OREANDA-NEWS. The Lufthansa Group has made a successful start to the new year with the transfer of the Dьsseldorf–Zurich route from Lufthansa to Germanwings today (Thursday, 8 January 2015). One of the biggest structural projects ever undertaken by the company has thus been successfully completed on time.The concept of the new Germanwings was presented in December 2012, followed by the market launch on 1 July 2013. The transfer of the Dьsseldorf–Zurich route means that the decision to operate all domestic and European routes under Germanwings, apart from at the Frankfurt and Munich hubs, has now been fully implemented as scheduled. In all, Germanwings has taken over 115 routes from Lufthansa in recent months, with the biggest number of routes (52) at Dьsseldorf Airport.

Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said: “The first Germanwings flight from Dьsseldorf to Zurich today marks the successful completion of what is to date the biggest project to make the Lufthansa Group more competitive. The positioning of the new and significantly larger Germanwings has been a resounding success. I would like to extend my gratitude to all employees, who have worked hard for this achievement. As a result of low costs in the WINGS business model, we combine favourable prices with the punctuality, quality and safety of the Lufthansa Group. This combination meets with a positive response among our passengers and also finds favour in many European markets. At the same time therefore, the success of the project will bolster our confidence for the creation of our new Eurowings, which will be launched before the year is over.”

Thomas Winkelmann, spokesman for the Germanwings Executive Board: “Over recent months, we have been laying the necessary foundations for the continued successful development of the company. We have never been bigger, and have never been a market leader at so many German airports. Of much greater importance, however, is the fact that we are once again enjoying success in commercial terms.”

The completion of the migration of Lufthansa routes to Germanwings represents the successful conclusion of a major project that has been a big challenge for the company, added Winkelmann. “However, the team rose to the challenge magnificently. We can now build on this success.” The new Germanwings service between Dьsseldorf and Zurich will comprise 24 flights per week, making it one of the most high-volume routes from the North Rhine-Westphalian capital. The early morning flight will depart from Dьsseldorf at 7.00 a.m. In addition to this, there will be a midday flight at 1.30 p.m., an afternoon flight at 5.05 p.m. and an evening service at 6.55 p.m.