Luxair Airlines

  About Luxair

Luxair is the official flag carrier of the European country Luxembourg. The airline has its headquarters at Luxembourg Airport in Findel, close to Luxembourg City. The airline operates scheduled services to several domestic routes within the European Union as well as international routes connecting to North Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Additional charter services are also present and available which can be availed during peak seasons. Luxair is the sole passenger-carrying airline that offers regular non-charter services too. Founded in 1961, Luxair airline came from Luxembourg Airlines, which was established in 1948. With a view to linking Luxembourg to other European cities with the growing demand for the same, the airline was formed. By 1962, Luxembourg Airlines was rebranded as Luxair with flights commencing operations. The first flight from Luxembourg was to Paris. The Luxembourg - Paris route by Luxair was flown with a Fokker 27 Friendship. Between 1964 - 11969, Luxair expanded its fleet to accommodate three Lockheed L-164A Starliner aircraft. The same was received as a co-operative agreement between Luxair and Trek Airways was signed. This enabled a direct connection to Johannesburg from Luxembourg.

The Lockheed L-1649A Starliner was painted in Luxair's livery and also registered in Luxembourg. Luxair's fleet size increased considerably as they had three Fokker F27 Friendships and one Vickers Viscount, by 1967. A non-fatal accident with the Vickers Viscount led the airline to eliminate the aircraft from its fleet, and it was replaced with a jetliner, a Sud Aviation Caravelle. The airline received its first Boeing aircraft, a 737-200, in 1977. Gradually, Luxair started introducing more jet aircraft to its fleet with the inclusion of Boeing 747Sps, Boeing 737-400s and Boeing 737-500s aircraft. In 2003, Luxair purchased two new Boeing 737-700s with a view to replacing the older Boeing aircraft in their fleet. The new aircraft eventually delivered in 2004. In 2003, the airline announced that they would be rebranding their logo and a new one was launched later the same year. With a view to transforming its entire fleet to an all-jet fleet, the airline managed to finally replace all the aircraft with Fokker 50 aircraft as the last one to be withdrawn from the services in 2005. With the consistent spike in the price of oil, operations of the jet fleet became challenging for Luxair.

Hence, to avoid turning Luxair into a loss-making venture, the airline decided to reinstate some turboprop aircraft to its fleet. They confirmed a deal with Bombardier Aerospace to acquire three of their Dash 8-Q400s in 2006. All the aircraft were delivered by 2007 while two additional aircraft were ordered later. In 2008, Luxair announced that they would be placing an order for their first Boeing 737-800. The said aircraft would be replacing the last Boeing 737-500 in the airline's fleet. The airline received its first accolade in 2009 when Luxair was awarded as the Most Punctual Scheduled Operator at the London City Airport, as per the CAA statistics. In 2011, Luxair managed to carry about 1,302, 771 passengers. By 2013 and 2014, the airline added two new Boeing 737-800s with the refreshing Boeing Sky Interior, which became part of the fleet and enabled the airline to retire the last of its Boeing 737-500 from service. In 2015, Lufthansa, which holds a 13 per cent share in Luxair, announced that they wished to sell the stake in the airline that it had held for such a long period of time. The sale finally took place, and Lufthansa gave away all of its shares in Luxair to the state of Luxembourg. Following the bankruptcy of Air Berlin, Luxair announced that they would start flights on the international route with flights flying from Saarbrücken Airport in Saarland to Berlin Tegel Airport.

Fleet size of Luxair

As of 2019, Luxair's fleet size stands at 19 aircraft, majorly from the Boeing family with a few Dash 8s. Currently, the airline has four Boeing 737-700s, four Boeing 737-800s and 11 de Havilland Dash 8-400. The three have a passenger capacity of 141, 186 and 76 respectively. Luxair started its operations with a turboprop aircraft. However, intending to enhance its fleet and turn it into an all-Boeing one the airline started purchasing and leasing Boeing aircraft. They even had a Boeing aircraft reserved for its operations to Johannesburg. However, with the economic crisis caused by the excessive rise in the price of fuel in the 2000s, the airline had to reconsider its approach. With an only jet fleet, the high fuel prices would make the venture unprofitable. Hence, they opted to bring in turboprops again in the fleet. As noticed, the airline has a few dedicated Boeing aircraft that fly to specific destinations. As for the other short-haul or tourist destinations in Europe, the airline uses de Havilland Dash 8-400s.

