>
Codeshare agreements
Luxair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:<ref name="CAPA Luxair profile">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col
- Air France<ref>Destinations airfrance.es Template:Webarchive</ref>
- Air Serbia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Austrian Airlines
- ITA Airways<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Scandinavian Airlines<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- TAP Air Portugal<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Turkish Airlines
Fleet
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Current fleet
Template:As of, Luxair operates the following aircraft:<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-700 | 4 | — | 141 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Boeing 737-800 | 4 | — | 186 | |
| Boeing 737 MAX 7 | — | 4 | TBA | <ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name="MAXes">Template:Cite press release</ref> |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 2 | 4 | 186 | 2 to be leased.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Boeing 737 MAX 10 | — | 2 | TBA | Order with 2 options.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 | 11 | — | 76 | |
| Embraer E195-E2 | — | 6 | 136<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 3 purchase rights. Deliveries begin Q4 2025.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Total | 21 | 16 | ||
Historical fleet
Luxair previously also operated the following aircraft types:
- Airbus A300B4-203Template:Cn
- Boeing 707<ref name="former1"/>
- Boeing 737-200Template:Cn
- Boeing 737-400Template:Cn
- Boeing 737-500Template:Cn
- Boeing 747SPTemplate:Cn
- Boeing 767-300ERTemplate:Cn
- Bombardier CRJ550Template:Cn
- Embraer EMB 120 BrasiliaTemplate:Cn
- Embraer ERJ-135Template:Cn
- Embraer ERJ-145Template:Cn
- Fokker F27 Friendship<ref name="former1"/>
- Fokker 50Template:Cn
- Sud Aviation Caravelle 6R<ref name="former1"/>
- Vickers Viscount<ref name="former1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Special liveries
Starting from 2020, Luxair released special liveries for some of its aircraft. On 25 July 2021, the company introduced the SUMO Artwork Luxair's Boeing 737/800.Template:Citation needed The livery was designed by the local street artist Christian "SUMO" Pearson. The special livery was meant to spread a positive message at the moment of the restart of operations after the first COVID-19 lockdownTemplate:Citation neededTemplate:Tone inline and was the main action of the company's broader "FlyingIsAnArt" project:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 25 November 2020, the company released a de Havilland Q400 with an orange logo to raise awareness for violence against women.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In July 2022, Luxair was the world's first airline to paint a livery of one of its aircraft in a rainbow, to support Luxembourg Pride Month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This project inspired the German carrier Lufthansa, which one year later decided to do the same on one of its aircraft.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In October 2022, Luxair painted one of its aircraft with pink artwork by the local artist Lisa Junius in partnership with Think Pink Lux, to contribute to the Pink October worldwide campaign.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Accidents and incidents
- On 22 December 1969, a Vickers Viscount (registration LX-LGC) arriving from Frankfurt Airport, Germany, landed 60% on the right-hand side of R24, hit a snowbank piled up by snowplows at the intersection with runway 20 during landing and rollout at Luxembourg Findel Airport in freezing fog weather. No passengers were killed, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was scrapped in May 1970.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- On 6 November 2002, Luxair Flight 9642, a Fokker 50 (registration LX-LGB) incoming from Berlin, Germany, crashed in a field near the village of Niederanven during its final approach to Luxembourg Findel Airport. Twenty passengers and two crew members died, including artist Michel Majerus. Only the pilot in command and one passenger survived.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This is the only fatal accident in Luxair's history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- On 30 September 2015, Luxair Flight 9562, operated by a Bombardier Q400, was taking off from Saarbrücken Airport when the first officer retracted the landing gear before the aircraft lifted off. The aircraft collapsed onto its belly and came to a stop on the runway.<ref name=RTL715507>Template:Cite news</ref> The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and Luxair ordered a replacement Q400 to be delivered in August 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- On 4 February 2024, Luxair Flight 5682 flying between Ljubljana and Luxembourg was forced to land in Munich, after pilots reported a crack in their cockpit windshield. The Dash-8 plane was grounded for approximately 31 hours in Munich, repaired, and returned to Luxembourg.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notes
References
External links
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