Volotea and Eurowings forge an alliance, joint sales and new routes

Volotea, a Spanish low-cost airline, and Eurowings, the Lufthansa Group carrier, have signed a memorandum of understanding to enter into a mutual sales agreement. The joint sales cooperation is intended to cover more than 140 routes operated by both companies, more than 100 by Eurowings and about 40 by Volotea, with no overlap.

These routes will include 8 new routes operated by Volotea, connecting major German airports to the medium-sized French and Italian cities of Bordeaux, Lyon, and Nantes, Florence and Verona. Both airlines will thus expand their flight offerings dedicated to their customers.

Volotea, one of the fastest growing airlines in Europe over the past decade, operates in 16 countries and reaches more than 100 destinations. The carrier has been operating in Germany since 2019, running Airbus' weekly domestic shuttle service between Hamburg and Toulouse. Thanks to this joint sales deal, Volotea will be able to venture into a new market, starting to offer commercial flights in Germany for the first time.

At the same time, Eurowings, a Lufthansa Group airline, plans to open its sales channels to Volotea, thus offering popular small and medium-sized destinations in France and Italy. Through this planned mutual agreement, Volotea's customers as well as those of Eurowings would benefit from more than 140 connections, free of overlap, available on both airlines' websites: more than 100 routes operated by Eurowings and about 40 by Volotea. In this way, Eurowings and Volotea would improve the offer for their passengers, providing easy access to a more comprehensive range of travel options throughout Europe.

As part of the planned cooperation, Volotea will operate 8 new routes to/from Germany, directly connecting Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart and Hamburg with its bases in Bordeaux, Lyon and Nantes (in France) and Florence and Verona (in Italy). These new routes will have 2 weekly frequencies with a capacity of about 60,000 seats.

Routes will start on May 26, 2023:

• Verona - Berlin
• Bordeaux - Düsseldorf
• Bordeaux - Stuttgart

Routes will start on October 10, 2023:

• Florence - Hamburg
• Lyon - Hamburg
• Bordeaux - Hamburg

Routes will start on October 12, 2023:

• Lyon - Berlin
• Nantes - Stuttgart

Carlos Muñoz, President and Founder of Volotea said: "We are very pleased to announce the launch of our business operations in Germany with a strong distribution partner and a major player in this country. The planned strategic agreement with Eurowings is unique and significant and includes more than 140 routes, with no overlaps, marking the potential for a stronger, long-term partnership. With 8 new destinations, we will also be able to present our distinctive offer to the German public. Volotea connects important, often overlooked mid-sized cities nonstop, making travel easy. With routes from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart to cities such as Bordeaux and Florence, we are responding to new passenger needs."

Jens Bischof, CEO of Eurowings stated: "Step by step, we are strengthening the Euro in our Euro-wings brand. Our roots are in Germany, but we are increasingly becoming a European airline. We have already established ourselves in northern and eastern Europe with the recent opening of our bases in Prague and Stockholm, and, our next step is to expand our booking options to southern Europe. The planned mutual business partnership with Volotea would enable us to offer our customers many new and exciting destinations in France and Italy, as well as better connectivity within southern Europe."

• New Routes