In the past, the airline boasted a slew of Boeing and even an Airbus aircraft. Some of the former aircraft that formed the Luxair fleet includes Airbus A300B4-203 Boeing 737-200, Boeing 747SP, Boeing 767-300ER, Sud Aviation Caravelle 6R, Embraer ERJ-145, Fokker 50, Vickers Viscount, Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia and more.

Luxair's history, the airline, has only had one fatal accident which took place right before the airline reaches the airport for landing. An incoming flight from Germany crashed in a field, just ahead of the airport. The accident cost lives as the airline lost two crew members, 12 passengers, including celebrated artist, Michael Majerus.

Baggage Allowance

Luxair's baggage allowance depends on the cabin class and the type of ticket the passenger holds. As per regular standards, the economy class passengers receive 23 kg free checked baggage. Passengers travelling from business class have a checked baggage limit of 32 kg. In fact, the airline also allows the passengers to carry two pieces of baggage instead of one. Along with the baggage, the airline also allows passengers to carry a small bag along with the checked baggage. Depending on whether the passenger is a miles member, the benefits further enhance in terms of baggage allowance. The dimensions for the baggage is quite important, and the airline is strict about the same. Passengers need to check that the dimension of the baggage should be within 158 cm.

For economy class, the airline allows one carry-on baggage and one regular accessory bag such as a handbag or a laptop bag or a briefcase. The carry-on baggage weight should be no more than 8 kg for economy class passengers. As for business class passengers, the airline allows up to 8 kg but with two bags as opposed to the one baggage allowance in the economy class. Further, the dimension for the carry-on baggage should also not exceed 56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm.

In-flight services

Luxair has enhanced its fleet to accommodate better aircraft for enhanced in-flight services. Passengers can enjoy in-flight meals, rest easy on their recliner chairs and enjoy the generous legroom. Luxair's other in-flight services also include entertainment systems and magazines that can be asked for onboard.

Popular routes and top cities in Luxair

Luxair is predominantly an airline that majorly caters to a slew of European countries. However, even here, the airline does have some restrictions with respect to the West and East European destinations. Unlike other airlines in the European Union, Luxair does not have dedicated flights to destinations in East Europe. For Luxair, the biggest market in Paris and Berlin. The airline enjoys a plethora of passenger traffic from individuals who need to fly or who need to return from these destinations. The airline currently has a bunch of destinations it flies to, including Vienna, Copenhagen, Nice, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Saarbrücken, Dublin, Bari, Milan, Rome, Lisbon, Barcelona, Las Palmas, Madrid, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Geneva and London.

Interestingly, Luxair came into existence mainly catering to the tourism market in Europe. Hence much of the destinations that the airline connects to are mostly open on a seasonal basis. Accordingly, the airline has also accommodated flights and charter services that would fly to the tourist destinations during their peak season. The seasonal cities and destinations are Burgas, Varna, Boa Vista, Sal, Split, Dubrovnik, Ajaccio, Calvi, Kos, Rhodes, Corfu, Naples, Venice, Catania, Agadir, Marrakech, Djerba, Menorca, Ibiza, Almeria and more.

The airline has specific codeshare agreements with a few airlines. These include Air France, Hahn Air, Scandinavian Airlines, Alitalia, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines and Austrian Airlines.

Why travel by Luxair?

Luxair is an ideal choice for travellers who wish to visit tourist destinations across Europe. The continent often sees people who wish to explore as many countries as possible during their visit. Hence, the best way to go about it would be to book a Luxair flight and receive some great traveller's benefits too.

The airline has upgraded its website to cater to the new age traveller. There are web check-in provisions as well as updates on the flight status as well as flight schedules. Plus, the baggage allowance details and in-flight services are also explained on their page.