Eurowings and Volotea have signed a memorandum of understanding to enter into a sales partnership covering over 140 routes with no overlap, around 40 operated by Volotea and 100+ by Eurowings. Volotea will also open eight new routes to Germany from France and Italy.
On Wednesday (February 15, 2023), Volotea announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Eurowings to establish a sales partnership between the airlines. The joint sales cooperation will encompass over 140 routes with no overlap, including around 40 by Volotea and 100+ by Eurowings. Additionally, under the scope of the partnership, Volotea will open eight new routes to Germany from their bases in France and Italy, connecting Berlin, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart and Hamburg to Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Florence and Verona. These new routes are each expected to operate two times weekly, with tickets now available for booking on Volotea’s website. Following a binding agreement, which is expected to be reached by the end of April, tickets will also be available on the Eurowings website and through all of the usual distribution channels.
In Wednesday’s announcement, Volotea’s Founder and CEO, Carlos Muñoz, said,
“We are very pleased to launch our commercial activities in Germany with a strong distribution partner and important player in the country. The planned strategic agreement with Eurowings is significant and unique, covering more than 140 routes with no overlap and signals the potential for a stronger, long-term partnership. With eight new destinations, we can also present our distinctive offer to the German public. Volotea connects important but often underserved medium-sized cities without stopovers that make traveling easy. With routes from Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart to cities such as Bordeaux or Florence, we are also responding to new customer requests.”
Also commenting on the new sales partnership, Eurowings’ CEO, Jens Bischof, said,
“Step by step, we are strengthening the 'Euro' in our Eurow-ings brand name. Our roots are in Germany, but we are becoming more and more a European airline. Having established Eurowings in Northern and Eastern Europe with recent base openings in Prague and Stockholm, our next step is to expand booking options towards Southern Europe. The mutual sales cooperation envisaged with Volotea would allow us to offer our customers many new and exciting destinations in France and Italy as well as enhanced connectivity within Southern Europe.”
Volotea's New Routes to Germany From Their Bases in France and Italy - Courtesy Volotea
Eurowings is value airline for Europe and the leisure carrier of the Lufthansa Group, the world’s largest aviation group. The airline’s value proposition includes access to the Miles & More loyalty program, free middle seats from €10, one-click CO2 compensation, and flexible rebooking up to 40 minutes before departure. Eurowings is the market leader at the airports in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Cologne/Bonn and currently operates a fleet of over 100 aircraft. The airline offers affordable products and services with direct service to over 100 European destinations. Eurowings’ extensive network includes 11 international bases, including Palma de Mallorca, Europe’s most popular vacation island. The carrier is Germany’s largest leisure airline and employs over 4,000 team members across Europe.
Founded in 2011 by Carlos Muñoz and Lázaro Ros, previously founders of Vueling, Volotea is one of the fastest growing independent airlines in Europe, and will celebrate their 50th million passenger this year. The airline serves 100+ airports from 19 mid-sized European cities including Asturias, Athens, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Cagliari, Florence, Hamburg, Lille, Lyon, Lourdes, Marseille, Nantes, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Venice and Verona. Volotea employs 1,700 team members and operates a fleet of 41 Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft.
Source(s): Volotea, Eurowings