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Luxair, legally ''Luxair S.A., Société Luxembourgeoise de Navigation Aérienne'', is the
flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...
airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
of
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
with its
headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
and hub at
Luxembourg Airport Luxembourg Airport is the main airport in Luxembourg. Previously called ''Luxembourg Findel Airport'' due to its location at Findel, it is Luxembourg's only international airport and is the only airport in the country with a paved runway. It i ...
. 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.


History


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 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...
. From 1964 to 1969, Luxair operated three
Lockheed L-1649A Starliner The Lockheed L-1649 Starliner was the last model of the Lockheed Constellation line of airliners. Powered by four Wright R-3350 TurboCompound engines, it was built at Lockheed's Burbank, California plant from 1956 to 1958. Design and developme ...
aircraft in a co-operative agreement with
Trek Airways Trek Airways was an airline based in South Africa that operated from August 1953 until April 1994. History Founded in 1953 by retired German Generalmajor Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin (1904–1997), Trek Airways was the only South Africa ...
, from Luxembourg to
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. The Starliners were painted in Luxair livery and were registered in Luxembourg. By 1967, Luxair's fleet consisted of three
Fokker F27 Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...
s and one
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...
. 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 jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly cl ...
, a
Sud Aviation Caravelle The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for t ...
. By 1976, Luxair was operating a
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
with a
Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
then joining the fleet in 1977. Over the years, Luxair gradually introduced further jet aircraft: Boeing 737-400s and Boeing 737-500s; as well as
Fokker 50 The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were manufactured and supported by Dutch airc ...
turboprops and
Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where i ...
ERJ-135 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenge ...
and
ERJ-145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...
regional jets. In the 1980s,
Boeing 747SP The Boeing 747SP (for ''Special Performance'') is a shortened version of the Boeing 747 wide-body airliner, designed for a longer range. Boeing needed a smaller aircraft to compete with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar ...
s 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. LUXAVIA was a joint venture between Trek Airways and Luxair, enabling Trek Airways to avoid the repercussions of widespread anti-Apartheid boycotts.


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 jet A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner with fewer than 100 seats. The first one was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the widespread Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F-28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of th ...
s increasingly difficult. To lessen its exposure, Luxair decided to reintroduce turboprop aircraft, and in June 2006 it signed a firm order with
Bombardier Aerospace Bombardier Aviation is a division of Bombardier Inc. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. Its most popular aircraft included the Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners, and the newer CS ...
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 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...
. 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 London City Airport is a regional airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, approximately east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial ...
during 2008 by Flight on Time, based on CAA statistics. In 2011 Luxair carried 1,302,771 passengers. 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 Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
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. In November 2015, the sale was finalized when Lufthansa sold its entire stake to the state of Luxembourg.aero.de - Lufthansa macht Luxair-Anteile zu Geld ("Lufthansa cashes in Luxair shares")
(German) 17 November 2015
Luxair also announced it would stop flying its route to
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
previously operated on a codeshare with Lufthansa as the latter started the same route itself. Luxair is still part of the Lufthansa frequent flyer program ''Miles & More''. After the bankruptcy of
Air Berlin Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG (), branded as airberlin or airberlin.com was a major German airline. At its peak, it was Germany's second-largest airline, as well as Europe's tenth-largest airline in terms of passengers carried. It was h ...
, Luxair announced they would begin flying from
Saarbrücken Airport Saarbrücken Airport , or ''Flughafen Saarbrücken'' or ''Ensheim Airport'' in German, is a minor international airport in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland. It features flights to major cities throughout Germany as well a ...
to
Berlin Tegel Airport Berlin Tegel "Otto Lilienthal" Airport (german: link=no, Flughafen Berlin-Tegel „Otto Lilienthal“) was the primary international airport of Berlin, the federal capital of Germany. The airport was named after aviation pioneer Otto Lilienth ...
utilising a
Bombardier CRJ700 The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are a family of regional jet airliners that were designed and manufactured by Canadian transportation conglomerate Bombardier (formerly Canadair) between 1999 and 2020. Their design was derived from t ...
which Luxair leased from
Adria Airways Adria Airways d.o.o. (formerly ''Inex-Adria Aviopromet'' and later ''Inex-Adria Airways'') was the flag carrier of Slovenia, operating scheduled and charter services to European destinations. The company's head office was at Ljubljana Jože Pučn ...
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 The State Bank and Savings Bank (french: Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État), also known by its Luxemburgish name Spuerkeess (), is the leading national financial institution founded in 1856 and governed by the law of March 24, 1989. Spuerke ...
(21.81%),
Banque Internationale à Luxembourg Banque Internationale à Luxembourg S.A. (BIL, "International Bank in Luxembourg") is the oldest private bank in Luxembourg. It offers commercial and corporate banking services. Since 2018, it has been majority-owned by China-headquartered Legend ...
(13.14%), the Luxair Group and others (13.11%).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. 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.


