Luxair, legally , is the flag carrier of Luxembourg with its headquarters in Munsbach, Luxembourg, and hub at Luxembourg Airport. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East with additional charter and seasonal services. It is Luxembourg's only passenger-carrying airline offering regular, non-charter service.
History
Early years
Luxair descended from Luxembourg Airlines, which was founded in 1948. Luxair was set up in 1961 to meet the growing demand for air links between Luxembourg and other European cities. In 1962, Luxembourg Airlines became Luxair and began flights by launching a Luxembourg–Paris route with a Fokker F27 Friendship.
From 1964 to 1969, Luxair operated three Lockheed L-1649A Starliner aircraft in a cooperative agreement with Trek Airways, from Luxembourg to Johannesburg. The Starliners were painted in Luxair livery and were registered in Luxembourg.Zoggavia.com – Luxair , Retrieved 6 November 2010 By 1967, Luxair's fleet consisted of three Fokker F27 Friendships and one Vickers Viscount. The latter was written off in a non-fatal accident in 1969 and replaced the following year by the airline's first jet airliner, a Sud Aviation Caravelle. By 1976, Luxair was operating a Boeing 707 with a Boeing 737-200 then joining the fleet in 1977.
Over the years, Luxair gradually introduced further jet aircraft: Boeing 737-400s and Boeing 737-500s; as well as Fokker 50 turboprops and Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 regional jets. In the 1980s, Boeing 747SPs owned by South African Trek Airways and operated by LUXAVIA were painted in Luxair colours, flying routes between South Africa and Europe, as well as holiday charters from Luxembourg. LUXAVIA was a joint venture between Trek Airways and Luxair, enabling Trek Airways to avoid the repercussions of widespread anti-Apartheid boycotts.
Development since the 2000s In March 2003, Luxair ordered two new Boeing 737-700s to replace its older Boeing aircraft. The first of the new aircraft was delivered on 18 February 2004. A third aircraft was ordered in August 2003 and delivered in January 2005.On 21 December 2003, Luxair launched a new logo depicting a flying boomerang. The previous logo had been in use for 42 years. To move to an all-jet fleet, the last Fokker 50 aircraft was withdrawn from service in April 2005. The rising cost of oil made operating regional jets increasingly difficult. To lessen its exposure, Luxair decided to reintroduce turboprop aircraft, and in June 2006, it signed a firm order with Bombardier Aerospace for three Dash 8-Q400s, plus three options. The last of the three aircraft was delivered in September 2007. Two additional Q400s were ordered later.
In October 2008, Luxair decided to place an order for its first Boeing 737-800. This aircraft replaced the last Boeing 737-500 in Luxair's fleet and facilitated Luxair's offer on its holiday destinations. In 2009, the airline was awarded as the most punctual scheduled operator at London City Airport during 2008 by Flight on Time, based on CAA statistics. In 2011, Luxair carried 1,302,771 passengers.
In 2013 and 2014, two new Boeing 737-800s fitted with Boeing Sky Interior became part of the fleet, which enabled Luxair to retire the last Boeing 737-500 from service.
In July 2015, Luxair's minority shareholder Lufthansa announced it would sell its 13 per cent stake in the airline it had held since 1993. The government of Luxembourg was named as the preferred buyer.airliners.de - "Lufthansa wants to get rid of Luxair shares" (German) 11 November 2015 In November 2015, the sale was finalized when Lufthansa sold its entire stake to the state of Luxembourg.aero.de - Lufthansa macht Luxair-Anteile zu Geld ("Lufthansa cashes in Luxair shares") (German) 17 November 2015 Luxair also announced it would stop flying its route to Frankfurt Airport previously operated on a codeshare with Lufthansa as the latter started the same route itself.airlineroute.net - Luxair Ends Frankfurt Service from Dec 2015 11 August 2015 Luxair is still part of the Lufthansa frequent flyer program Miles & More.
After the bankruptcy of Air Berlin, Luxair announced they would begin flying from Saarbrücken Airport to Berlin Tegel Airport utilising a Bombardier CRJ700 which Luxair leased from Adria Airways based in Saarbrücken.
