Northern Europe has always had quite a strong presence of leisure-oriented airlines in its market. Much more than we are accustomed to see in southern Europe. Germany is among the largest markets for leisure airlines. The country has a big customer base for this type of enterprise with many Germans spending their holidays abroad. To contrast other leisure focused carriers operating in Germany, Lufthansa has set up one of its own, Discover Airlines. With demand for air travel holding up well the airline and its parent company have decided to expand the current fleet available.
Discover Airlines to Expand its Fleet with Airbus Planes
The fact that leisure traffic has been holding up in the past few years, along with increased and more aggressive competition from other carriers such as Condor, has pushed parent company Lufthansa to decide a fleet expansion is due for Discover Airlines.
There will be no new planes arriving at the carrier, as that is not specified in any way in the airline’s announcement. What will be arriving are, similarly to what was done in the past, pre-used planes from Lufthansa owned airlines. The new arrivals will be then fitted with the Discover Airlines livery and interiors.
Discover Airlines will receive a total of 9 aircraft. That will boost the carrier’s fleet to 33 units allowing it to serve a wider number of destinations. Six of those nine additional aircraft are wide body planes, while three are smaller narrow bodies. Specifically, the aircraft types to be delivered are:
- 6 Airbus A330-300
- 3 Airbus A320 Family planes
They will be presumably exiting some of the Lufthansa Group airlines’ fleets and moving over to Discover Airlines. The timeline for the new arrivals is mid-2027 for the A330s and 2025 for the smaller A320s.
Refreshed Cabin Interiors Also Coming to Discover’s Business Class
Discover won’t only be receiving additional planes, but it will also be revamping its cabin interiors, particularly in business class. The most notable change will see the airline fit much more comfortable interiors for passengers, with all seats to offer direct aisle access. That should mean a switch to a 1-2-1 seat layout moving away from the current 2-2-2s or 2-2-1s.
I personally read this as a response to what Condor has introduced in the same market segment with a strong and modern business class product on its brand-new Airbus A330neo.
The Current Discover Airlines Fleet
The current fleet allows former Eurowings Discover to fly to an extensive list of tourist hotspots in Europe, Africa, and America.