Business trends

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


Destinations


Codeshare agreements

Luxair has
codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
s with the following airlines: *
Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
*
Air Serbia Air Serbia (stylised as ''AirSERBIA''; sr, / ) is the flag carrier of Serbia. The company's headquarters is located in Belgrade, Serbia, and its main hub is Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The airline was known as Jat Airways until it was r ...
*
Austrian Airlines Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub ...
*
Hahn Air Hahn Air is a minor German airline headquartered in Dreieich, offering business jet scheduled and charter flights within Europe from its base at Düsseldorf Airport. The company's core business, however, is a ticketing solution that gives trav ...
*
ITA Airways Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., trading as ITA Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Italy. It is fully owned by the Government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The airline flies to over 60 scheduled domestic, E ...
*
LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of the world's oldest airlines in operation. Wit ...
*
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
*
Scandinavian Airlines Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark ...
*
TAP Air Portugal TAP Air Portugal is the currently state-owned flag carrier airline of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and oper ...
*
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...


Fleet


Current fleet

, the Luxair fleet consists of the following aircraft:


Special liveries

Starting from 2020 Luxair released some special liveries for some of its aircraft. On July 25, 2021, the company introduced the SUMO Artwork Luxair's Boeing 737/800. The livery was realised by the popular 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 and was the main action of the company's broader "FlyingIsAnArt" project: On the 25th of November 2020, the company released a De Haviland Q400 with an orange logo to raise awareness obout the fight versus violence on women. In October 2022, Luxair painted one of its aircraft with a pink artwork by the local artist Lisa Junius and in partnership with Think Pink Lux, with the goal to contribute to the Pink October worldwide campaign.


Historical fleet

* Airbus A300B4-203airfleets.net - Luxair fleet details
retrieved 28 October 2017
*
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
*
Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
*
Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
*
Boeing 737-500 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, ...
*
Boeing 747SP The Boeing 747SP (for ''Special Performance'') is a shortened version of the Boeing 747 wide-body airliner, designed for a longer range. Boeing needed a smaller aircraft to compete with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar ...
*
Boeing 767-300ER The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
*
Bombardier CRJ700 The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are a family of regional jet airliners that were designed and manufactured by Canadian transportation conglomerate Bombardier (formerly Canadair) between 1999 and 2020. Their design was derived from t ...
* Sud Aviation Caravelle 6R *
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series ...
*
Embraer ERJ-135 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...
*
Embraer ERJ-145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...
*
Fokker F27 Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...
*
Fokker 50 The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were manufactured and supported by Dutch airc ...
*
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...


Accidents and incidents

*On 22 December 1969, a
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...
(registration LX-LGC) arriving from
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
, 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. *On 6 November 2002,
Luxair Flight 9642 Luxair Flight 9642 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Berlin, Germany, to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, operated by Luxembourg national airline Luxair. On 6 November 2002, the aircraft operating the flight, a Fokker 50 registere ...
, a
Fokker 50 The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were manufactured and supported by Dutch airc ...
(registration LX-LGB) incoming from
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, crashed in a field near the village of
Niederanven Niederanven ( lb, Nidderaanwen ; german: Niederanwen) is a commune Luxembourg, located north-east of Luxembourg City, and derives its name from principal town, Niederanven. , it has a population of 6,156. The commune of Niederanven is the interse ...
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. This is the only fatal accident in Luxair's history. *On 30 September 2015, Luxair Flight 9562, operated by a Bombardier Q400, was taking off from
Saarbrücken Airport Saarbrücken Airport , or ''Flughafen Saarbrücken'' or ''Ensheim Airport'' in German, is a minor international airport in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland. It features flights to major cities throughout Germany as well a ...
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. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and Luxair ordered a replacement Q400 to be delivered in August 2016.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Airlines of Luxembourg Airlines established in 1962 Association of European Airlines members European Regions Airline Association 1962 establishments in Luxembourg Brands of Luxembourg