Corporate affairs Ownership As of November 2015, after Lufthansa sold its shares, the airline is owned by the State of Luxembourg (52.04%), Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État (21.81%), Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (13.14%), the Luxair Group and others (13.11%).The State of Luxembourg directly owns 26.85%; a further 21.81% is controlled by fully state-owned Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat. In total, the State of Luxembourg owns 74.98% of the company through various state-owned corporations and its holding of 10% of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg.
Business trends The key figures for the Luxair Group since 2008 are shown below:
Turnover(€m) Net profit(€m) Number ofemployees Number ofpassengers(m) Passengerload factor(%) Cargo carried(000s tons) Number ofaircraft Notes/sources 2008 417 8.5 2,461 1.22 73.4 810 15 2009 383 1.3 2,3341.18 72.9 672 16 2010 409 8.9 2,317 1.25 73.8 735 16 2011 429 3.6 2,344 1.30 72.4 678 16 2012 447 −21.2 2,309 1.37 73.4 638 16 2013 472 8.2 2,288 1.51 75.3 693 16 2014 495 −0.4 2,394 1.68 74.5 725 17 2015 505 9.7 2,438 1.81 72.8 759 17 2016498 4.4 2,527 1.84 71.6 822 16 20175359.52,6581.9371.694017201859312.52,8282.1372.69571720196158.12,8772.1473.0893192020263−1542,8200.6658.4947192021457−2.32,7051.0868.6112419202268367.13,1181.299519
Destinations , Luxair flies (or has flown) to the following destinations: CountryCityAirportNotesAlbaniaTiranaTirana International Airport AustriaInnsbruckInnsbruck AirportSalzburgSalzburg AirportViennaVienna International Airport BelgiumAntwerpAntwerp International AirportBrusselsBrussels AirportBulgariaBurgasBurgas AirportVarnaVarna AirportCape VerdeBoa VistaAristides Pereira International AirportPraiaNelson Mandela International Airport SalAmilcar Cabral International Airport São VicenteCesária Évora AirportCroatiaBračBrač Airport DubrovnikDubrovnik AirportSplitSplit AirportZadarZadar AirportCyprusPaphosPaphos International AirportCzech RepublicPragueVáclav Havel Airport Prague DenmarkCopenhagenCopenhagen Airport EgyptHurghadaHurghada International Airport Marsa AlamMarsa Alam International Airport FinlandHelsinkiHelsinki Airport RovaniemiRovaniemi AirportFranceAjaccioAjaccio Napoleon Bonaparte AirportBastiaBastia – Poretta AirportBiarritzBiarritz Pays Basque AirportBordeauxBordeaux–Mérignac Airport CalviCalvi – Sainte-Catherine AirportChâlonsChâlons Vatry AirportFigariFigari–Sud Corse AirportLa RochelleLa Rochelle – Île de Ré AirportMarseilleMarseille Provence AirportMontpellierMontpellier–Méditerranée Airport NantesNantes Atlantique AirportNiceNice Côte d'Azur Airport ParisCharles de Gaulle Airport ToulonToulon–Hyères AirportsGermanyBerlinBerlin Brandenburg Airport Berlin Tegel AirportFrankfurtFrankfurt AirportHamburgHamburg Airport HeringsdorfHeringsdorf AirportMunichMunich Airport RostockRostock–Laage AirportSaarbrückenSaarbrücken AirportSyltSylt AirportGreeceAthensAthens International AirportChaniaChania International Airport CorfuCorfu International AirportHeraklionHeraklion International AirportKosKos International AirportMykonosMykonos AirportRhodesRhodes International AirportSantoriniSantorini International AirportThessalonikiThessaloniki AirportHungaryBudapestBudapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport IcelandReykjavíkKeflavík International AirportIrelandDublinDublin Airport ItalyBariBari Karol Wojtyła Airport BolognaBologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport BrindisiBrindisi AirportCagliariCagliari Elmas AirportCataniaCatania–Fontanarossa AirportFlorenceFlorence AirportLamezia TermeLamezia Terme International AirportMilanLinate Airport Milan Malpensa Airport NaplesNaples International AirportOlbiaOlbia Costa Smeralda AirportPalermoFalcone Borsellino