Eurowings Discover, the leisure airline subsidiary of Germany’s Lufthansa Group, has rebranded simply as Discover Airlines.
Headquartered in Frankfurt, Discover Airlines is disassociating itself with the separate Eurowings short-haul brand brand with the launch of a new identity and livery, which was unveiled for the first time on Tuesday.
The first Airbus A320 to feature the new livery arrived in Frankfurt on Tuesday morning and will be put into operation from September 6, with the first passengers flying from Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca.
The Eurowings Discover website will also be rebranded on Wednesday, although it could take several weeks for airport signage to be replaced. Cabin crew will continue to wear the same uniform, although new accessories, such as a neck scarf and tie, will be rolled out later this year.
The airline says the new livery is meant to “awaken memories of holidays as well as the desire to travel”. The livery features several shades of blue in geometric patterns to represent the sky, the horizon, and the water, while the sun and beach are reflected in yellow accents.
In a statement, the airline explained that the gradient of the colours was designed to “evoke the view from the aircraft window looking toward the horizon or the view of the sea.”
“The blue color scheme also stands for quality and the connection to the Lufthansa Group as Discover Airlines is fully embedded in the Group’s structures at the two hubs of Frankfurt and Munich,” the statement continued.
Eurowings Discover was created just two years ago but has already hired 2,000 employees and has 22 aircraft in its fleet. The airline already flies to 60 destinations, but a network expansion is expected next year as the fleet grows to 28 aircraft.
There’s been a fair amount of confusion over the Lufthansa Group’s strategy with regards to Eurowings and what is now known as Discover Airlines. It wasn’t quite clear how Discover Airlines fit into Lufthansa’s brand portfolio, although the carrier’s purpose as a leisure carrier is now well established.
What is less clear, however, is where Eurowings goes from here. Does it continue to operate a wide variety of short-haul services across Europe and slightly further afield, marketing itself towards leisure travellers and business travellers?
It will be interesting to see how Lufthansa develops the Eurowings brand and whether any changes could be coming.
