Lufthansa has introduced a new subsidiary, Lufthansa City Airlines, operating under the IATA code VL and callsign City Air. The airline is based in Munich and recently launched its inaugural flight to Birmingham in the UK. This development adds to Lufthansa’s extensive portfolio of subsidiaries, which includes Jump, CityLine, Germanwings, Eurowings, Eurowings Europe, Eurowings Discover, Discover Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Swiss Global, Edelweiss, Helvetic Airways, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines.
The experience at Birmingham Airport was standard for Lufthansa passengers. Check-in was efficient at the Lufthansa Group desk without any special signs for City. Boarding followed the usual process but was notably uncomfortable due to hot weather conditions.
Onboard the aircraft, passengers were greeted by crew members in uniforms nearly identical to those of standard Lufthansa staff. The seats were Geven Essenza models in typical Lufthansa colors with “Ihr Freiraum” headrest antimacassars on blocked middle seats.
A unique aspect was the presence of a specific safety card for Lufthansa City Airlines alongside a wetlease card similar to those used by other wetleased flights under the Lufthansa brand. The buy-on-board menu and inflight shopping catalog were consistent with what is offered on regular Lufthansa flights.
The inaugural flight experienced a 30-minute delay departing from Birmingham but landed less than 15 minutes behind schedule in Munich. Passengers were transported via bus gate upon arrival.
Inflight services mirrored those of standard Lufthansa flights with no inflight connectivity available on this A320neo aircraft. Drinks and food offerings remained unchanged from what frequent flyers would expect from any European route operated by Lufthansa.
Frequent flyers have expressed concerns about consistency in treatment between Lufthansa City and mainline operations. However, it appears that most non-frequent flyer passengers may not notice they are flying with a subsidiary until they read onboard materials indicating so.
John Walton attended this flight as a guest of Lufthansa; however, he maintains that all opinions shared are his own.
