The Lufthansa Group's new subsidiary, Eurowings Discover, is set to launch tomorrow with its inaugural flight to Mombasa. The airline will use an Airbus A330-200 for its first flight before heading on to Zanzibar as a tag flight.

The current situation has forced significant change across the Lufthansa Group. May old and large aircraft from across the group have been retired. However, it also brings a chance for new ventures. The Lufthansa Group expects business travel to take longer to recover and is thus targeting long-haul leisure travelers with a new offering.

The first flight plans

The first Eurowings flight is set to take to the skies tomorrow, heading south from Frankfurt Airport to Mombasa in Kenya. The flight will be quite a late departure from the airport. Flight 4Y134 is set to depart the Lufthansa Group's Frankfurt stronghold at 19:35. The airline's A330s have been flying across Europe in preparation over the last couple of weeks.

The aircraft will take some eight hours and 35 minutes to fly south to Kenya, where it is due to arrive at 05:10 on Sunday morning. Lufthansa has a codeshare for the flight, using the flight number LH4358 for the flight. The aircraft will then fly to Zanzibar and back before departing at 11:00. After an eight-hour 40 minute flight back to Frankfurt, the jet is expected to land at 18:40.

Eurowings Discover, Maiden Flight, Mombasa, Zanzibar
The flight will take around nine hours to get to Mombasa. Photo: Cirium

Expansion plans

While the airline currently has just two planes, expansion is definitely on the cards. Belonging to the Lufthansa Group, the airline doesn't have to worry so much about a slow and steady growth period. PLAY CEO Birgir Jonsson recently told Simple Flying that this was key to starting a new airline.

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By the end of the year, the airline hopes to add another ten aircraft for a total of 21 jets by summer 2022. Ten Airbus A320 aircraft will accompany 11 Airbus A330s. Each of these aircraft will come from the main Lufthansa Group fleet.

Eurowings Discover Airbus A330-300
Photo: Eurowings Discover

The right time to launch an airline?

The airline only received its Air Operators Certificate from the German Federal Aviation Authority on June 16th. Like the CEOs of PLAY and flypop, Eurowings Discover's CEO, Wolfgang Raebiger, believes it is the perfect time to launch. He commented,

"The timing could not be better. People can finally travel again and we are all set to fly them to the world's most beautiful destinations. We have built an airline in just one year – an ambitious goal that we have achieved with the great support from the entire Lufthansa Group, a motivated team and in close cooperation with the German Federal Aviation Authority. We wish to express our sincere gratitude to everyone."

Simple Flying will be at Frankfurt Airport for the first Eurowings Discover departure tomorrow. Stay tuned for coverage of the first flight.

What do you expect to see from Eurowings Discover? Let us know what you think and why in the comments below!