Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (LGW) carries out first A320 flight for Eurowings

• Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (LGW) now operates Airbus A320 aircraft as well
• The A320 offers passengers more than twice as many seats as LGW’s existing DHC8-Q400 aircraft
• Michael Knitter: “Eurowings continues to expand with LGW”

Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (LGW) carried out its first flight with an A320 this week – on behalf of Eurowings. “This is a special achievement for us because we have never had this type of aircraft in our fleet before,” said Peter Knecht, Head of Operations at LGW. Flight EW050 took off at 12:15 am from Cologne/Bonn Airport and landed in Berlin-Tegel less than an hour later – “punctual almost to the minute and with the usual excellent Eurowings service for the passengers on board,” Knecht stressed.

Dortmund-based LGW has been operating on a wet lease arrangement for Eurowings since the beginning of November. This means that Eurowings has leased 17 LGW aircraft including crews and is using them on its routes. Previously, only the DHC8-Q400 twin-engine, propeller-driven aircraft – ‘Dash’ for short – have been used on this route and almost all have had a change of livery for their Eurowings service. It is a long time since LGW had jet-propelled aircraft.

A significant amount of work has been taking place to usher the jet age back into LGW, and with great success. Many LGW employees have made their flight operations fit for jets of the A320 family over the recent weeks and months. “The operational step from prop plane to jet plane is enormous,” said Michael Knitter, Eurowings Chief Operating Officer. “The LGW team and its Head of Operations Peter Knecht, not only managed it in record time but also delivered a top performance.”

LGW will not stop at one Airbus. The company plans to use a further twelve A320 aircraft in its flight operations in the near future. These A320s will also take off in the wet lease for Eurowings and will each accommodate more than twice as many passengers as the Dash aircraft. Michael Knitter: “LGW will help us continue the expansion of Eurowings in 2018.”

Cologne/Bonn, 08 December 2017

Comment: Is this another way that Eurowings has found to reduce costs after it entrusted Brussels Airlines to fly long-haul routes from Düsselforf?