Route network
Route network of the Lufthansa Group significantly expanded
As part of the multi-hub strategy, Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines offer their passengers a broad range of flights from these airlines’ hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and Brussels. The regional Group airlines Lufthansa Cityline, Lufthansa City Airlines and Air Dolomiti provide short-haul feeder services for the network airlines. The network airlines are supplemented on long-haul routes by the route networks of the alliance and joint venture partners, which offer extensive transfer connections. Eurowings offers a comprehensive range of direct connections for short- and medium-haul destinations. Discover Airlines and Edelweiss, the Lufthansa Group’s holiday airlines, focus on tourist destinations for short-, medium- and long-haul flights and thus supplement the capacity of the hubs.
During the reporting year, the Lufthansa Group continued to expand its route network. In the summer season, the number of destinations on offer almost reached the pre-crisis level. Available capacity also steadily recovered in 2024. For the year as a whole, it already came to 91% of its pre-crisis level and was 9% higher than in the previous year.
Available capacity on short- and medium-haul routes was 99% of that in 2019 on average. In the fourth quarter, it was at 102%. A recovery was also seen on intercontinental routes. Available capacity in the fourth quarter of 2024 was at 89%. Transatlantic traffic is already back at more than 96%, with Asian routes still at 79% of their pre-crisis level. This is primarily a reflection of the slower recovery in air traffic on routes to and from China and Japan.
Russian airspace remains closed to the airlines of the Lufthansa Group due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Flight routes to Japan, South Korea, China and Central Asia are still significantly longer in some cases as a result. Continental direct flights to Russia and Ukraine remain suspended. Due to the conflict in the Middle East, it was also necessary to temporarily suspend flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran in the reporting year.