Luxair

Luxair, legally Luxair S.A., Société Luxembourgeoise de Navigation Aérienne, is the flag carrier airline of Luxembourg with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport.[1][2] It operates scheduled services to destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Middle East with additional charter and seasonal services. It is Luxembourg's only passenger-carrying airline offering regular, non-charter service.

Luxair
IATA ICAO Callsign
LG LGL LUXAIR
Founded1962
HubsLuxembourg Airport
Frequent-flyer programMiles & More
Fleet size21
Destinations80
HeadquartersSandweiler, Luxembourg
Key peopleGilles Feith, CEO
Websiteluxair.lu

History
Luxair's old logo, used from 21 October 1961 to 20 December 2003
Luxair's first aircraft was this Fokker F27 Friendship, pictured here in 1966.
A former Luxair Boeing 747SP
A former Luxair Boeing 737-500

Early years

Descended from Luxembourg Airlines, founded in 1948, Luxair was starting to be 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 co-operative agreement with Trek Airways, from Luxembourg to Johannesburg. The Starliners were painted in Luxair livery and were registered in Luxembourg.[3] 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.[4]

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. [5] LUXAVIA was a joint venture between Trek Airways and Luxair, enabling Trek Airways to avoid the repercussions of widespread anti-Apartheid boycotts. [6]

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. Luxair launched a new logo on 21 December 2003 - a flying boomerang to symbolize a new visual identity, which confined the previous logo of 42 years to history.

In an effort 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.[7] In 2011 Luxair carried 1,302,771 passengers.[8]

In 2013 and 2014, two new Boeing 737-800s fitted with the brand new 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 percent stake in the airline that it had held since 1993. The government of Luxembourg was named as the preferred buyer.[9] In November 2015, the sale was finalized when Lufthansa sold its entire stake to the state of Luxembourg.[10] 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.[11] Luxair is still part of the Lufthansa frequent flyer program Miles & More.[12][13]

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%).[14] In total, the State of Luxembourg owns 74.98% of the company through various state-owned corporations and through its holding of 10% of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg.

The key trends for the Luxair Group over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Turnover (€m) 383 409 429 447 472 495 505 498 535 593 535
Net profit (€m) 1.3 8.9 3.6 −21.2 -0.6 1.3 1.8 −3.2 44.1 56.6 −4.4
Number of employees (average) 2,334 2,317 2,344 2,309 2,288 2,394 2,496 2,686 2,658 2,828 2,987
Number of passengers (m) 1.18 1.25 1.30 1.37 1.51 1.68 1.81 1.84 1.93 2.13 2.14
Passenger load factor (%) 72.9 73.8 72.4 73.4 75.3 74.5 72.8 71.6 71.6 72.6 73.0
Cargo carried (tons)(000s) 672 735 678 638 693 725 759 822 940 957 893
Number of aircraft (at year end) 16 17 17 19
Notes/sources [15] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [22] [23]

Destinations
Main article: List of Luxair destinations

Codeshare agreements

Luxair has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[24]

Fleet
A Luxair De Havilland Dash 8-400.
A Luxair Boeing 737-800

Current fleet

As of October 2019, the Luxair fleet consists of the following aircraft:[26]

Luxair fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-700 4 — 141
Boeing 737-800 4 — 186
De Havilland Dash 8-400 11 — 76
Total 19 —

Historical fleet

Accidents and incidents
  • On 22 December 1969, a Vickers Viscount (registration LX-LGC) arriving from Frankfurt Airport, Germany, landed 60% on the right hand side of R24, hit a snowbank piled up by snowplows at the intersection with runway 20 during landing and rollout at Luxembourg Findel Airport in freezing fog weather. No passengers were killed, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was scrapped in May 1970.[30]
  • On 6 November 2002, Luxair Flight 9642, a Fokker 50 (registration LX-LGB) incoming from Berlin, Germany, crashed in a field near the village of Niederanven during its final approach to Luxembourg Findel Airport. Twenty passengers and two crew-members died, including artist Michel Majerus. Only the pilot in command and one passenger survived.[31] This is the only fatal accident in Luxair's history.[32]
  • On 30 September 2015, Luxair Flight 9562, operated by a Bombardier Q400, was taking off from Saarbrücken Airport when the first officer retracted the landing gear prior to the aircraft lifting off. The aircraft collapsed onto its belly and came to a stop on the runway.[33] The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and Luxair ordered a replacement Q400 to be delivered in August 2016.[34]

References
  1. "Legal Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine." Luxair. Retrieved on 7 February 2011. "Luxair S.A. LuxairGroup Luxembourg Airport L-2987 Luxembourg."
  2. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 108.
  3. Zoggavia.com – Luxair Archived 2010-10-21 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 6 November 2010
  4. https://www.airliners.net, photo of Luxair Boeing 707 at Luxembourg Airport in 1976
  5. https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/luxavia.htm
  6. RTL - Remember when Luxembourg had a direct flight connection to Johannesburg?
  7. "FLIGHTONTIME.info - 2008 Awards". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  8. "LuxairGroup - Corporate Site". Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  9. airliners.de - "Lufthansa wants to get rid of Luxair shares" (German) 11 November 2015
  10. aero.de - Lufthansa macht Luxair-Anteile zu Geld ("Lufthansa cashes in Luxair shares") Archived 2015-11-18 at the Wayback Machine (German) 17 November 2015
  11. airlineroute.net - Luxair Ends Frankfurt Service from Dec 2015 Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine 11 August 2015
  12. "Lufthansa agreement breach: Luxair to stop Frankfurt flights but expand to Munich". Wort.lu. 2015-08-08. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  13. "Miles & More - Luxair.lu". Luxair.lu. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  14. 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."About Luxair Group – Shareholders". www.luxairgroup.lu. Luxair Group. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  15. "Financial Report 2010". Archived from the original on 2012-11-15. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  16. "Annual Report 2011". Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  17. "Annual Report 2012". Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  18. "Annual Report 2013". Archived from the original on 2015-04-03. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  19. "Annual Report 2014". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  20. "Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-01-12. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  21. "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-06-29. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  22. "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  23. "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). 2016-03-04. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  24. "Profile on Luxair". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  25. Liu, Jim (27 March 2017). "Luxair / SAS begins codeshare service from March 2017". Routesonline. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  26. "Our Fleet". Luxair.
  27. airfleets.net - Luxair fleet details Archived 2017-06-14 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 28 October 2017
  28. "World Airlines 1970 - Flight Archive". Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  29. "Global Airline Guide 2017 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2017): 20.
  30. FOCUS Online (24 April 2015). "Airline-Sicherheit - Fliegen - Reisen". FOCUS Online. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  31. "ASN Arcraft accdent Fokker 50 LX-LGB Nederanven". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  32. "ASN/Luxair". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  33. "Luxair-Maschinn brécht Start of a kënnt um Bauch un d'Halen" (in Luxembourgish). RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  34. "Luxair to replace aircraft following Saarbrücken incident". Luxembourg Times. 2015-12-21. Archived from the original on 2019-06-01.

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