The Lufthansa Group has revealed the launch of seven new long-haul routes from its main German hubs. The routes will be operated by its latest subsidiary, Eurowings Discover, with flights beginning in Summer 2022 and sales starting next week.

There’s a new kid on the block at the Lufthansa Group. Previously known by the name Ocean, the airline is aimed at long-haul leisure travelers. Using Airbus A330s, the startup aims to compete against Condor, another well-established German carrier, who just sold 51% of its business. Ahead of its launch, Eurowings Discover has launched seven new routes.

Frankfurt and Munich hubs

The original Eurowings airline tends to avoid Lufthansa's Frankfurt stronghold, with its main base in Dusseldorf, and secondary bases in Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, and Stuttgart, according to data from ch-aviation.com.

Eurowings Discover will take a slightly different approach, with new routes planned to target tourist travel from both of the German flag carrier’s main hubs. Four of the routes will originate at the Lufthansa Group’s Frankfurt home.

Lufthansa, Summer 2021, Leisure Flight Plan
The airline also outlined a range of destinations to be served by Eurowings Discover. Photo: Vincenzo Pace - Simple Flying

This will see EW Discover's Airbus A330 jets flying to four new destinations. On the west side of the Atlantic, the airline will fly to Fort Myers, Panama City, and Salt Lake City. These US flights will operate three times a week from March next year, except Salt Lake City, which will launch in May. Meanwhile, without crossing the Atlantic, the airline will launch twice-weekly flights to Kilimanjaro from June 2022. 

The flights planned from Munich will operate twice per week. From March 2022, the airline group will use Eurowings Discover to resume flights to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, alongside Cancun in Mexico. In addition, two flights will operate each week from the Bavarian Capital to Las Vegas.

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What to expect from Eurowings Discover

With operations set to launch this summer, Eurowings Discover will initially operate three Airbus A330 aircraft. The first flights should operate from Frankfurt, with the aim of targeting competition from Condor on the long-haul leisure market.

As mentioned, the airline was initially known as Ocean, although this wasn’t intended to be its customer-facing name. The customer-facing name Eurowings Discover was revealed back in January. The airline will be in a reasonably strong position as a startup. The name Ocean lives on in the airline’s ICAO code, OCN. Its IATA code is 4Y.

Lufthansa condor eurowings
The airline will attempt to compete with Condor on long-haul leisure routes. Photo: Getty Images

Rather than starting from scratch like Avelo, PLAY, and Flyr, Eurowings Discover has the backing of one of Europe’s major airline groups. This means that finding aircraft and other assets necessary for the launch of operation should be slightly more manageable.

It was initially intended that the airline would launch flights next year. This has since been brought forward to this year, pending the airline’s permits. Given that the airline is yet to be fully established, the new routes revealed above will initially be listed on Lufthansa flight numbers from May 26th before being transferred across to Eurowings Discover.

What do you make of Eurowings Discover’s new routes? Let us know what you think and why in the comments below!