AirportPescaraAbruzzo Airport RiminiFederico Fellini International AirportRomeRome Fiumicino Airport TurinTurin AirportVeniceVenice Marco Polo Airport LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg AirportMaltaLuqaMalta International Airport MontenegroPodgoricaPodgorica AirportTivatTivat AirportMoroccoAgadirAgadir–Al Massira AirportMarrakeshMarrakesh Menara Airport NetherlandsAmsterdamAmsterdam Airport SchipholRotterdamRotterdam The Hague AirportNorwayOsloOslo Gardermoen Airport PolandKrakówKraków John Paul II International Airport WarsawWarsaw Chopin Airport PortugalFaroFaro Airport FunchalMadeira Airport LisbonLisbon Airport PortoPorto Airport RomaniaBucharestBucharest Henri Coandă International Airport SenegalDakarBlaise Diagne International AirportSerbiaBelgradeBelgrade Nikola Tesla AirportSouth AfricaJohannesburgO. R. Tambo International AirportSpainAlicanteAlicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport AlmeríaAlmería AirportBarcelonaJosep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport BilbaoBilbao Airport FuerteventuraFuerteventura Airport GironaGirona Costa Brava Airport IbizaIbiza AirportJerez de la FronteraJerez AirportLanzaroteLanzarote Airport Las PalmasGran Canaria Airport MadridAdolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport MálagaMálaga Airport MenorcaMenorca AirportPalma de MallorcaPalma de Mallorca Airport TenerifeTenerife South Airport ValenciaValencia AirportSwedenSälen/TrysilSälen/Scandinavian Mountains AirportStockholmStockholm Arlanda Airport SwitzerlandGenevaGeneva Airport ZurichZurich AirportTunisiaDjerbaDjerba–Zarzis International AirportEnfidhaEnfidha–Hammamet International Airport MonastirMonastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport TunisTunis–Carthage International Airport TurkeyAntalyaAntalya AirportIzmirİzmir Adnan Menderes Airport United Arab EmiratesDubaiAl Maktoum International AirportDubai International AirportRas Al KhaimahRas Al Khaimah International AirportUnited KingdomEdinburghEdinburgh AirportLondonLondon City Airport Heathrow AirportManchesterManchester Airport United StatesNew York CityJohn F. Kennedy International Airport
Codeshare agreements Luxair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
Air FranceDestinations airfrance.es Air Serbia Austrian Airlines ITA Airways LOT Polish Airlines Lufthansa Scandinavian Airlines TAP Air Portugal Turkish Airlines
Fleet
Current fleet , Luxair operates the following aircraft:
+ Luxair fleetAircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotesBoeing 737-7004—141Boeing 737-8004—186Boeing 737 MAX 8281862 to be leased.Boeing 737 MAX 10—4TBADe Havilland Canada Dash 8-40011—76Embraer E190-E2—3TBA—Embraer E195-E242136Order with 3 purchase rights.Deliveries from December 2025.Total2517
Historical fleet Luxair previously also operated the following aircraft types:
Airbus A300B4-203 Boeing 707 Boeing 737-200 Boeing 737-400 Boeing 737-500 Boeing 747SP Boeing 767-300ER (leased from CityBird) Bombardier CRJ700 (leased from Adria Airways) Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia Embraer ERJ-135 Embraer ERJ-145 Fokker F27 Friendship Fokker 50 Lockheed L-1649A Starliner Sud Aviation Caravelle 6R Vickers Viscount
Special liveries Starting from 2020, Luxair released special liveries for some of its aircraft. On 25 July 2021, the company introduced the SUMO Artwork Luxair's Boeing 737/800. The livery was designed by the local street artist Christian "SUMO" Pearson. The special livery was meant to spread a positive message at the moment of the restart of operations after the first COVID-19 lockdown and was the main action of the company's broader "FlyingIsAnArt" project: On 25 November 2020, the company released a de Havilland Q400 with an orange logo to raise awareness for violence against women.