Luxair

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^{[clarification needed]} Luxair and began flights by launching a Luxembourg–Paris route with a Fokker F27 Friendship.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[6] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[7] LUXAVIA was a joint venture between Trek Airways and Luxair, enabling Trek Airways to avoid the repercussions of widespread anti-Apartheid boycotts.^[8]

Development since the 2000s

In March 2003, Luxair ordered two new Boeing 737-700s to replace its older Boeing aircraft.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} 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To move to an all-jet fleet, the last Fokker 50 aircraft was withdrawn from service in April 2005.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,^{[clarification needed]} 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.^{[clarification needed]} 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.^[9] In 2011 Luxair carried 1,302,771 passengers.^[10]

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.^[11] In November 2015, the sale was finalized when Lufthansa sold its entire stake to the state of Luxembourg.^[12] 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.^[13] Luxair is still part of the Lufthansa frequent flyer program Miles & More.^[14][15]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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%).^[16] 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:^[17]

Codeshare agreements

Luxair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:^[63]

Current fleet

As of December 2024^[update], Luxair operates the following aircraft:^[69]

Historical fleet

Luxair previously also operated the following aircraft types:

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.^{[citation needed]} 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^{[citation needed][tone]} and was the main action of the company's broader "FlyingIsAnArt" project:^[83] On 25 November 2020, the company released a de Havilland Q400 with an orange logo to raise awareness for violence against women.^[84]

In July 2022, Luxair was the world's first airline to paint a livery of one of its aircraft in a rainbow, to support Luxembourg Pride Month.^[85] This project inspired the German carrier Lufthansa, which one year later decided to do the same on one of its aircraft.^[86]

In October 2022, Luxair painted one of its aircraft with pink artwork by the local artist Lisa Junius in partnership with Think Pink Lux, to contribute to the Pink October worldwide campaign.^[87]